Chapter 11 Ninety Granny's Arrest

A few days ago, I wrote an article "The Long March of Ninety Granny".It is about a ninety-year-old lady named Doris Handock in the United States who walked 5,000 kilometers alone across the United States in order to appeal for "reform of campaign funding".Finally, in the capital, Washington, a federal judge met with her in his chambers.How was she invited to the judge's chamber?This is another story: The old lady Doris was arrested by the police in the Federal Capitol! It took more than a year for Mrs. Tao to complete the feat of the "Long March" step by step. The last stop was to go straight to the U.S. Federal Capitol. Isn't the target of her "reform of campaign funding" the congressmen? destination.After working hard for more than a year, it was just for this day that Mrs. Tao made up her mind early on to deliver her political speech in the rotunda of the famous Federal Capitol Building under the high dome, advocating her reformist views.

So, is the U.S. Capitol moving in?To put it this way, as an analogy, the Capitol is packed like a bustling farmers market during peak tourist season, full of tourists.No matter who it is, as long as it doesn't carry a gun, it's absolutely fine to enter.Therefore, the old lady Tao entered the busiest central rotunda together with a group of her supporters.The problem lies in the next step.how? After entering, they set up a propaganda battle, and Mrs. Tao took out the manuscript and started reading.Now, it's against the law.There is a rule in American law, that is: The Capitol is an important place for legislation. There, as long as the legislators are under this roof, they can say whatever they want, and they will not break the law. They will not be arrested or convicted. They have legislative immunity.And as long as you are not a member of Congress, you are not allowed to make any political speeches here, and you are not allowed to have any political demonstrations.If you do, it is a crime, and the police have the right to arrest you.This is a strictly enforced rule.

Why is there such an "unequal" rule? That is to ensure that legislators can express the opinions of the people in the constituency he represents without any pressure.Just think about it, if a legislator says something wrong, he may be arrested and convicted. Of course, he will not be able to express his opinion on a piece of legislation without hesitation.So the first clause is obviously required.But why can't the people express their political opinions here? This is also to keep the expression of lawmakers from being under pressure.If near the conference hall or in the aisle of the lobby, there are angry and passionate protesters gathered—or overly enthusiastic supporters, or very sad grievance complainers, and they will make speeches, slogans, and songs. There will be a "square effect" and an atmosphere of "those who follow will prosper, and those who go against will perish".This atmosphere will inevitably create psychological pressure on members of parliament, which may force them to bend to public pressure and distort legislation.Legislation is to establish rules, which must be fair, long-term, and take into account the long-term interests of all people in the society, rather than favoring whoever has the loudest voice.Therefore, legislation should be "interest-neutral" and a rational process.This rational process will inevitably turn into an irrational process if the parliamentarians are actually surrounded by fanatical people.This is not alarmist talk. During the French Revolution and the Russian October Revolution, it happened that parliamentarians made laws there, and the people rushed into the parliament and yelled.What's more, the people and even the soldiers threatened the legislators with guns there, and even drove away the congressmen by force.At this point, the so-called democracy is of course all over.

It is precisely in order to put an end to the above-mentioned situation that the rules are established. People are not allowed to engage in any political expression activities in the Capitol, no matter who you are or what you express.If you want to speak, express, or demonstrate, you have to go outside.When you go outside, you can be whatever you are, express whatever you want, whatever you want.Now that there is such a rule, it must be strictly enforced.As a result, Mrs. Tao and her supporters, who did not listen to the police's advice, were arrested by the police in the Capitol.The police can't do without arresting him. They dare not set this precedent.

Everyone knows that Mrs. Tao has no malicious intentions, and besides, she is still a ninety-year-old "Long March record-breaker", and everyone respects her.However, the rules cannot be broken because of this.The characteristic of the law is that there are no exceptions.Therefore, Mrs. Tao still has to accept arrest and go to court.Federal judges are promoted to court, and how to judge and sentence must follow the rules.You can't break the rules just because you are a grandmother-level old lady, because once the rules are broken, you will lose your head, and others will find a reason to break it, otherwise it is unfair?Once the rules are broken, the law ceases to be law.

The old lady Tao understood very well, so she "pleaded guilty" as soon as the court opened. Taking advantage of the opportunity of "pleading guilty", she expressed her views on political reform and her understanding of "democracy" in the court statement. All present were grandchildren of judges, prosecutors, lawyers, reporters and spectators, and they had a good lesson in classic democracy. The judge was also very interesting, and sentenced her to "imprisonment for the time she has been detained". How much time, I didn't say, anyway, she was formally arrested, so even one minute is considered "the time she has been detained".She and her supporters were immediately "released" and ordered to pay ten dollars in court fees each.

Everyone felt that this judgment was fair.After the sentence was over, that is, after the rules were followed, the judge respectfully invited Mrs. Tao to his office to express his respect for the old lady.It was at that time that the judge said to her: "Many laws in our United States are made possible by ordinary people like you who work tirelessly." The reporter reported that when the judge said this, tears were in his eyes and those around him.