A question about peaceful protests and other people rights

They're an inconvenience, for sure, but I don't see that they are infringing on anybody's rights per se.

I'm pretty sure that obstructing traffic is against the law.

Umm, it took me 30 minutes to get to the grocery store today, instead of the usual 5 minutes, because they were doing road work.  Should I have gotten out of my car and told the highway workers to stop interrupting my life? 

I get that it is inconvenient and a nuisance, (I'd be annoyed too) but I still don't see it as an infringement of your inalienable rights.

I've never heard of closing an interstate highway for a marathon. And to the OP, if I was trying to get home after working all week and couldn't because they are protesting on the highway, I would be ticked. Protest in front of City Hall or the police station. The only thing they are accomplishing is pissing off a lot of people. ETA: I don't know about other states but in CA it is illegal to walk on the freeway.

I agree that being on a major highway like I95 in the dark is inviting another kind of disaster involving the death of motorist and pedestrians - irresponsible.

As long as they aren't hurting anyone or looting I'm all for protesting by any means. When I get pissed is when people are hitting cars, jumping on them, smashing windows, etc.

It is pretty amazing to run on the highway for the big DC races - the Army 10 Miler and the Marine Corps Marathon 10K being the two I've done so far here.  I'm running the Rock n Roll in March, but I don't know if the course will take us on the 110 or not.

I also don't know whether they are considered part of  highways, but when I ran the Pittsburgh Half in May most of the bridges in the city were closed because we ran across them. When I ran the Disneyland Half in August, the course didn't take us on a highway, but we shut down a good portion of the roads in Anaheim around the park. 

My my point is that roads and even highways ARE closed for a variety of reasons, some having nothing to do with road repair.  

We even have lanes on one of our main highways into DC that are closed to any traffic except during certain hours of the day.  So, there can be a huge traffic snarl up with traffic at a standstill, and I still don't have the right to drive in that beautiful empty lane next to me.  Nor can I actually drive on that highway east of the 495 and into DC before 9:30 am unless I have at least two people in my car.  I have to get off of a perfectly good highway and take a circuitous route into the city unless I have the 2 person minimum.  

In California, you can't drive in a diamond lane with only one person in the car simply because traffic in the other lanes is interrupting your life. And I'm fairly certain it is legal to walk on parts of the Pacific Coast Highway (the 1) - at least I have over the years and never been ticketed. 

Driving unimpeded on highways isn't a right. 

Again, I know it is inconvenient and annoying to have a variety of things block your way as you drive - I would be annoyed too - but it isn't an infringement on rights. 

The protests haven't been happening on rural I-95.  In the places they are occurring, there are other routes. 

I usually listen to the traffic report on WTOP when I'm driving and there is traffic. I also don't think the protests were a surprise, so I probably would have known of the likelihood of a protest and avoided that part of town. But, if I was caught, I'd use my GPS and look for another route. All that being said, I live in DC and have been stuck on the highway a few times for 4 hours to get my child home from the doctor on a route than normally takes 45 minutes.

Traffic is annoying, maddening, and I would have been annoyed in your shoes, but it happens here so frequently that it is just part of life.

I fully support the right to peaceful protests, but overtaking and blocking roads (any roads) is just not cool in my book. What about doctors and nurses that are trying to get to work to save lives? Emergency personnel trying to get to that heart attack victim? Or all the people barely getting by, just trying to get to work and who will lose much-needed wages - or even their job - because they can't get to work on time?

I'll be honest and say that I get less sympathetic to 'the message' of protesters when they get extreme and create unnecessary hardship (not simply inconvenience) for others.

L

They also blocked entrances to a hospital in Boston?!!! That happened a few weeks ago. I just don't understand that at all no matter where you stand on the issues. It doesn't help anyone.

I have a hard time understanding why it's easier to expend energy complaining about how the protesters are inconveniencing you (in general) than complaining about the situations that led them to protest. Yeah, traffic gridlock is maddening. I'm sure it was pretty nasty when the sanitation workers went on strike in Memphis. Sometimes it takes a little bit of inconvenience and irritation to make the world stop rolling on as usual and get people to pay attention.

I don't find it hard to understand.  After a short time, obstructive protesting loses support because it actually HURTS the community and does little to find a solution to the real issue(s).  

There are better ways to bring about change.  Shutting down roadways and blocking businesses isn't the best way.  It may garner coverage on the local (or even national) news for a bit, but destruction and obstruction won't get you very far in the long run.

Instead, get involved.  Mentor at-risk youths.  Organize a committee for change. 

Don't punish your neighbors.

L