By Glynn Morris
Wow, was I impressed to see that the ACLU had gone to bat for the Venice “free speech zone” (SMDP, July 11, page 1). To think that they gave up time from their endless crusade to eliminate religious symbols and their new effort to champion the care and comfort of terrorists at Gitmo to save free speech in Venice. Amazing.
It was also interesting to learn about the boardwalk as a “free speech center.” I had been living under the delusion that free speech existed everywhere in the U.S., but I guess it is somehow special in Venice. Maybe you have to be a boardwalk “expressionist” or vendor to really understand. I might go down there this weekend to check out this unique kind of Venice free speech.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 15, 2005. Read the original PDF.