This is my Redress Dress! Hopefully you are familiar with First Amendment of the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I'm sure that many of you find the First Amendment as inspiring as I do and in your spare time realize your inclined to construct a dress covered with angry tweets by people claiming to be blocked by their public officials because you know this would make a great, maybe not-so-obvious, form of a textile-protest-art-project. No, I'm sure I'm not the only one....
Here are some of the interesting tweets you'll see on the Redress Dress:
What is unlawful twitter blocking? When a gov official or agency blocks your from view/responding to their Tweets, which are public record.
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) May 13, 2015
Should your governor or congressmen be allowed to block you on twitter? http://t.co/kZZutt8
— DBtheTD (@dboevers) August 17, 2011
Openness is consistent with OGE's mission to ensure that the public can have confidence in the impartiality of their govt. @SunshineWeek
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) March 16, 2015
@remzicej part of the job of a public official is to be open to scrutiny & criticism. US Sup. Court has ruled gov doesn't have to listen.
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) March 20, 2015
@SenatorBurr @SenatorHagan @kayhagan The Greenville Chief of Police blocked me on Twitter after I asked him for an investigation.
— c denise (@C__Denise) September 17, 2014
Dear Twits,
Rep. Drew Darby blocked me. I guess he didn't like the pictures from your #fracking backyards.
#txlege
— TXsharon (@TXsharon) March 26, 2015
I still remember when @RickSantorum blocked me because I said "I'm happy your daughter has healthcare & I hope other kids will have it too"
— John (@linnyitssn) April 26, 2014
RT @romenesko: .@GovernorPerry is still trying to block reporters (on Twitter). http://t.co/h76BDOAb
— Mike Rogoway (@rogoway) September 26, 2011
.@katyabram Philadelphia Councilman @jimfkenney blocked me because I asked about wasteful taxpayer spending on "Tweets" http://t.co/MZRiYzMb
— Tony Katz (@tonykatz) July 30, 2012
@AngelaGreben In fact I'd rung up a Rep's office 1 time of how to best offer public record for his cosponsored Act. I was advised to Tweet!!
— AnnetteSchrabClark (@PoetQs) March 25, 2015
I may not agree with what you Tweet, but I support your free speech rights. Your elected officials should, too! #OpenGov #transparency
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) May 7, 2015
@maodutwt Actually, I am going to block you because I am not interested in having conversation with you.
— Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) January 9, 2015
Twitter veteran Jason Goldman to oversee the White House’s digital outreach http://t.co/clwmZKZtE4 via @techcrunch
Not so sure about him.
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) March 24, 2015
How Public Transit Agencies Deal with All Your Angry, Mean, and Terrible Tweets http://t.co/2DW2GuIFha
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) April 23, 2015
Can a police department block news organizations on social media? @ABQPOLICE blocked me pic.twitter.com/b2nm90V7vI
— Christopher J. Ortiz (@ChrisJOrtiz) January 16, 2015
@over50lilmnster @LiberatedByGaga keep tweeting @GovPenceIN he blocked me & @philupaustin for speaking our minds about #freedomtomarry
— Cody Adkins (@MisterCupcake) March 27, 2015
On @Twitter there is no way to tell how many government officials are blocking you or even a way to demand you be unblocked. NOT #DEMOCRACY!
— Angela Greben (@AngelaGreben) May 15, 2015
There are many more protestors than you know on Twitter. Or have heard speak. The power of protest is that we are everywhere.
— deray mckesson (@deray) March 11, 2015
I also included complaints from people from other countries because they still share very similar rights of free speech and open government:
@Alanw47 @HackneyAbbott you may be "retired & angry" but you're also now blocked mate
— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) March 9, 2015
@teignroy @AngelaGreben Twitter is a broadcast medium - imagine if they were allowed to say "You Roy can't watch TV if I'm on it"!
— Stuart Reynolds (@shaldonangler) May 14, 2015
@AngelaGreben @1jamiefoster North West Durham MP Pat Glass blocked me. I was never rude to her - I only ever asked questions.
— Nodrog (@tdh270) May 14, 2015
@AngelaGreben blocked by my outgoing Lib Dem MP, that's why he's no longer in a job, no time for his constituents.
— Julie (@joolsmc) May 13, 2015
A whole swathe of members of the British Parliament have blocked me. All Left Wingers who demand the 'people' have a voice @AngelaGreben
— Jamie Foster (@1jamiefoster) May 14, 2015
Twitter storm after @Peter_Dowd blocks the parents of disabled children @SOS_Sefton http://t.co/Sx5N8sruWj pic.twitter.com/A0TNrBFvCV
— Visiter.co.uk (@Visiter) April 21, 2015
@AngelaGreben yes I am blocked by my MP - I think it is illegal but the UK Information Commissioner won’t consider my complaint.
— Stuart Reynolds (@shaldonangler) May 14, 2015
Labour MPs blocking their constituents as quick as if they had thr plague
Imagine voting for someone who would rather block u than speak...
— Taylor (@dtaylor5633) February 8, 2015
However, my favorite part of the dress pays special tribute to Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed. I found this excellent article, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is Blocking Constituents and Journalists on Twitter, that details Reed's bad blocking behavior. I was excited when I received the author's permission to reprint the article to sew onto the front of my Redress Dress! I felt this was an important feature of the dress because I've discovered that mayor Reed is probably one of the worst offenders of unlawfully using Twitter's block feature to silence dissent.
This is mayor Reed's response to the issue:
@BravesChophouse What I think is dumb is for an adult to care whether someone "blocks" them on social media. Turn the page and move on.
— Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) February 22, 2015
Did I mention Mayor Reed earned his juris doctorate from Howard University School of Law?
So, let's evaluate what is more dumb: caring about being blocked by your elected official or spending so much time, money, and effort to graduate from law school ill-prepared to apply existing Constitutional and open government laws to everyday scenarios only to then become mayor of a major US city who creates a Twitter account in which he uses to make himself look like a fool?
I've been blocked by the @KasimReed account and this is what I see when I try to access it:
