Approximately 20 Peace and Anti-WAR activist wore signs attached to their clothes, saying "Try Something Different Peace on Earth" and "Don't Bomb Iraq" while shopping at Crossgates Mall, on Saturday. The activist carried the message for about an hour while shopping and walking throughout the Mall.
Eventually,the Guilderland police confronted and harassed the peaceful shoppers, saying that our signs for, Peace on Earth, were "offensive". Threatening the activist shoppers with arrest, about a dozen police and Mall guards then rounded up, herded and pushed the peace folks out of Crossgates Mall, in front of hundreds of amazed shoppers. Outside the participants were then forced by the police into waiting security vehicles. The peace shoppers were then escorted & driven to their own vehicles.
The following letter was mailed to Mark Wagner, manager of Crossgates Mall in Albany NY on December 30, 2002.
Dear Mr. Wagner,
On Saturday, December 21, a Peace Action event involving approximately 20 people took place at Crossgates Mall. The idea behind this “Mall Walk for Peace” was to serve as a peaceful presence in the mall and a reminder that “Peace On Earth” is not simply a slogan that appears once a year on our holiday cards, but rather a year-round goal toward which we should all be working. While planning this event, it was important to all involved that we be a non-disruptive and non-confrontational presence. We agreed that we would not carry signs, chant, nor hand out leaflets. Further, it was agreed that small groups of 2-3 people would form so that we would not cause congestion in the flow of foot traffic on this very busy day in the mall. Our plan was to simply stroll the mall for an hour and finish some holiday shopping, while wearing shirts bearing the messages “Peace on Earth…For a Change”, “Drop Toys, Not Bombs” and “Don’t Invade Iraq”.
Although our walkers have reported somewhat varying experiences, the following is a brief summary of our collective experience in Crossgates Mall:
Within ten minutes of our arrival, mall security approached us to demand that we remove our messages, take off our shirts, or be escorted out of the mall. We stated that our message was simply one of peace, which is certainly appropriate, especially at this time of year. We continued walking and shopping, regardless of being followed by security teams. One member of our group was confronted by guards and asked to remove his shirt bearing a pro-peace message. This man cooperated with the guards and removed his shirt. Despite his compliance, he was still told to leave the mall.
For approximately 45 minutes, groups of 2-3 peace-walkers were followed around the mall and harassed by teams of security guards simply for wearing a message of peace. These guards threatened that the police had been alerted and that we would be arrested. All attempts on our part to conduct a dialogue with security officers and a member of mall management were rebuffed. At 5:00 pm our members were to meet at the food court for dinner, then leave the mall as planned. As we got off the escalator the Guilderland Police immediately escorted us out of the mall. The walkers who were in the food court prior to 5:00 pm report that the Guilderland Police behaved aggressively and threatened them with arrest. Upon leaving the mall, most of us were not permitted to walk to our cars. Instead, we were forcibly shuttled to our cars in mall vans, escorted by security vehicles complete with flashing emergency lights. One pair of walkers was allowed to walk to their car followed by a Guilderland police officer. A member of this pair is the librarian at a local high school. A student from her school witnessed this police escort - a scene that could have placed her reputation at risk.
Although a few peace walkers report that they were treated cordially, most Crossgates Mall security officers over-reacted to this event. Some members of our group were treated in an aggressive manner and continually harassed. Guards told us it is the policy of Crossgates Mall to disallow political protest on the property. However, we were not participating in a protest, rather our group was sharing our view of “Peace On Earth” during this time of threatening war. What you refer to as a ”political protest”, we call a ”peaceful reminder”. Nor were we disruptive, as our event took place in the manner in which it was planned. Is the simple act of wearing a shirt bearing a message that some might not agree with an act of protest? We’re sure that on any given day, dozens of shoppers roam your hallways wearing questionable or even offensive messages – many of them perhaps purchased in your mall.
We agree there was a disruption in Crossgates Mall on December 21st. However, mall security and the Guilderland Police caused this disruption, not the peace-conscious folks who were walking and shopping in the mall. As citizens of this community, we are very concerned that we were told that it is inappropriate to wear messages of peace on our clothing. We feel that mall security treated us in an unfair manner, violated our right to free speech, and exercised the practice of discriminatory censorship in regard to the clothing we were wearing.
We request a meeting with mall management to determine the following:
1) What are your written/dated criteria for acceptable/unacceptable messages that appear on clothing worn in the mall?
2) Have other shoppers been asked to leave the mall because of the messages on their clothing?
3) What is your written/dated definition of and policy regarding political protest?
4) Is the way in which we were treated – the harassment, threats of arrest, police escorts, forced entry into shuttle vans – typical of the treatment that other shoppers have received in the past?
5) In hindsight, does the management of Crossgates Mall feel that the security officers over-reacted to the event, and what steps have been taken to ensure that, in the future, all of your shoppers are treated in an equitable manner?
We hope that you are willing to honor our request for this meeting. Please contact Julie Belles, Pat Beetle, or Maureen Aumand at your earliest convenience.
Thank you in advance for your efforts in resolving this matter.
Sincerely,
Julie Belles (primary author), Maureen Aumand, Pat Beetle, Gus Cadieux, Noreen Kerrigan Cadieux, Barbara DiTommaso, Wendy Dwyer, Maud Easter, Carole Ferraro, Paul Frazier, Katja Rehm, Paul Rehm, Joe Seeman, Karen White
