Kavanaugh had a bad steak dinner at Morton’s.

I haven't put the time into it to know for sure, but some accounts make it sound like they were just peacefully protesting outside in a public area. Other things I've read make it sound like they went in the restaurant and got in his face and made him leave. I think there's a huge gulf between those two scenarios.

 

You don't see the difference between camping at an abortion clinic to protest an activity of which you disapprove and following specific people around in their personal spaces doing personal things like arriving home or eating dinner?

If this were like some animal rights group protesting outside the steakhouse without regard that a SCOTUS justice was there, I don't think you would've seen the same degree of outrage. People make the jump to harassment/intimidation because there's bounties to follow and harass a single person around in private spaces; the same guy who somebody came to his house within the last couple of weeks to kill him.

 

That's the big problem with judging this incident, there's too much in the reports that leave plenty of room for the imagination.

The one thing that cannot be justified in any way, however, is the bounties, and apparently the restaurant was asked to kick Kavanaugh out. There may be a way of doing the latter legally, but even that is despicable and void of human decency.

The guy's eating dinner, mind your own business.

 

Stalking and berating public officials in restaurants or at their home, is just another fine example of the continued decay of civil society.

 

No, I don't see the difference between harassing people outside an abortion clinic or harassing a powerful government official outside a public restaurant. Free speech is free speech. The anti-abortion people have every right to nonviolently protest in public forums, as do the anti-Kavanaugh people.

 

I agree that makes a big difference and I think I see a way to harmonize the two potential accounts. The key language is here:

Eater reached out to the Landry’s-owned steakhouse chain for further comment on the series of events on July 6.


Accessed inside an office building lobby and up a set of escalators, D.C.’s long-running Morton’s sports a wood-framed dining room and lengthy patio overlooking Connecticut Avenue NW. It’s unclear where Kavanaugh sat — or what he could or couldn’t finish eating — at the time of the interruption. (Politico, citing a person familiar with the situation, said “[Kavanaugh] did not hear or see the protesters and ate a full meal but left before dessert.”)

Activists Crash Brett Kavanaugh’s D.C. Dinner at Morton’s This Week

I think the distinction between the outside sidewalk vs. inside the restaurant is confusing because most of us were envisioning the restaurant as a standalone building. But this particular restaurant requires that you go inside an office building which includes other offices before you get to the restaurant, even going up an escalator.

Likely the protesters had gone inside the building and were not on the sidewalk. But they were not inside the restaurant. If the unattributed statement is accurate, he was likely told there were protesters outside and then went out the back way and skipped dessert, but was otherwise unaware of their presence.

 

Yeah this is inside a big office building near Farragut square. It has a cavernous lobby of multiple stories’ height with escalators that lead up to where Morton’s is on the second (or maybe even third) floor. Very little of the restaurant space is exposed to the lobby - just the entrance, hostess stand, and coat check IIRC. Kavanaugh likely would have been seated pretty far back from the entrance to the restaurant.

 

Just have one question. How many of those who are upset over the harassment of Kavanaugh at Mortons's are upset when women seeking medical care are harassed by so called pro-life demonstrators?

 

Based on your posts, you should really consider moving to DC and that way you can join the wackos at ShutDown DC and stalk Kavanaugh and the other Justices you dislike until your heart is content.

What a great organization. I mean paying people to report sightings around DC of the Justices and then actually giving them more money if the Justice is still actually at the location when these positive members of society arrive is genius. And while most people would consider that stalking and harassment, you obviously do not so in your mind, no blood no foul, right?

 

In terms of the bounty system, this is similar to the way paparazzi and other reporters work. Paparazzi make it known to servers/ attendants, etc., that they will receive something of value if they text when a celebrity is present that will be leaving at some point.

Reporters will always tell you they never pay for news, but court clerks know they will get something, even if it’s just something like donuts, if they contact a reporter and tip them off about a newsworthy filing. This is less common now that court filings, with certain exceptions, are available on the internet. But reporters would still need to scan and still rely on tips.

I don’t know this group, but “bounty” implies violence, and I think it’s just like above. They want to protest in public spaces, within their rights, but offer payoffs for tips on where to go.

 

That First Amendment can be a real inconvenience.

 

So you’re going to block a con poster because he beat you in a debate?
Brilliant.

 

No one in their right mind would condone this behavior, but so many have condoned the insurrection behavior, sooooo.....

I would have just shot him dirty looks. Liar.

 

Trying not to be offensive here but you need to get off social media and get into the real world!!! Because a handful of nut jobs post disgusting videos and another handfull (even thousands) may like those videos it is still a minute portion of our population. What, aren't we up to about 350 million folks in the US? So even if 1 million folks liked and share these videos, it is still less than 1/3 of 1% of the population!!

 

Don’t take away the righteous indignation…

 

In the real world, 25-30% of the country keeps voting for the pols that promulgate this stuff.