In one of the most bizarre repressions of free speech – and the free market – we’ve ever seen, the City of Charleston, S.C. has banned rickshaw drivers in Charleston, S.C. from offering “illegal speaking tours” to tourists.
No really … this is happening, according to reporter Schuyler Kropf of The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier.
Adding insult to injury for taxpayers, the local police department is not only enforcing this ridiculous ordinance, it actively cracking down on these “illegal speaking tours” – going so far as to send undercover officers out into the streets disguised as tourists in an effort to bust unsuspecting rickshaw drivers.
“Violators?” They get a $1,092 fine.
What the hell, Charleston?
Seriously …
This is a damn abomination. If an individual ferrying people from point “A” to point “B” wants to earn a little extra money providing historical context regarding the various points betwixt – then government has no business whatsoever interfering in that process.
In fact we don’t believe government has any business forcing these rickshaw drivers to register with them in the first place – let alone restrict their income-generating potential. If someone has the ability and equipment necessary to perform this service, they should be permitted to provide it free from government regulation.
More to the point, we would humbly submit the government of Charleston, S.C. could find far more productive uses of its law enforcement resources than snuffing out this particular brand of old-fashioned entrepreneurship.
60 comments
Ain’t government grand?
Now seems like as good a time as any to share this video. The young lady in it makes many good points. Most of you know that I am generally pro-LE, and have quite a few friends who work in that endeavor. I will, however, not hesitate to call them out when I believe their actions are grossly wrong.
This lady provides a lot of food for thought that any LE officer should consider carefully and digest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOsN-P5abVg
Well written and well spoken. Every day of the week is a news article about cops who are much too aggressive and cross that line.
There are getting to be many of them that are like GrandTutu with a gun.
And a badge.
Then lets stop registering motor vehicles. Same principle as you proffer. And why am I restricted from producing a web site named FITSNEWS? Is my free speech being restricted?
You can produce a website named FITSNews. Except you’d have to come with original content every day – and figure out how to get people to leave FITSNews.com (which I own) for wherever on the web you host your FITSNews. But barring those issues, you are in no way shape or form restricted from producing a website named FITSNews.
Your name (moniker, whatever) doesn’t show trademarked/corporatized.
But true, Call it whatever you want. He wouldn’t have to have content though. He said create it, not make it profitable.
If you “own” FITSNews.com, you have allied yourself with whatever “authority” to restrict my freedom to own a site of the same name. Sounds anti free market.
Property rights and The Rule Of Law are not “anti free market”, chief.
It all boils down to property rights and the non-aggression principle.
You’d think it be easy to convince people that they should be for both….
which I am but some folks (pun intended) are very selective about it.
BS
then it apparently has been determined by the city of Charleston that historic babble is the “property” of tour guides and not rickshaw drivers. thus they made it a “law”.
You know,I have to hand it to you-you made a good argument right there. Even if the law is stupid.
I think you know that too, it’s all about protecting the privilege of monopoly awarded to the tour guide operators. Some pols palms are definitely getting greased.
I’m not sure you can make private conversation involving two parties illegal by declaring their conversation “property” of someone(or in this case something) else. But alas, you are right, the jackasses in Charleston have found a way.
Memo to Herr GrandTangerine:: please read above
You have permission to start your own personal website – a good name would be “DER PASSTNEWS.”..
Der Stupid A$$ Passtnews
GT could have conversations with himself….
Ok now boys. Don’t pick on my sweetie too much.
(Nicholas Tomalin)
“The only qualities for real success in journalism are ratlike cunning, a plausible manner, and little literary ability. The capacity to steal other people’s ideas and phrases … is also invaluable.”
“Then lets stop registering motor vehicles.”
You got me on board.
that way we can quit being required to have insurance. it restricts my freedom to bump those slow ass drivers out of my way.
…we can quit being required to have insurance.
You had TBG at, “Then lets stop registering motor vehicles.”
Now you are just making TBG giddy.
Damn Skippy
Obviously: Unconstitutional suppression of Free Speech. I bet they could find several willing people down at “The Four Corners of Law,” and on “Shingle Street,” that would be more than happy to take the City of Charleston’s money in a multi-million dollar law suit they could easily win.
perhaps, except for the rules the rickshaw drivers agreed to comply with when they got their license. also I imagine that the licensed tour guides, many of which are married to the Charleston aristocracy, don’t take kindly to the rickshaw drivers muscling in on their territory.
You are correct sir. These rickshaw drivers are a form of taxi, strictly point A to point B. If you want a guided tour you start out on Market and end up on Market. If you want a different license, apply for the one you need.
Yeah, they could do something more productive. Like trying to find the person who shot the sunroof out of my child’s car on upper Meeting Street after she came off the bridge from Mt. Pleasant. The Charleston cops yelled at my child because she “left the scene of the incident” and didn’t just pull over and call the cops from the location. She went to her apartment over near the College before calling. The Cops took an incident report and that was it. This is the truth.
Sorry man, your daughter’s car will have to wait. Rickshaw driver are talking out of turn and must be dealt with first.
PRO TIP:
When being shot at…it is advisable to immediately leave the area.
***********************************************************************************
The Charleston cops yelled at my child because she “left the scene of the incident” and didn’t just pull over and call the cops from the location.
Your child showed admirable restraint by not yelling back, “NWA was RIGHT!!”
Back in the day we called that “getting the hell off of the X,” and we did it as quickly as possible…rickshaw drivers notwithstanding.
My precious grand-daughter will start college in Charleston for the fall semester. This will be her first time away from home and a sheltered environment. Any danger or harm to her will unleash my inner dark side which none of my family have knowledge of.
When there is absolutely no crime to investigate, then it is plausible for police to create some.
More proof that Charleston has been Yankee’ified.
I think it’s high time to create an amendment to the state constitution.
Create some BS law like this that is shown in court to be unconstitutional and is a direct violation of any constitutional amendment, both state or federal, and receive a free one way trip to the fracking hoosegow. I think life in prison is a reasonable punishment for being a domestic terrorist.
If only such a law were in place and enforced…!
Is this DWJ: Driving While Jawboning?
BBwwaahahahahahahahhaahaha
So, one or more of the city council members has a tour guide business and is wanting to shut out the rickshaw drivers. I guess if city council owned the rickshaw business the law would be that the only way to get a guided tour would be to hire a rickshaw.
Using undercover cops to enforce it, ridiculous abuse of power. This cannot be constitutional.
If you live in the holy city, it should be fairly easy to out the vested interests.
Well since the CPD has all the robberies, rapes, murders etc on the East Side squelched.. the gotta do something. Right?
Wait…
WHAT???
What’s the difference between these guys and a cabbie who tells you interesting things about his city while driving me to my destination? Unless these guys are taking roundabout streets which, would probably classify them as tour guides.
cabbies usually have the best lowdown on strip clubs and ladies of the evening (not that I would know but TBG told me this).
If you need the companionship of a gay man you should contact Grand Tango. He knows how to make a man feel like a man.
As do limo drivers.
*coughs* So TBG has been told.
Like someone said look deep & you’ll probably find a politician trying to protect his business.
So…are they making stuff up? Telling outrageous lies or hard truths that cast Charleston in a bad light? I know someone who regularly tells visitors that the Tillman statue on the State House grounds is actually the inventor of Krispy Kreme. Sometimes he says NASCAR.
“So…are they making stuff up? Telling outrageous lies or hard truths that cast Charleston in a bad light?”
You gonna make telling tale tales illegal?
Some of the best stories I’ve heard have elements of exaggeration to them.
I wouldn’t, but I imagine the powers that be in Charleston would slap down anyone not following their PR script.
And I thought this article was about really spicy fairy tales, such as—-
Did Mother Goose the Ancient Mariner?
The Day I Hiked the Appalachian Trail with Mark Sanford – and Lived
Selective Promiscuity for the Horny Housewife
Does the Jumbo Jet Eat Its Young?
How to Ball Without a Chain
(standing ovation)
You so funny. Are you a Jeffcoat?
Thanks – here is something that I posted one evening after eating a bowl of over-spiced chili. There was a week with not many articles, so I was looking back on the previous week to see what new comments had been posted. Scanning too quickly through the archives my brain crisscrossed some of the titles. That gave me the idea of mixing some of the current titles for that week (You can figure out the time from the titles)–
MARK SANFORD’S HOUSE OF CARDS
THE QUEEN IS PISSED… GET READY TO RUMBLE
CRUISE SHIP WAR: DARLA VS NIKKI 2
CANDACE BESSINGER WILL RUN FOR US SENATE
THAD VIERS GOT INDICTED… WAITING ON A VERDICT
HOLY HARPOOTLIAN EXPECTATIONS GAME
TIME TO ORGASM LADIES: TEXT MESSAGE GOLD MINE
Dafuq Charleston?
There is dumb, bat-shit dumb and then drooling dumb. Charleston’s finest have demonstrated drooling dumb.
So you mean to tell me no politician can give a speech in Charleston? I mean if storytelling is illegal!
As a resident of the Charleston area since 1974 I am acutely aware of this issue. I think it’s high time to replace these rickshaw operators with a more compliant, cheaper labor force:
http://2big2fall.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/outsourcing-a-solution-to-charleston-rickshaw-problem/
Nancy Mace needs to take a Rickshaw ride to her debate with US Senator Lindsey Graham and tell some stories for the VOTERS of South Carolina…!! Lets hope Nancy knows how to shove a rickshaw down the throats of the Post and Courier staff.
For once, I agree with Fits News.
This is merely Joe attempting to grant a monopoly of telling historically untrue yankee lies with the carriage tours.
instead of bitching how about following the law dicks. They new what they were doing is illegal and that you need to be approved to do it. Also who is to say these rickshaw drivers aren’t just pulling shit out of their ass instead of giving historically correct facts. In fact most of these guys aren’t from charleston and really don’t know the history and no going to CofC does not mean your from charleston.