1st Amendment Audits

1st Amendment Audits

If you aren’t aware of this movement, they are citizen journalists who make their purpose known by being intentionally provocative, mostly to public employees but also normal citizens who engage them. Their purposes are to bring attention to the freedom of anyone (right of the people) under the 1st amendment to act as journalists and engage in free speech and press on public real estate. Also, to hold police and public employees accountable for their actions. While I do not approve of the taunting and mocking and disrespect some engage in, I think their purpose is necessary and helpful. The ‘silent treatment’ seems particularly effective at eliciting reaction when people demand answers and believe they have a right to know. Obviously, acting unusual will cause some reasonable level of suspicion from normal people, which is what they enjoy and gets views on their channels. And, in more extreme situations you might get shot... like here. Probably even better for getting followers on your channel.

 The interchange between authority and rights immediately manifests egos and pride, which is to be expected. It turns into a sort of struggle to determine lines of proper authority and liberty. This can be very beneficial keeping a police state mentality from becoming solidified in the country (people call the police at the least opportunity- like ‘this guy won’t tell me what he is doing in public’, as demonstrated in their videos. But, also some police make up laws as they go enforcing their egos trying to save face). The police should be respected and honored in their capacity (Rom.13:7), while egotistical police should be admonished properly. The public working hand in hand with the police (as here) to ensure liberty and safety is ideal, especially now when police in general are being unjustly targeted with prejudice.

 While some of the auditors lack humor, originality and wit others are pretty amusing; but they generally know the laws before they engage in their behavior, and work with lawyers in anticipation of their rights being violated. One of the more entertaining ones (K.C. Cameraboy whose accent and demeanor I find to greatly contribute to the entertainment value) shows how he follows up with bad behavior by filing complaints and paying with pennies.

 Others, while more insulting, expose many deficiencies in us Christians when it comes to dealing with uncommon behavior (albeit legal) as here, and here, and exposing the hyper-faith presumption of others who think they discern spirits of a certain type and unsuccessfully attempt to cast them out... before the police show up.

 This movement exposes a tyrannical impulse in us to want to eliminate liberties from people that fall out of our favor. It shows ignorance of the laws on many of our part. Perhaps it confronts us with our own level of courage to be willing to stand for liberties. But basically, it reveals the ugliness of pride when it emerges so easily from our sensitive egos; that we are not as mature as we flatter ourselves to be.

 Do I hear an A-men? 

LEAKED FBI FILES Reveal Police War Against YouTubers, 1st Amendment Auditors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsrL8PlOkeE

Less Abusive approach to auditing:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIYocUCja9Ug_XiYROeb_cw

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1IA5kmY578O_Qo7Skr-TQ