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Sisters get
arrested for 'Nothing' By TERRI SANGINITI Amid the hustle and bustle of Black Friday shoppers at Christiana Mall, Santa Claus got himself handcuffed and arrested for trespassing Friday afternoon. So did the three White sisters -- anti-commercialism activists who were arrested at the mall a year ago for promoting "Buy Nothing Day." Three other supporters also were arrested. The six protesters, dressed in Santa hats and white T-shirts emblazoned in black letters with NOTHING, ventured into the sea of frenzied Macy's shoppers about noon all but unnoticed.
One Macy's customer, with a child in tow, did take note and squealed, 'Oh, look at Santa!' as the two women, three men and a teenage boy made their way through the crowded store to the mall corridor. Carrying white bags containing free samples of "nothing," the group passed a mall security officer, turned right at Littman Jewelers and momentarily paused in front of Rave. "Two or three people came up to us and we gave out free samples of'nothing,' " Anna White said. "People usually get it when it's nothing." The protesters were stopped in front of Icing by Claire about 12:10 p.m. by mall management and told to leave. "The little guy in the white shirt said he was with mall management," said Alan J. Muller, dressed as Santa Claus. "He just said, 'Leave.' " Three Delaware state troopers moved in as the group approached Country Sun Rooms of America, where mall management asked them to leave again. "The mall security kept saying you can't be here," White said. "They said, 'You have to leave.' But if we're being told to leave, they should tell us the grounds why they're making us leave." By 12:20 p.m., the handcuffs came out. A state trooper put Muller's hands behind his back and cuffed Santa. Six would-be trespassers soon disappeared behind a white door marked "Employees Only." A trooper then came back and arrested Laura White, 29. "I was in plain clothes," said White. "I didn't want to risk arrest because I live in Vermont." Laura White, who came along for support and to take notes, said she told the trooper that she had not been asked to leave. "Then he told me, 'Okay, fine. We're asking you to leave,' " she said. "I said, 'I'll leave,' and he had a hand on my elbow and dragged me in the door." State police cited Laura White, her sisters Rachael, 26, and Anna, 31, both of Washington; Muller, 55, of Port Penn; J. Roy Cannon, 54, of Newark; Michael S. Berg, 60, of Wilmington; and a 16-year-old boy with third-degree criminal trespass. They are to appear in court on Jan. 14. They face fines of up to $345 or probation if convicted. In addition, the three sisters have been banned from the mall for three years, Laura White said. A year ago, the three sisters and a friend, Terri Carter, were similarly charged by state police on Black Friday at Christiana Mall for their Buy Nothing Day promotion. But those charges were dismissed in April because the state was not prepared to prosecute the case. Anna White said she didn't expect to be arrested again this year. The sisters have been touting Buy Nothing Day at Christiana Mall on Black Friday for the past five years. They were arrested for the first time last year. "We're not against shoppers; we are against the advertising culture that insists we have to buy merchandise at Christmas to show people you care," she said. Christiana Mall marketing director Christina Steinbrenner said the arrests were no big deal. "We have a no-solicitation policy and we do keep to that policy," she said. "We aren't doing anything [other] than [what] we normally do." Mall shopper Dexter Brank, of Pilesgrove, N.J., said the arrests didn't interfere with his holiday shopping. "I think you're allowed to have freedom of speech, but you need to follow the rules," Brank said. "If you disobey the rules, then action should be taken." Buy Nothing Day began 14 years ago as a way for people to protest the "frantic consumer binge" by refusing to shop for 24 hours, according to Adbusters Media Foundation, an organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that sponsors the annual event. Country Sun Rooms of America salesman Trey Conley, 19, of Newark, who was handing out fliers, said it was all rather comical. He said he didn't know anything about Buy Nothing Day. "The cops handcuffed all of them and dragged them into the hallway," Conley said. "I thought [White] just obstructed the peace." After hearing about the anti-commercialism message the group intended to send, Conley said it was all pointless. "You're allowed to express yourself, but now you're in handcuffs, so what progress did you make?" Conley said. "No way were they going to make a dent in that today." Anna White, an organizer with Essential Action, a group that focuses on corporate accountability, said she disagreed. "We got the word out," she said. "It's unfortunate that we got arrested for exercising our free speech, but where do you go when you want to exercise your free speech? "All we want for Christmas is free speech, but I guess we can't get it at the mall." Copyright © 2005, The News Journal Reprinted with permission of The News Journal |
