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Show Contempt - or Dissent? The uproar following the contempt convictions by Judge Julius J. Hoffman in the "Chicago 7" trial was predictable. We recall reading four or five years ago, noble statements by some of thise who hate America that it was all right to break the law, because, they ; said, they would be willing to suffer the consequenc-, consequenc-, es. Of course, their subsequent behavior has been ' quite the opposite. When called to the bar of justice, '" the lawbreakers weap. wail and nash their teeth, and they fight with every legal device at their disposal to escape the consequences of their anti-social behavior. be-havior. We believe that it is most important for all of us to keep clear heads and not be deceived by the flood of hysterical and misleading statements stemming from the "Chicago 7" controversy. We could cite a dozen examples, but to mention just one; that ap-" ap-" peared in the left-of-center WASHINGTON POST a story highly favorable to defense attorney William ' ' M. Kunstler, 50, who was sentenced to over four years s in jail for contempt of court. The story was head-lined: head-lined: "Kunstler Defends Dissent." But let us consider the word, "dissent". We be- - lieve we know what the word means; most certainly this paper reserves the right to dissent, or disagree, with all sorts of things. '" However, during the trial of the "Chicago 7", '-; Judge Hoffman was verbally abused with outbursts, t! usually screamed out, such as: 3- "Tvrant! Tyrant!" o, "You schtunk your idea of justice is the only obscenity in this room". "Julie, how's your war stock?" "You're the laughing stock of the world. Every L- kid in the world hates you. Youre synonymous with the name Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler equals Julius : : Hitler". p, At one point, a defendant screamed at the govern-.,, govern-.,, ment prosecutor, in largely unprintable language: r1: "You know vou ain't go no - - - - case" and then " to Judge Hoffman: "Stick it up your bowling ball". We are not about to pretend to be legal experts, but if the remarks and behavior of the Chicago ex-r ex-r tremists did not constitute utter and complete con-" con-" tempt, then we simply don't know the meaning of the word. One thing we do know; the Washington newspaper headline was bluntly speaking ca-tegorically ca-tegorically false. There is a vast difference between legitimate dis-... dis-... sent in the American tradition of an open society ' with free speech, free assembly, fair play, or sharp debate with its challenging interpray of opposing ideas and opinions. Dissent has nothing in common with the sneering, snarling contempt displayed by r the "Chicago 7" and their "new left" lawyers. J |