It's the "degree" of their control that is at the heart of this issue. If they want to use their control to haul an idiot off the grounds, via the police, who stupidly pistol whips someone with his hand gun, that has the safety turned off and as a result, it discharges a couple of rounds into a couple of near bystanders, well I say go for it. Who, in their right mind, wants that at a music event?

However, my guitar is not a gun. Nor is my musical saw a weapon. But somehow, the NW Folklife security force saw fit to equate my efforts at entertaining in public with a guy who discharged a firearm in public and determined that my efforts at creating smiles were apparently as dangerous as a loaded handgun. Thus, they did to me just what they did to him. They called for police backup. Though, I think that the guy with the gun got cuffed and carried off the grounds. While I was merely escorted from the grounds.

Besides, my rights under the law were in effect long before NW Folklife decided to create this latest attempt at "control" and this event has managed to function and flourish just fine for years, long before their recent efforts at trying to control the actions of performers on the grounds. The only control that I see that needs to be enacted by the event is control of their actions and control of their security force.