Why does Robert become the issue though? Because Robert makes Robert the issue, or because the City Council dodges the real issues by making Robert the issue?

It seems to me that it is only Robert's ideological opponents who have trouble focusing upon the issues to which Robert attempts drawing attention.

Or perhaps more truthfully, they desire to divert attention from those issues and find Robert's media antics a convenient scapegoat.

For Robert to put on a turban and a cheezy fake accent may be silly, but it in no way prevents the City Council from conducting business as usual. Unfortunately the City Council, with their personal beef against Robert, chose to forcibly retalliate.

Costume or not, he should have been allowed his 3 minutes like anyone else. And those 3 minutes should have been part of the official record, but they were censored on the excuse that enough council members were not present.

Council failed to do their job, so Robert earned another 3 minutes the following night and was then forcibly denied this under threat of armed violence. How absurd is that!

All City Council had to do was DO THEIR JOBS. Sit, listen, let it be recorded, then cut him off at 3 minutes like usual and shew him off and it would have been END OF STORY for the week.