From the latest on the Jefferson Memorial bust; Megan, addressing police officers:
Rule #1 of things like this: know who you're dealing with. Of course, respect for one's civil rights should not be predicated on happening to know a lot of troublemakers with podiums.Often expressed by the potential/future arrestee as: "Do you know who I am? Don't mess with me!" And of course respect for one's civil rights shouldn't have anything to do w/ one's socio-economic status. That subtext is expressed here:
As Julian notes, the problem here is not that one of my friends, an educated white girl, had to spend five hours or so being harassed by the police. It is that the police think that questioning orders constitutes disorderly conduct. And that the result of questioning them is probably a lot more than moderate harassment when the questioner is not an educated white girl with a lot of camera toting friends."Educated white girl?" Megan brings classism, racism & sexism into the sorry affair. Amazing how poorly she expresses herself. She actually touches on the true issue here, which is that any disagreement or questioning of any sort w/ those whom I have so fondly & often called "pigs"* often results in this sort of action. The eventual result is that the case will not be touched by whatever the prosecuting authority is (this might actually be a federal crime, I suppose) & Megan's "educated white girl" will simply be out five hours of her life. (I hope no one had to go her bail, but w/an "educated white girl" I'm sure cooler heads prevailed at the Park Police lock-up.)
I understand that she means poor black male humans (among others) really get the shaft should they disagree w/ authority, but can she find no better way to express an actual decent concept when she has one? And of course, if this hadn't happened to someone she knows, if it were just any average American being harassed & questioning the harassment, she wouldn't give a flying fuck about it, & if she did mention it, would probably be on about the "bad choices" made by the victim of police terror.
Elements of Style©:
One of the libertarians joyfully (yet tastefully and quietly) celebrating the birthday of a favorite founding father questioned why they should have to move along--at which point one of DC's finest shoved them up against a pillar, cuffed their hands behind their back, and hauled them away.If it's "one" of the libertarians, how does the one become "them" & "their?" This is especially stupid because it is clear by the second blockquote that the perp is female.
Elements of Journalistic Ethics:
Ms. McA., you might want to reveal that the "educated white girl" arrestee is one of your friends before the last paragraph.
Crappy writing, crappy ethics. Fire her now!
*Events like this are why they are called "pigs."
Posts
7 comments:
As much as this might touch off my inner "fuck authority" punk rocker, give me a break with the "know who you are dealing with." Yeah, Megan. I'm sure you've struck fear in the hearts of cops across the country. "Don't mess with my friends or I will...BLOG ABOUT IT!" Gangsters with video cameras have raised more awareness on the issue of civil rights abuses on the part of cops than Megan's stupid little blog ever will.
Besides, it just shows how insulated her little ivory tower really is. You don't have to like it, but right or wrong, when dealing with a person with a loaded weapon and the authority to throw you in jail, you say "yes sir/ma'am" and do as you are told. If your civil rights have been grossly violated, then you can file a complaint later. Appletini sucking libertarians being told to go home isn't Rodney fucking King all over again.
And Megan? Get over yourself with the "don't you know who I am?" bullshit. Yes, I do. You are a C-list wannabe pundit who, despite the "hyper-education" you regularly brag about, can barely string together a coherent sentence.
I'm not on Megan's side or anything, but the idea that people should just automatically do whatever a cop tells them to just because it's a cop doing the telling . . . . well, fuck that. If you want me to move along when I'm not breaking any laws or disturbing anyone else, tell me why. I'll probably do it. But orders with no apparent logic behind them? Fuck that shit - I gave that up when I got out of the Coast Guard.
I agree. Other than being libertarians, the dancers weren't doing anything wrong. They had every right to ask why they were being told to leave and resist.
I read one article that said the cops refused to give their badge numbers, which I thought was illegal. anyone know about that?
I agree with you guys in priciple; cops don't get to just do whatever they want, especially when it comes to activities that aren't illegal, no matter how stupid they are. But if you want to save yourself the hassle? You don't want to get hauled to jail for no reason? Do what they say. I've heard of plenty of occasions where cops will outright LIE on their police reports to make it appear as though searches and arrests were legal. It's not a matter of right and wrong. It's the reality of who a judge is going to believe. And if I had the choice between dancing in public to music on my iPod and arguing with a cop - a person who more than likely enjoys to flaunt their authority - whatever, dude. I'd rather go home and have a beer than get arrested. It's not like they were being beaten for protesting something important. They were acting like jackasses in public.
Yeah, well, of course you have to choice your battles. I just don't think you can argue they made the "wrong" choice by resisting.
As "educated white people," Megan's friend(s) pretty much knew that the worst thing that would happen was that they would get hauled away for a few hrs. in the station, & they would have the opportunity & resources to contest anything later, assuming charges were filed, & knowing any semi-reasonable judge would dismiss whatever the charges were. Not quite the same if one is not-so-educated, not-so-moneyed, & not-so-white.
Of course everyone can choose their own battles, NoT. But cops are like Customs officials and sports referees. You'd be hard pressed to find an example of any time that arguing with them actually led to them changing their minds. In fact, quite a few will get outright vindictive over the fact that you've questioned their authority.
Post a Comment