09-05-2007, 06:15 AM
The guy's a Grade A wiener.
I'm always surprised at how much these 'protesters for justice' throw common sense out the window before they act. All of us reach a breaking point at one time another. And often times it can be the silliest thing that puts us overboard. But reasonable people take a moment, breathe deeply, and approach the situation correctly. The alternative is to be unreasonable, start causing a scene and end up in a holding cell to cool off. This man isn't a hero anymore than the guy in the next cell who decided to scream bloody murder over a speeding ticket until he was arrested.
The true heroes of our rights are the ones who take that moment of clarity and make a tough decision. Is now the right time to dig in our heels, draw a line in the sand, and try to make a difference? A difference not just for them, but for preservation rights for everyone.
This man wasn't trying to change policy. He knew before he started pulling this fiasco wouldn't stop stores from checking bags. He was frustrated and made a bad decision. Unfortunately he didn't have the sense enough to realize the futility of his exercise. There are a plethora of more reasonable things he could have done, many of which would have better results. And I don't doubt that deep down he knew that, whether he was cognizant of it at the time or not.
As for the arrest, I have absolutely no problem with the officer's actions. The man was asked to identify himself, refused to show the most common government identification (a drivers license), and didn't assert that he did not own a drivers license. Until the officer could confirm the actual identify of the man, he should be held in a holding cell. The assertion laws are there in the case that someone genuinely doesn't have any form of identification, is no longer posing any threat, and has not committed a crime. It's there for the officer to have some lee-way to use his own judgment. It's not meant to be a free pass for everyone to refuse to identify themselves, especially when they do have identification on them. Heck, for a very long time, until 2006 if I recall correctly, verbal assertion laws were on the books for border crossing. In lieu of any paperwork, a US citizen could state 'I am a citizen of the United States' and be granted entry into the country.
Now let's have a moment and think about what happens when we don't interpret laws with the tiny tiniest bit of common sense. The kind of 'justice' this man is standing up for is a slap in the face to the real men and women who fought against true injustice. He isn't a hero, he's a fool.
Cheers,
Munk
I'm always surprised at how much these 'protesters for justice' throw common sense out the window before they act. All of us reach a breaking point at one time another. And often times it can be the silliest thing that puts us overboard. But reasonable people take a moment, breathe deeply, and approach the situation correctly. The alternative is to be unreasonable, start causing a scene and end up in a holding cell to cool off. This man isn't a hero anymore than the guy in the next cell who decided to scream bloody murder over a speeding ticket until he was arrested.
The true heroes of our rights are the ones who take that moment of clarity and make a tough decision. Is now the right time to dig in our heels, draw a line in the sand, and try to make a difference? A difference not just for them, but for preservation rights for everyone.
This man wasn't trying to change policy. He knew before he started pulling this fiasco wouldn't stop stores from checking bags. He was frustrated and made a bad decision. Unfortunately he didn't have the sense enough to realize the futility of his exercise. There are a plethora of more reasonable things he could have done, many of which would have better results. And I don't doubt that deep down he knew that, whether he was cognizant of it at the time or not.
As for the arrest, I have absolutely no problem with the officer's actions. The man was asked to identify himself, refused to show the most common government identification (a drivers license), and didn't assert that he did not own a drivers license. Until the officer could confirm the actual identify of the man, he should be held in a holding cell. The assertion laws are there in the case that someone genuinely doesn't have any form of identification, is no longer posing any threat, and has not committed a crime. It's there for the officer to have some lee-way to use his own judgment. It's not meant to be a free pass for everyone to refuse to identify themselves, especially when they do have identification on them. Heck, for a very long time, until 2006 if I recall correctly, verbal assertion laws were on the books for border crossing. In lieu of any paperwork, a US citizen could state 'I am a citizen of the United States' and be granted entry into the country.
Now let's have a moment and think about what happens when we don't interpret laws with the tiny tiniest bit of common sense. The kind of 'justice' this man is standing up for is a slap in the face to the real men and women who fought against true injustice. He isn't a hero, he's a fool.
Cheers,
Munk