Josh writes:
There's a video floating around the Internets at the moment. Here's a summary:
Idiots A and B are sitting in their car. Idiot A is filming Idiot B, daring him to go over to a nearby police officer and tell him to fuck off. "Seriously -- what can he do to you? What can he do?" Sufficiently persuaded, Idiot B gets out of the car and, still being filmed by Idiot A, walks up to the cop and repeatedly flips him off. The cop then pulls out his nightstick and starts clubbing the fuck out of Idiot B. Idiot A: "Oh shit! Fuck!"
This video serves as the ultimate illustration of two other things I've read recently: the first is this reminder from Psycho Milt about how cops in other countries don't take your shit; the other is this older one from Hewligan, where he points out that it's possible for both sides in a given dispute to be equally as wrong.
See, a lot of people would say "the guy's an idiot, he deserved what he got, good on the cop" (I know this, because that's exactly what they said about the Annoying Woman Gets Tasered All To Fuck For Talking On Her Cellphone video of a while ago). But you don't have to take sides -- the guys are chuckling morons and the cop is a dangerous psychopath. No-one in that video is in the right.
The logical ramifications of accepting that such a situation is possible in a rational ethical system are doubtless fodder for a fruitful and intelligent debate, but instead, here's a Snopes article about the true dangers of frozen squirrels.
7 comments:
Personally, I'm firmly of the opinion that if only more forms of stupidity inevitably resulted in a sound beating, the world would be a better place.
The evil I can live with, it's the incompetence that drives me crazy.
I'm with the cop, he did the kid a favour, or favor as they would spell it in America. They two sides aren't equally wrong at all.
I don't want to turn all Leighton Smith on your asses, but you shouldn't go around saying "fuck you" and pulling the fingers at people. "What can he do?" - he can take out his stick and club you - good - don't be such a rude dickhead and learn some manners.
And were I with the cops in another country, I'd sit in the back and shut the fuck up. I saw the mate of that guy who dies in Bahrain(?) saying basically "He's been in fights before but never as the insitgator, he'd need to feel threatened before he lashed out." Don't lash out with other countries cops. Always be polite to the police, they can make your life far more miserable than you can make theirs.
And when the cop pulls me over, I'd get off my phone.
The cop isn't a psycopath, he just doesn't have to take that shit, and nor should anyone.
Sorry, you're going to have to explain that to me -- how is physically beating someone not as bad as making a rude gesture towards them? Which would you rather have happen to you?
You seem to miss my point exactly -- its true that you shouldn't go around saying "fuck you" and pulling the fingers at people and it's true that you shouldn't beat people with sticks, expecially not if you're in a position of authority.
Sure, he was literally asking for it but there are established protocols for such instances.
A cop can't hold back after 10 seconds of the finger, and people are shocked when the pepper spray comes out at protests?
Is he even a real cop? Looks like a security guard to me.
Lesson learned? Always carry an arsenal of frozen squirrels when confronting officers of the law.
I always carry frozen squirrels with me, anyway - though they are not for committing crimes, they are, in fact, for strictly sexual purposes.
Or, at least, that's what I tell the cops.
Thanks for the link. It is of course even worse to be Indian in the Middle East. Once I was in a car with 2 Indian guys, we get to a police checkpoint and I have to tell them I've left my ID at home. The driver's furious - now we're going to get hauled down the station and grilled for hours because Mr Dumbass Fuckass can't remember to pick up his ID when he goes out. "Don't worry," I say, "They won't need to see mine." Sure enough, the cops look carefully at the Indian geezers' IDs, glance at me then wave us through. If anything, the Indians are now even more furious that we weren't hauled down the cells for a good beating. Fucking privileged whitey. "It's not my fault," I bleat like an 8-year-old.
"Sorry, you're going to have to explain that to me -- how is physically beating someone not as bad as making a rude gesture towards them? Which would you rather have happen to you?"
To better refine this statement,
"How is a trained representitive of society's laws physically beating someone not as bad as joe-idiot making a rude gesture towards them?"
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