Jefferson Memorial Incident…Cops behaving badly?

So I had a rather lenghty conversation with a

friend today about this situation in DC.

Here is a link to the videos we are referring to.

I ask that you take a look. I wonder if this is

the process that is gone through everytime

that one of these types of stories makes the

news? I like the conversation, and ultimately…I
justify my viewpoint at the end…I will let the chat

speakfor me at this point…enjoy!
_____________________________________________________

Friend: so get this

ZeDing: actively getting “this”…

Friend: my friend was arrested yesterday

Friend: I HATE TEH COPS

I LOATHE THEM

ZeDing: haha…damn kids

Friend: no. i fucking hate them i want to flush them from society

hold on ill forward

ygm

ZeDing: irmm (I’m reading My Mail)

Friend: http://our.ircai.com/posts/your-diminishing-liberties.html

ZeDing: yeah…that’s not a good thing

Friend: o the irony

celebrating liberty by dancing at Jefferson

ZeDing: but you are going to condemn law-enforcement as a whole

because of this?

Friend: s memorial

only to be arrested

yes

because it is the police who are responsible for their own image

they dont want ot be viewed as pigs? clean up ur image

ZeDing: is that officer “the police”?

Friend: the officer represents his profession

as any time a professional exercising the actions proscribed by his

profession reflects on his profession’

that’s why we have pr departments. because frequently, the actions

of several individuals reflect on the institution as a whole

ZeDing: “reflects on…” But doesn’t summarize

I am not defending HIM…or the action of arresting your buddy

but I wouldn’t throw a blanket judgment on law enforcement as a

whole because one power-trippin a hole at the capitol “didn’t like

the nerds growing up”

Friend: fuck the police

ice t was right

ZeDing: bah…I object…inflammatory

your personal connection to the event has fogged your perception

Friend: nope. every libertarian in the country and on the

blogosphere is up in arms about this

ZeDing: you kids and yer crazy causes and stuff…

I bet you there aren’t any mid-west people that are “up in arms”

about this

you east coasters spin up like weed-whackers

Friend: my friend when to jail for a night!

for dancing!

and sat with vandals and marauders!

and druggies!

FOR DANCING

ZeDing: goddamn hippies

did your head just pop?

Friend: yes

ZeDing: hah…sorry

Friend: i am developing an aneurysm

i am so full of foamy fury

ZeDing: you should have a beer and a deep-breath

ZeDing: look at it this way…the cop…is probably just as big

a fan of Jefferson as they where…and felt that the sanctity

of that great shrine was in danger of being defiled…so he did

what he thought was best with regard to the preservation of

that mighty homage

…?

maybe?

Friend: defiled?

there were 15 people dancing

silently

bothering no one

that’s a completely crap argument

the memorial is huge

15 people silently dancing

ZeDing: apparently they were bothering “someone”

Friend: not break dancing

just wobbling, basically

NO THEY WERENT

the six witnesses reported nothing and mentioned that they

weren’t bothered

it was MIDNIGHT

there were 6 others besides the 15 dancers

What about freedom of expression? all they were doing is

dancing at the memorial

an expression of admiration and love for a founding father

it wasn’t even an assembled organized crowd

just some friends, dancing

there is no explanation or excuse

u will find none

ZeDing: so 15 people gyrating inexplicably in the middle of

the night in memorial park in DC? Yeah…I wouldn’t give it

a second thought if I was the guy whose job it was to keep

the place under a watchful eye…

I am not saying he should have arrested anyone

but we don’t know the whole story either

Friend: WHY WAS AN ARREST MADE? My entire friend

asked was, “what law am I breaking by dancing here?”

ZeDing: did he immediately walk up and start cuffing?

Friend: the cop even refused to show his badge when asked

repeatedly

that’s breaking their own law

u are required to show your badge and number

ZeDing: 1 v 15…I’m not wasting my time with a badge either

Friend: no, he cuffed her when she said, “excuse me, what

law am I breaking?

he pushed her up at that point

Versus 15?

The other 14 left!!

they walked off

ZeDing: HAH

Friend: it wasn’t a mob!

it was one girl

ZeDing: her friends ran away when the cop showed?

Friend: the others walked off. she walked up to the cop

and asked what law was being broken

ZeDing: nice

Friend: no

they walked

and when she was arrested, they filmed it and went

to the police station with her

and spent the night there

they didn’t leave her

they were just walking away but she went up to the

cop and asked the question

Stop trying to find something wrong that she did here.

she did nothing and the cops are going to be humiliated

Because they fucked with the wrong crowd. these are

political bloggers and journalists

And this has been farked.

And as soon as possible, the police will be red-faced

with embarrassment. the little shits

ZeDing: well…of course it will be a big story…but you

are proving my point by not even considering that

there is another viewpoint here…

it’s like a story that I saw last week

some punk trustfund baby took issue with a text-book

he was asked to read in class…because it DARED to

question the notion of man-made global warming…it

imply called it into question…as part of a rational

thought process…but somehow…this became a

national news story because this kid is SO

indoctrinated that to even QUESTION the idea is

cause for rebellion

Friend: how did he rebel?

ZeDing: he called some group in to evaluate and

lobby to get the text change…one sec I’ll find the story

http://www.wnbc.com/education/15837397/detail.html

“He was especially troubled with a section on global

warming which questions if it exists. With the

help of the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for

Space Studies, that passage was changed.”

Friend: how is this analogous at all??

ZeDing: you reaction to this is how I perceive your

(and likely the media’s at large) reaction to this scenario

…one you have made up your mind on a subject/event/

cause/thing…people become absolutely blind to the idea

that there could be a differing viewpoint

Again…I am not saying that what this particular cop did

was right…

But you have clearly amplified the scenario to

something beyond what it is…

Understandably to an extent…

Friend: how can I be blasé when my friend just spent a

night in jail for dancing

I know these people; they weren’t up to harm anyone.

they really were just going to dance a bit

ZeDing: ok…and if the system works as it should…there

will be no long term effects…on anyone

but that’s not what you want, Right?

Friend: no, we want to demonstrate that there is

something wrong when police can arrest someone

and make up the charges later, al the while refusing

to show a badge, WHICH IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO DO

it’s harassment

ZeDing: so you’re saying that her friends walked

away when a random man (with no clearly visible id)

told them to disperse…and she decided to stay…alone

and ask said random-badgless man about laws?

I would argue that it was pretty clear that this was an

officer…and what charges were made up later? I think

I gotta read it again….hold on

Friend: dude, just watch the videos

it’s all on video

so there’s your “other side”

I know it was clear it was an officer

but the law states that you have to show your badge

that’s the law

if someone asks, you have to present your badge

u cant withhold it

and they didn’t

so it doesn’t matter that he was wearing a uniform

ZeDing: I am scared of the video…the last time I saw

a video like that it was some punk kid who installed a

camcorder in his car to tape the police when he got

pulled over.

Then there was “don’t tase me bro”

Friend: dude

watch the video

u said u wanted the rest of the story

its all fucking there

documented

ZeDing: once again…I don’t want you to get the wrong

impression…I am not automatically saying that your

friend was in the wrong…I am just saying that we

cannot assume in every case that the first impression

of a scenario is the right one

I will watch the vid as soon as I can…I promise

and I will let you know when I have

Friend: thank you’

ZeDing: crap…can you linky me to the vid pleeze?

Friend: http://www.youtube.com/user/freethejefferson1

ZeDing: Ok…well…I get your point I do. But I also empathize

with an uninformed, possibly undereducated security guard

reaction to that particular situation by calling the police and

asking people to leave…put yourself in his shoes before

demonizing him/them. AND…I really have to say that the guy narrating the scenes

there is not doing anyone any favors with the tone he is

projecting…as if he is some altruistic individual that is

simply there to educate Frank the overnight security

guard on the finer points of liberty…

with that said…I didn’t see anything that should have

led them to arrest anyone

but we also didn’t have a vantage point on what she,

individually, was saying or doing for a few minutes

there. And who was she asking for a badge?

I never saw that part.

ZeDing: but I do see this getting blown up in media circles…

and I see it getting even more skewed than it may already

be against the security guards and police in question…

I don’t mean to belittle the situation that your friend is in…

nor do I think it’s ok for law enforcement to get away with

anything…but I do see a real danger in the concept of

police having to justify every action to the satisfaction

of everyone around them, prior to acting…that

defeats the purpose…it interrupts the process…and it

certainly makes for great TV…so it will still be there even

though I think it’s bad