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Where in the world is Valent Sandiego?
Sep. 28th, 2004 09:33 amEh. I cheated and used the coordinates for a geocache about a mile from my apartment, since I didn't have the gps handy to look up the lat/long for home.
Sep. 28th, 2004
I apologize in advance for the pre-lunch rant induced by low blood sugar.
It's been interesting, watching this story being reported locally, then start to show up on news services and in papers elsewhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/28/phone.arrest.ap/index.html
I'm really tired of seeing this sort of story being reported. The WMATA has been bashed a number of times about arrests made by the transit cops. Invariably, they're portrayed as thugs who arrest poor innocent people for insignificant things like eating a french fry. What they never seem to state is how the person involved was behaving at the time. Not long back the big story was the woman being arrested for eating a candy bar. The papers kind of glossed over the fact that the officer had seen the woman eating it as she entered the station and told her that food was prohibited inside the station more than once. She also smartmouthed the officer, went into the station and stuffed the rest of the candy in her mouth. When you ignore, challenge, or become aggressive toward a police officer, you pretty much give up the ability to claim that they acted way out of proportion.
People in general seem to think it's okay to act like complete jerks, then be offended when they get into trouble over it. Things like waiting your turn in line and being considerate of those around you are alien to them.
Of course, I've no solution for the problem. It's unlikely that anyone is going to voluntarily go back to kindergarten to learn basic social manners. I do wish, though, that the media wouldn't report the incidents in such a sensationalist manner. Yes, law enforcement officers do overreact sometimes. THey do use excessive force sometimes. However, much of the time, the people crying police brutality are just trying to get out of taking responisbility for their actions. When the cop tells you 'you have to finish that before you enter the station' you finish it BEFORE you enter the station.
It's just been interesting, watching a story that started out locally as a 'Transit Police arrest and handcuff a beligerent pregnant woman' to a national story of 'OMG! EVIL OUT-OF-CONTROL POLICE BRUTALLY TACKLE PREGNANT WOMAN FOR TALKING ON CELL PHONE!'
Anyhoo, thus ends the less-than-lucid little rant.
It's been interesting, watching this story being reported locally, then start to show up on news services and in papers elsewhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/28/phone.arrest.ap/index.html
I'm really tired of seeing this sort of story being reported. The WMATA has been bashed a number of times about arrests made by the transit cops. Invariably, they're portrayed as thugs who arrest poor innocent people for insignificant things like eating a french fry. What they never seem to state is how the person involved was behaving at the time. Not long back the big story was the woman being arrested for eating a candy bar. The papers kind of glossed over the fact that the officer had seen the woman eating it as she entered the station and told her that food was prohibited inside the station more than once. She also smartmouthed the officer, went into the station and stuffed the rest of the candy in her mouth. When you ignore, challenge, or become aggressive toward a police officer, you pretty much give up the ability to claim that they acted way out of proportion.
People in general seem to think it's okay to act like complete jerks, then be offended when they get into trouble over it. Things like waiting your turn in line and being considerate of those around you are alien to them.
Of course, I've no solution for the problem. It's unlikely that anyone is going to voluntarily go back to kindergarten to learn basic social manners. I do wish, though, that the media wouldn't report the incidents in such a sensationalist manner. Yes, law enforcement officers do overreact sometimes. THey do use excessive force sometimes. However, much of the time, the people crying police brutality are just trying to get out of taking responisbility for their actions. When the cop tells you 'you have to finish that before you enter the station' you finish it BEFORE you enter the station.
It's just been interesting, watching a story that started out locally as a 'Transit Police arrest and handcuff a beligerent pregnant woman' to a national story of 'OMG! EVIL OUT-OF-CONTROL POLICE BRUTALLY TACKLE PREGNANT WOMAN FOR TALKING ON CELL PHONE!'
Anyhoo, thus ends the less-than-lucid little rant.
Stupid rain. I needed a few things from the grocery, so I swung by after work. It was drizzly when I went in. When I came out and started across the lot, the sky opened up. Biiig ol downpour. I just discovered that some of it must've gotten into the cellphone. It works okay still, but the display is solid white. Hopefully it'll work properly again when it's had a chance to dry out inside.
