Thread: Freedom of speec--, Oops.

It looks like he might have been just starting his entire question series when he started talking in the version of the video Neruo posted. He thanked Kerry for being there, which makes it look like it was his first question. I thought he had been there for a while at that point, but apparently I might have been wrong about that. The format was apparently supposed to be that you ask a question and let Kerry answer it. That guy was obviously there to give a speech, and that's what he did. I also think the police should have told him to chill out and let Kerry speak before they put their hands on him once the microphone was turned off. It was not their first request, and the turning off of the microphone was a request itself, but it was their first request once the microphone was turned off. Still, he was asking for trouble by giving a long speech instead of playing by the rules of the forum, and his reaction to the police was a hysterical reaction that was way out of line. He should have stayed peaceful and said he was sitting down, and I really think they would have left him alone. He could have filed a complaint about the touching later if it was a big problem for him. No matter how confused the police seem, you don't refuse their demands right in front of their faces and have a temper tantrum on them and resist arrest. You can't do that. There is no room in the law to allow it.

I have had run ins with the law myself, and I was taken to that station twice when I was a teenager. I had a very serious issue with the cops the first time I was taken in. As a matter of fact, I still have an issue with it. The cops can do things that are horribly unjust. But short of demanding oral sex or something like that, you can't just start a war with them when you perceive them as unreasonable. The thing to do is remain still and speak in a peaceful voice and LATER file a complaint against them or sue them or whatever you think makes sense. But there is no room to flip the Hell out on them to their faces and resist arrest. There is no reasonable way to legalize that. Even if the cops are wrong, they don't necessarily realize that, and they are going to do what they have to do to calm you down and get you to be still and go with them out of the assembly or to the station or whatever. That has to be dealt with accordingly, but there are courts for dealing with where they went wrong in that chaotic process.