re: #376 doubter4444

I’m sort of surprised at the postition most posters here are taking.
Like it or not, Gates acting like an Asshat is not illegal. And while I think he was incredibly stupid, childish and obnoxious, it still is not right to arrest the guy because of it.
The real point (made above) is this:
You can act like a ultra dick to a cop. you will get (most likely) arrested for it.
But that does not make the arrest legal, or right.

Look, I’m as lily-white as it gets, and I’ve been hassled by prick cops before, to the point of (almost) losing my temper. I did not for the very reason we are discussing, I did the math and did not want to spend the time and effort to rebuke the guy for the personal satisfaction of speaking my mind.
I’ve also been dealt with fairly and professionally too, much more often, and frankly, rather than excuse the actions of the few dicks I’ve run across, it makes my more angry to encounter them, as they do so much damage to the image that they uphold.
And that’s a white-bread, middle class, “normal looking” guy.

So I’m with the Reason crowd on this, Contempt of Cop should not be illegal. They (Gates and Crowley) were both wrong.
Gates was a dick and his constitutional rights were not infringed; Crowley over-reacted and came pretty damn close to doing so.

I understand the pressure cops are under, and know a few personally (I live in the best small town in the middle of LA, so it’s easy to get to know the local cops), and my Father in-law was a prosecutor for Bergen county till he retired. So, I’m not speaking out my ass.
And yet even here, I’ve met some real pricks that are all about their authority.

Me personally, I always lean to the side of personal rights (and responsibilities) and kinda am a little bit taken aback that so many think it’s OK to be arrested for sassing a cop, rudely or not.

Just saying.

Doubter: But don’t you know…9/11 changed everything.
/