The Glade 4.0

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/0 ... t-advised/

Flipping the bird, or sticking out the middle finger, is perhaps the oldest insulting gesture on earth. The move dates back to ancient Greece and was adopted by the Romans as digitus impudicus — the impudent finger.

A zillion middle fingers later, an Oregon man is suing suburban Portland cops (.pdf) over his use of the gesture, claiming civil rights violations. Twice he flipped them off for no apparent reason while driving and was pulled over each time — resulting in what he said was a “bogus” traffic citation that was later dismissed, and a tongue lashing he still remembers.

“The guy flew into a road rage,” Robert Ekas, a retired Silicon Valley systems analyst, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Lawrence Wolf, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, said there was no law against flipping off cops. And in most instances when it leads to an arrest or conviction, the charges are dismissed. But the gesture invites police confrontation, he said.

“It’s certainly not the smartest thing one can do,” Wolf said.

American University legal scholar Ira Robbins has written a definitive paper on flipping the bird: “Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law.” (.pdf)

“The pursuit of criminal sanctions for use of the middle finger infringes on First Amendment rights, violates fundamental principles of criminal justice, wastes valuable judicial resources, and defies good sense,” Robbins wrote.

In November, a Pittsburgh man was awarded $50,000 after he was wrongly cited for disorderly conduct after flipping off an officer.

Ekas, in both instances, flipped off officers while they were driving a Clackamas County patrol car. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” said the 46-year-old, who is seeking damages and police reform amid allegations he was unlawfully stopped. “The long and the short of it, I was pulled over because I gave them the finger.”

A federal judge will entertain Clackamas County’s motion on March 15 to have the civil rights lawsuit tossed. The county denies the allegations. (.pdf)

Ekas said his actions, which occurred with his teen-aged son in the car both times, were a form of protest against the agency he claims is abusing its citizenry. “That’s why they get the finger,” he said, noting he wants a jury trial.

Wolf, meanwhile, suggested if Ekas’ case makes it to trial, the officers are likely to testify that they were concerned “about his sanity.”

The jury, he said, is likely to say, “‘Give me a break’ and then go home.”

Actually it is a fantastic idea if you get the same $50k settlement the Pittsburgh guy got.

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Aye, if ever there was a case where the "award" from a trial should be non-monetary, this is it. Find for the plaintiff, reprimand the cops, and send everyone home. Otherwise, this is a pretty easy way for plaintiffs to make some cash.

Don't they have on the spot vehicle inspections in this guys state? Or nuisance operation?

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Even if they did, you can't single someone out for it because they're an *******.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

If I was the plaintiff in this case and the judge found in my favor I think I'd flip him/her off just in principle.

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Or the defendant cop on your way out of the courtroom.

Heh, I have a really cool video of two guys in a car where one convinces another guy to go flip a cop off. He gets out of the car and goes and does it, like right in the cop's face, and the cop pulls out his stick and beats the crap out of him.

I'll see if I can post it when I get home.

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The Dude abides.

In a courtroom, that would be contempt of court.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Even if they just ruled it is freedom of speech?

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Yes.

On the public street, it's freedom of speech. In a courtroom it's not. Courtrooms are where we conduct trials, which citizens have a right to. You can't have people making a mockery of, or disrupting, the process that guarantees people a fair trial. Free speech does not override those rights.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I don't get it. Its like those people that poke the grizzly bear in the eye with a stick while its sleeping, and then get pissed off that it woke up and batted their head clean off like A-Rod on a meatball.

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Holy shitsnacks!

ALOL

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Hokanu
Duty is a magnificent blessing because it is the sign of trust from the universe.
END OF LINE.

Cops aren't grizzly bears. They are people who are paid by taxes to defend our rights. You should not be afraid of them, or wary around them.

And, just like you would be if you flipped off a random citizen, you should not be rude and harass them. But if they act like dicks, treat them like it.

The difference is that it's unproductive to sue grizzly bears.

Most likely this guy just doesn't like cops and was looking for an excuse to sue them. He probably decided to create his own when he couldn't actually find a tangible reaon to otherwise, and went around flipping off cops until he found one dumb enough to give him an unjustifiable ticket. There's plenty of financial incentive to do stuff like this, and the media is always going to be on your side. Notice they never actually ask him for any specifics of why he flips off the cops in the first place.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

"digitus impudicus" I like that.





Language NSFW:
[youtube]yioHCL7uKYs[/youtube]


Wow thats messed up. How come we didn't see that one on the news??

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

While this is true, the fact that you have unspecified issues with the cops doesn't make it socially acceptable to go around antagonizing them either, especially ones you've never met before. It makes you a dick, not them.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Yeah, that is true.


I think sometimes we forget to see past the uniform...cops are people too.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Mainly because what the guy did was threatening. When someone comes right up and shoves their hands in your face like that for no apparent reason, that would make you think you were going to be assaulted. The cop didn't know what this guy was going to do next, and from the cop's persepctive, now he's facing 2 guys coming at him because his buddy is coming out of the car, and either might have a weapon.

The reason he whacks the guy again as he's leaving is because now he's trying to subdue the guy to arrest him, and he's also about to deal with the guy with the camera, who he knows nothing about.

The fact that a cop is in a uniform doesn't mean you can go up and play the "I'm not touching you" game, or do the thing school kids do where they pull a punch at the last second and hope the other kids hits them back so they can go tattle. That works in school because schools are only interested in keeping things tranquil. On the street, if someone comes up and shoves their hands right up in your face, that's a threat and might even be assault depending on how the law is written. You're perfectly within your rights to defend yourself and so is the cop.

Of course, the entire thing might be faked too.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

But you should respect them. Just like you should respect most other people.

I have no sympathy for people that go around acting like dicks because they *can*.

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Holy shitsnacks!

IMHO flipping someone off should be viewed by the law as an invitation to individual combat.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Speaking of that,
[youtube]kantS-kzIWU[/youtube]

People being dicks just to be dicks.

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Holy shitsnacks!

You're just saying that cuz your one of them.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Meh, that's a stretch, DE. Seems pretty clearly like the cop was pissed off, not reacting to an apparent threat. It does look kind of fake though.

You need to respect mah Müsthority!

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Holy shitsnacks!