IPFS
Libertarians Dance the Doo Ron Ron While Rome Burns
Written by Dary Matera Subject: Arizona's Top NewsNothing embodies the all-talk, no-action political party better than that.
And nothing demonstrates this better than what is seen, and not seen, on this very list day after head-in-the-sand day.
There's story after story about Paul Ron, or Why Run Paul, or Do Ron Ron, or whatever the name of that totally insignificant Presidential candidate is. Not only does this guy have no chance, which I understand is expected, but he has no chance of making a difference on any level.
That, of course, is also expected among the enlightened non-deluded.
Trouble is, all this wasted space and worship of the Do Ron Ron false god is diverting attention from real government abuses and outrages that are happening right under our very noses.
Take Tank Johnson.
A few weeks ago, I detailed the outrageous story of the home grown, African American, NFL Super Bowl defensive end who got used and abused by the Gilbert police, and then had his multimillion dollar NFL contract spit canned.
Did anybody care? Nope. Everybody's too busy bleating about the non-existent chances of the Do Ron Ron.
The Tank Johnson saga was part of a column about Arizona cops roaming the streets late at night, pulling over women for alleged DUI's, then coercing them in having sex in return for their freedom.
Nobody gave a crap about that either.
How egregious was the abuse of Tank Johnson? He was caught in a notorious speed trap in the heart of Gilbert, on a small stretch of Gilbert Road where the speed limit suddenly drops to a snail like 25 mph. The Tank was going 40, five-miles slower than the normal rate for Arizona surface streets.
Didn't matter. The Gilbert cops had a prized catch, and they were going to abuse it to the max. Just for fun, they decided to hit him with a "suspicion of DUI" charge, drag him to the station, and pierce him with a needle to see what came up.
Hey, that's what redneck cops do to African Americans in expensive cars, so nobody gave a crap. Not even libertarians on this list.
And since the magic words "DUI" were used, even the likes of Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were silenced. They too cower in fear of the police state's most powerful search and seizure weapon.
Johnson's "suspicion of DUI" made national news, mostly due to the fact that the skilled athlete was already in trouble over another encounter with abusive, freedom sucking police. He was arrested in Chicago, and did time, for having unregistered guns in his home. Did you catch that last part? He had guns in his residence, his abode, his castle.
So do the rest of us I'll wager.
But nobody gave a crap about that either. Not even gun loving Libertarians. Not even gun loving Libertarians on this very list. It's far easier to carp about distant Presidential candidates with absolutely no chance of making a difference, than to raise a dangerous fuss about a terrible law enforcement abuse going on right under our noses.
Anybody know, or care, what Tank Johnson's blood test results were? Yes Virginia, he was driving perfectly legal. The poor sap's sucked out blood was under the .08 limit. That's a three-hundred pound athlete with tremendous hand-eye coordination falling below the already ridiculously too low .08. Meaning there was no impairment whatsoever.
They still gave him the speeding ticket, of course. And he still was cut by the Chicago Bears and lost his million-dollar job. And he was still slandered in newspapers and on television stations coast to coast as if he was already guilty and convicted.
But not to worry. Nobody gives a crap.
Sorry for the interruption. You can now go back to babbling endlessly about the Why Run Run.
Dary Matera
dary@darymatera.com
12 Comments in Response to Libertarians Dance the Doo Ron Ron While Rome Burns
How is it done in your country?
Similarly, manufacturers of handheld digital camcorders are also starting to incorporate low light and no light 'night vision' capability into their products. I've experimented with some of these but not under 'field' conditions as of yet.
While the detail that can be resolved under such scenarios will never be as good as under well-lit situations, I think the far more important effect is the realization from enforcement agents that members of the community are concerned about how they conduct business and are willing to hold bad actors accountable for their transgressions - in other words vigilance.
Vigilance will help to keep honest cops honest and dishonest cops fearful of what someone may have recorded. If we don't foster a vigilant mindset, then it doesn't really matter how many articles we publish, how good consumer electronics are, or how well-lit any given encounter may be. The police state will continue to march forward....
Should local Libertarian party structures be promoting activism that promotes individual liberty and government accountability - absolutely. But it needs to come from a wider base than just that and it should most certainly be coming from individuals like you (and I) that are already keyed into such issues.
Did you film any videos at night? Are you aware that there are severe laws on the books that police with use in a flash regarding shining any kind of light on a police officer in any situation? This would include the lighting needed for 99.9 percent of all video and still cameras to operate at night. There is no way a citizen could film or photograph a DUI sex trade off at night - when the majority happen - without using some kind of lighting. The lightening would then subject the person to immediate arrest.
You gotta be kidding? The Doo Ron Ron, although a stronger candidate than past Libertarians, will garner the same 3-4 percent of the vote, and will be completely ignored by the media. Nationally, libertarians are little more than a punch line. But starting at the bottom - say attacking a speed trap in Gilbert - they can make a difference. The trouble is, libertarians tend to have pie-in-the-sky dreams.
You gotta be kidding? The Doo Ron Ron, although a stronger candidate than past Libertarians, will garner the same 3-4 percent of the vote, and will be completely ignored by the media. Nationally, libertarians are little more than a punch line. But starting at the bottom - say attacking a speed trap in Gilbert - they can make a difference. The trouble is, libertarians tend to have pie-in-the-sky dreams.
You gotta be kidding? The Doo Ron Ron, although a stronger candidate than past Libertarians, will garner the same 3-4 percent of the vote, and will be completely ignored by the media. Nationally, libertarians are little more than a punch line. But starting at the bottom - say attacking a speed trap in Gilbert - they can make a difference. The trouble is, libertarians tend to have pie-in-the-sky dreams.
But again, my beef isn't with the individual cops. Going though the yeoman's effort to get one bad cop among thousands off the streets is meaningless. The problem is the government has legally given these power-crazed men and woman too much authority over motorists. You can film them all day and night and it doesn't matter because the "get out of the car because I now own you" behavior is perfectly legal. And who are you going to send such film too? Their brother the Sgt? Their best friend? These guys rally around each other 100 percent, guilty or innocent. It will just result in repercussions on the filmer.
Why then didn't you have a camera and/or audio recorder on your person so you could document the arrest of the woman you wrote about for alleged dui? Why didn't you write down the license plate of the patrol car? The name/badge number of the police officer? Why didn't you make the cop feel your presence and see you recording the encounter so he would feel less free to violate the woman's rights - assuming this is what happened? Why didn't you call the police station and do followup or file a complaint? Why didn't you attempt to get a statement from the woman after she was released from the squad car to corroborate your interpretation of events?
Without some sort of independently verifiable information - that you were in a position to gather - it's just your word/interpretation against who? We don't even know who the cop was.
Instead of getting outraged over these types of abuses and blaming others for not expressing the same level of disgust, why not channel your energy into doing something more constructive then just writing about it.
Start a local chapter of Copwatch or start your own civilian patrol. Document police encounters. Do followup work. Attend court cases and document proceedings, Publish your results. Whatever. Lead by example instead of waiting for someone else to pick up the slack.
I try not not to write about or recommend things I don't have first hand experience with.
You don't need a camera crew to document police abuse. I carry a small digital camera with video capabilities with me pretty much everywhere I go along with an audio recorder and cell phone with a short list of folks to call in case of trouble. The equipment is relatively unobtrusive and fits quite nicely in a small pouch, fanny pack, etc.
I've also used them on multiple occasions to document police encounters. I started carrying these items of self-preservation with me after a rather unpleasant encounter with cops at a DUI checkpoint several years ago (one of those DUI loopholes you reference and I'm acutely aware of). See:
http://checkpointusa.org/roadblock/roadblock.html
Since that time, I've used the recording equipment at a temporary Border Patrol checkpoint I was stopped at while trying to get home from a remote worksite. This time, the outcome was just a little less unpleasant - mainly because the agents knew I was recording them (and I can put up an incident encounter webpage complete with photos, video, documentation and commentary in about four hours flat) . See:
http://checkpointusa.org/DHS/DHSroadblock.htm
I've also used the camera on multiple occassions around Tucson when I'm in a position and have the time to pay attention to police encounters taking place around me.
I've found more often than not that cops actually behave better when they know someone is recording their actions. I've witnessed cops walk away from individuals they were just about ready to pounce on before I started fiddling with my camera. Copwatch chapters around the country have similar experiences although I'll grant you this isn't a universal experience.
The bottom line is that a common sense approach to vigilance against police abuse in local communities can be quite effective - especially with a small network of like minded people who can assist or respond to any given situation.
For instance, there's no need to demand a license number or name from a cop when you can take a photograph of a license plate or name tag (with a zoom lens if need be to get the information). Standing back at a distance where there's no chance a cop could legitimately claim you were interfering but making it obvious you're paying attention can go a long way towards reminding cops of their manners.
Please don't misunderstand me. I appreciate the articles you normally post. This one just hit me wrong.
Most people who post to Freedom's Phoenix are already overwhelmed with personal projects of one form or another designed to bring attention to the abuses taking place around us. There's only so much outrage any given person can muster however...and there's a lot to be outraged about.
Terry
Dary,
The question is, what are YOU doing about it?
This NFL star has some options, although, the courts are broken, as well. Everyone fighting these freedom issues sure have their hands full on so many fronts. And you are mixing picking on Ron Paul with local issues. Don't see your point. So everyone jumps to the rescue of an NFL player in Gilbert and let the rest of the country go to globalism?
I think to fix the problem in Gilbert, it would be a really great start to get out and back Ron Paul with every breath you have and look at the bigger picture. And I think you are wrong, everyone does give a crap, it's just how much can we all handle at once.
Last point: Ron Paul has an excellent chance with the huge grassroots following that he has built up for so many years. When WE THE PEOPLE get to the critical mass point, it matters. You are uninformed about his chances to WIN!!!!!!
Also, my outrage is against the system that has given the police this power over the public, not the individual cops who naturally succumb to it. My outrage is even stronger against a public that tolerates this abusive power, and keeps swallowing the government line that it's for the overall good of society to give these low level law enforcement officers the power to immediately own anybody they choose to pull over. Search and seizure used to be a line in the sand the public refused to allow, but that protection has now totally vanished via the DUI loophole. And where are the libertarians?
Some good questions - but totally implausible and shows a deep lack of insight into the street. First off, I wasn't out with a video crew looking for such abuses. It just randomly happened in front of me while walking to a Wal-Mart. Secondly, there was no clear indication as to what was happening until the woman was dumped in a back alley after it was over and the officer sped off. Third, anyone who tries to film a DUI arrest in process, or demand names, license plates, and badge numbers would be immediately arrested for interfering with a government process. I've written stories about people who tried to do things a lot less involved than what you suggest, and were promptly arrested. You've got to be kidding about this? The all-powerful cops don't even allows spouses or family around during the process, much less a meddling stranger.
Your suggestions are, as I pointed out, so typically libertarian. You make the process so long, time consuming, and difficult, nobody would take it on.
We each have our functions in society, and mine is to be the investigator and town crier, screaming about injustices I see and exposing them. Same as a journalist, which I was. Journalists don't do any of the things you suggest. Such personal activism is frowned upon, and would get the journalist fired. Journalists are there to shed light on abuses, and let the proper channels of society react to it.
Thanks for your response.