Monday, June 14, 2010
Let's Play Masters and Servants...
Can somebody explain to me why this jumped-up zoning board clerk is not up on assault charges?
For that matter, is there not a bucket of tar nor a single feather pillow or fence rail to be found in all of the District of Columbia?
I expect more decorum from my local dogcatcher.
Listen, Congressman Antoinette, I think you have forgotten for whom you work.
Good thing the media is all over this scandal!
(H/T to pdb.)
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39 comments:
We need not bother to imagine the prospects of our future employment if we ever showed up to OUR places of work that blotto.
gvi
Some animals are more equal than others.
The kid needs to raise a stink before the PTB in DC will allow one of their own to be charged simply based on video.
I suppose that the response to the CONgressman's question is:
"YOUR EMPLOYER!"
If that blunderbuss had touched my child in that manner, he would be in traction today!
And, that's BEFORE I got there.
What an "Equus africanus asinus!"
He WON'T be getting my vote. EVER. Even if he moves out here or I out there.
Ulises from CA
Assuming the video camera was rolling the entire time...
If what little bit of Judo I know wasn't enough to break his hold on me and get away I would have deployed one or more of my Spyderco knives and began the disassembly process until such time that I was released.
In any case he would have needed to have his suit replaced if not a few body parts.
My son was just showing me that shit a bit ago...I said that silly f'ers "career" is over. And of course if that were a grown man he grabbed and it had been in America, his life would be over too.
AT
If he put his hands on me in that manner, well, he wouldn't have need for a second cuff link.
My first thought was that I'd scream bloody murder, then sue.
And then I realized...
Aren't Congressweasels immune from prosecution while Congress is in session?
In that case, I'd have kicked his gonads well into his adam's apple.
"For that matter, is there not a bucket of tar nor a single feather pillow or fence rail to be found in all of the District of Columbia?"
Like Guns, anything that can threaten a politician is banned in DC.
This is a test. I'm curious to see how the MSM covers or avoids this one.
His district leans SLIGHTLY GOP, so he might have been gone after election day whether he got caught doing this or not.
The sad things are that:
1. There are PLENTY of democrat-leaning districts where this sort of behavior would hardly affect his poll numbers, and might even give him a bump;
2. MiniTru will do their best to bury this even while trying to turn it against the GOP: "Who were these teabaggers who stalked the Congressman??? Were they REPUBLICAN PLANTS??? Were they harassing the poor man until he snapped just like ANYBODY would???"
We are the Tarheel State. Right now, I'm thinking that there ought to be very heavy emphasis on the "tar".
People yell at me when I suggest reviving the tar and feather tradition. Hey, at least it isn't permanent. It's not like I am looking to import defenestration.
AT:
Agreed.
>...I would have deployed one or more of my Spyderco knives and began the disassembly process...
Joe, knives and pepper spray are illegal in DC and would promptly land you in jail. (so far, "arms" seem to mean things that go bang)
>...Aren't Congressweasels immune from prosecution while Congress is in session?...
Immune from arrest, except for Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace. Does this fall under a felony? Isn't everything a felony? I think this clause exists to keep the executive branch from arresting congressthings before they have a chance to vote against the Presidential wishes.
Oh yea, he was last elected in Nov 2008, so he should have over 4 years to let this water go under the bridge. It should make some dandy campaign ads in a few years though.
"Good thing the media is all over this scandal!"
HA!HA!HA! Good one, Tam! "Media all over this scandal," What a hoot!
I forget, would this be simple assault or is it battery?
He's a congressman, not a senator. Congressmen are up for reelection every two years.
Along the vein of Joe's comment, if he did that to me I'd literally have him on his knees and probably crying(at the very least gasping in pain). Natural response to the wrist lock he'd be in, kote mawashi hurts.
As for why no case, the kids need to file charges first.
I'm a big guy. I would absolutely let this guy pound the shit out of me- I've had my ass kicked before, and I can hack just fine. Then, bleeding and on the ground and in full view of the video camera, I'd smile. And then he would spend the rest of his life flipping burgers and living in an SRO. I hope this kid sues him back to the cretaceous era.
Not only is he an asshole, he seems to be snockered, also. If you happen to be a mean drunk, you shouldn't walk around in the middle of the day after tossing back too many.
I'm completely fascinated that one bloggish-thingy http://politicallyillustrated.com/index.php?/page/capitol/1445/ claims the student assaulted the congressman, and Bob was justifiably defending himself.
Funny, I thought 'no comment' and walking away would have been a better defense.
At any rate, there needs to be a more aggressive cry from the public on this one. The sad part is for me, I would have just reacted instead of letting him do his assault thing, thereby landing my happy tail in jail quite quickly.
"Listen, Congressman Antoinette..."
MADE OF WIN.
Jeezis...that's perfect!
I'm so stealing that.
Atom Smasher: Generally, putting someone in fear for their safety is assault, and physical contact makes it assault and battery.
Standard Mischief: "Immune from arrest, except for Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace. Does this fall under a felony?"
I don't think it rises to the level of a felony - there's no injury - but I would certainly hope it's considered a Breach of the Peace.
I would've said,"I'm only going to ask once. Please release my hand and keep your hands off me." Then, if he hadn't released me by the time I had taken one full breath in, I would've proceeded to kick his nuts so hard he'd have had to unbutton his shirt collar to take a wee wee.
Don't ask what I'd have done had he grabbed my neck like he did that young student's?
And I too wonder where the American patriots in NC are?
Tar, feather, quarter and feed to the hogs.
He's apologized now and that's supposed to make everything alright. Except if he meant it he'd have apologized to the students before the video hit the fan. Scary thing is as far as the traditional media is concerned that probably is the end of it.
When the hired help gets belligerent, it's time to remind them of their proper place.
I REALLY DON'T LIKE BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE HERE, BUT...
I have watched the raw videos of both angles multiple times.
To be fair, I must put myself in the congressman's shoes.
I believe that If someone I don't know or recognize is suddenly within arms reach of me is putting a camera or anything in my face I am going to react in a negative manner.
I do not for one second believe that anyone who spends any time thinking about self-defense (armed or otherwise) would react less forcefully.
The fact that this man was a congressman on the street as any other citizen should not make a difference.
Sarah - In order for they to qualify as hired help they need to... help. Anything.
Jim
Chuck:
I can see what you're saying - in fact, I've made that point myself - right up until he grabs the kid by the back of the neck. Nothing in the video I've seen justifies that level of escalation. It passes far beyond "restraining a potential hostile until the situation is assessed" and becomes a strong signal of harmful intent. Instead of the "hug" he ended up with (and WTF is up with that, anyway?) it could easily have been the start of an attack.
Also, as a Congressman, having people shoving cameras in his face is part of the job. He should be used to it, and able to react better than he did.
Hey, Chuck: you're not a congressman, and that's the whole difference. That person is a public utility -- or, at least, that's the premise -- and that means that if people are hooting and jeering his daughters for round-heel slatterns right in his face when he walks down the street, he'll shut up and take it or find another line of subsistence.
Yup. He grabbed first. What's one of the things we all got drilled into our heads by our CCW instructors? "YOU MUST BE A RELUCTANT PARTICIPANT".
The kids may have constituted a nuisance (although I don't think a judge would agree - elected officials have to expect public scrutiny even to the extent of being filmed), but the soon-to-be-ex-Congresscritter initiated an assault AND battery. (I looked it up.)
He's done. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dems ask him to not run in the fall.
-Smasher
I'm not going to put myself in a position where some stranger reasonably thinks that me and my accomplice are about to attack him, either.
Hate to say it, but Chuck... makes a good point.
Yes he's a fairly elderly Congressman, walking the street in DC alone. That makes him a public target as well as a public utility.
He's still a citizen. He still doesn't have to let strangers get in a position to hurt him.
There are places and times for people to ask him questions.
The questioner and his accomplice accosted him on the street and wouldn't respond to a legitimate, reasonable question, even after it was repeated.
When your gang ambushes people you don't know without explaining yourself, they might react as though they are being ambushed by strangers and assume a different reason than the one hidden in your mind.
"Hello, Congressman, I'm John Smith. I'm doing a school project. Could I ask you some questions?"
It's what we expect culturally. If you are lost, you don't just get in someone's face and demand to know where Elm Street is.
I can't get angry at him for this.
And a civil Jury might give college boy a dollar for his damages, if he's lucky.
Sorry, I can't envision under any circumstances in which the Congresscritter's actions are even remotely justifiable. Yes, he's an older gentleman in DC, but we have not thus far allowed senior citizens to wail on everybody within arm's reach just because they MIGHT be a threat. The student appears to have been well dressed and carrying a microphone- even allowing for initial confusion, the student did NOT initiate physical contact and did NOT surprise the guy by coming out of nowhere. Even assuming the student's attitude was standoffish from the get-go, I still can't find any way to justify the response.
I've seen people brought up on assault charges for less, and with no video.
staghounds,
Yes, that covers a "no comment" and maybe even a brusque slapping away of a lens in my personal space.
The subsequent manhandling is still assault and possibly battery in this potential juror's eyes, and I couldn't care less to which party the Representative belongs.
(Truth: When I first viewed the video, due to a misreading of a lead-in comment, I thought he was a Southern GOPer...)
"...reasonably thinks that me and my accomplice are about to attack him..."
And do what? Force some Mormon literature on him?
If you get mugged on the streets of DC, the gang probably won't be fresh-faced twerps in white shirts and ties.
Not that you don't get robbed by the "suits" there, but that happens behind closed doors in that big domed building, and you don't even have to be there to be forced to "give it up".
AT
Sorry, mountain out of a mole hill.
"Hoo ah ooh...hoo AHH eh-yooh?"
The guy can barely speak, and he's also inappropriately grope-y. Was he inebriated at the time? If he did support the Obama agenda, you can't blame him for taking a liquid lunch.
Congressman Bob Etheridge had just finished attending a fundraiser for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Since then he has apologized. If it was me he had assaulted, I would accept that apology, saying, "I understand, Congressman Etheridge, if I was locked into a job where I had to attend fundraisers for Nancy Pelosi, I'd be pretty irritable, too.
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