Gay man arrested for hating the police

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

Steven's absolutely correct. I don't agree with shouting "I hate cops!" and I don't personally blame the police officer for arresting him. However, this idiot CAN legally say that.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

Steven's absolutely correct. I don't agree with shouting "I hate cops!" and I don't personally blame the police officer for arresting him. However, this idiot CAN legally say that.

You have the right to free speech, just not the right to be listened to.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

Steven's absolutely correct. I don't agree with shouting "I hate cops!" and I don't personally blame the police officer for arresting him. However, this idiot CAN legally say that.

You have the right to free speech, just not the right to be listened to.

Yup. So the arresting officer could've ignored him. Much easier to say than to do and on a personal level, I agree with the officer, but that doesn't do a whole lot for the legalities of the situation.

[Peikko 1,575]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

The person may have had a personal experience that led to this, or not. Who knows? The point is, that merely shouting 'I hate cops' unless it is accompanied by some action that is threatening is not enough to illicit a reaction from the police. They are trained (or should be) to expect that people say and even do all kinds of bizarre and stupid things, but being stupid is not in and of itself against the law. I do not agree at all that one should respect 'the uniform' regardless of how those in the uniform behave. Yes, the police service does demand a lot from those who join it, but that's something people knowingly accept when they join the service - being bad mouthed should be something the police anticipate as part and parcel of doing the job - I am sure most police have experienced this - some more than others depending on their location - being arrested is simply not acceptable on these grounds alone and nor is using offensive terminology to describe someone you arrest - at least in my opinion.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

How so? Its essentially the same thing, isn't it?

[pedroh 21]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

Steven's absolutely correct. I don't agree with shouting "I hate cops!" and I don't personally blame the police officer for arresting him. However, this idiot CAN legally say that.

You have the right to free speech, just not the right to be listened to.

Yup. So the arresting officer could've ignored him. Much easier to say than to do and on a personal level, I agree with the officer, but that doesn't do a whole lot for the legalities of the situation.

well according to you cops shouldn't risk themselves, better taze a poor deaf guy than risking 'getting attacked' with an umbrella

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

How so? Its essentially the same thing, isn't it?

I'll let the law enforcement types defend themselves, but for the military, no matter what other motives you may have, you are still putting your life on the line for your country, and that speaks of a certain patriotism, that should not be diminshed.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

Steven's absolutely correct. I don't agree with shouting "I hate cops!" and I don't personally blame the police officer for arresting him. However, this idiot CAN legally say that.

You have the right to free speech, just not the right to be listened to.

Yup. So the arresting officer could've ignored him. Much easier to say than to do and on a personal level, I agree with the officer, but that doesn't do a whole lot for the legalities of the situation.

well according to you cops shouldn't risk themselves, better taze a poor deaf guy than risking 'getting attacked' with an umbrella

When did I ever say "cops shouldn't risk themselves?" I've certainly said that cops have a very dangerous job and are usually underpaid and often disliked. However, no where did I suggest that being a police officer means "no risk involved" or "shoot first and ask questions later."

If someone goes into a potentially dangerous field -- police, firefighting, military -- then they have to expect risk. Most do and consider it part of the job. Unnecessary risk shouldn't be taken (like forgoing the use of a kevlar vest), but there will still be unavoidable risk just the same.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

How so? Its essentially the same thing, isn't it?

I'll let the law enforcement types defend themselves, but for the military, no matter what other motives you may have, you are still putting your life on the line for your country, and that speaks of a certain patriotism, that should not be diminshed.

A person could join the police for similarly patriotic reasons - I'm not sure I understand the big distinction you're trying to make...

We can certainly adopt a rose-tinted mythologised view of these institutions, but that isn't really the reality here is it?

[Peikko 1,575]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

How so? Its essentially the same thing, isn't it?

I'll let the law enforcement types defend themselves, but for the military, no matter what other motives you may have, you are still putting your life on the line for your country, and that speaks of a certain patriotism, that should not be diminshed.

You can't force people, in a free society, to accept these notions of patriotism and duty. Having said that, most people will give notional respect to someone in a uniform until and unless the person wearing the uniform behaves in a manner that diminishes respect. If that happens, then the person in the uniform no longer deserves it no matter what their motivation for joining was.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Unfortunately I think the same is true in regards to the military also.

I take personal exception to that statement.

How so? Its essentially the same thing, isn't it?

I'll let the law enforcement types defend themselves, but for the military, no matter what other motives you may have, you are still putting your life on the line for your country, and that speaks of a certain patriotism, that should not be diminshed.

You can't force people, in a free society, to accept these notions of patriotism and duty. Having said that, most people will give notional respect to someone in a uniform until and unless the person wearing the uniform behaves in a manner that diminishes respect. If that happens, then the person in the uniform no longer deserves it no matter what their motivation for joining was.

In other words... "chicks dig the uniform unless the guy's a complete a$$hole."

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I firmly believe, as I've said before that after WW2 there hasn't been one major war that the US has taken part in that could be considered "necessary".

As a result I don't believe that the Vietnams and Iraqs lend themselves to this mythologised view of the military as an "honorable" institution that is worthy of respect.

I'm certainly not prejudiced against the people who join the military (except of course, the ones that appear in the courts from time to time to answer for some atrocity), but if you attribute this symbolic ####### to the uniform its very hard to rationalise that against dubious conflicts like Vietnam or Iran. Essentially it turns even the most well meaning and respect worthy people into tools of a corrupt state.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Private Pike

[Chica Yeyé 41]

When did I ever say "cops shouldn't risk themselves?" I've certainly said that cops have a very dangerous job and are usually underpaid and often disliked. However, no where did I suggest that being a police officer means "no risk involved" or "shoot first and ask questions later."

If someone goes into a potentially dangerous field -- police, firefighting, military -- then they have to expect risk. Most do and consider it part of the job. Unnecessary risk shouldn't be taken (like forgoing the use of a kevlar vest), but there will still be unavoidable risk just the same.

My thoughts exactly. If you want a safe job, do not become a law enforcement/military person. If you do get killed in the line of duty it will be sad as heck for your family members, but you knew what you were signing up for. Cold? Absolutely.

And no, automatic respect is just not my thing. I can respect a teacher or a nurse much more in an a priori evaluation. But that's just me.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Cops don't 'deserve' respect. Some of the shittiest human beings I know have gravitated to careers in law enforcement.

Agreed - respect has to be earned.

Exactly. Just putting on a uniform doesn't give you the automatic right to be respected. How you conduct yourself day in and day out while conducting police business will do that - or not depending on how good a cop you are.

Respect the fact that there out there putting there life on the line, thats what im getting at. It was uncalled for, for him to start singing "I hate cops" What did the cop do to lose this guys respect???

It is disrespectful...no doubt. But if you support the 1st Amendment, you accept that some free speech is disrespectful and ugly. Unless a cop is threatened verbally, they have no right to arrest someone for simply saying something disrespectful.

He didn't arrest the guy for disrespecting him, he charged him with disorderly conduct. Well within the law, a vague law yes but still within the law.