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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (1519)	10/7/2000 4:58:26 PM
From: canuck-l-head	Respond to of 10042

X The Unknown: My most basic point in the Rodney King incident was that the colour of his skin aggravated the situation, and that rights be damned, Big Brother wasn't there to help him. Liberman tried to show his compassion (ability to place oneself in another man's shoes) by saying if he were a Black American acosted for no reason than the colour of his skin, he would be so mad he would want to hit the wall. As you pointed out, Rodney King GOT MAD. Wrong thing to do. Felon or not, the police didn't have to beat the shit out of him. All they had to do was restrain him. Big Brother didn't help Rodney King that night any more than he helped himself. And Liberman would get the crap kicked out of him by a cop just like Rodney King did. At the risk of sounding like I have been everywhere and done everything, I was a Security Guard in Edmonton years and years ago. The mall where I worked had a bar, and folks used to come out of the bar into the mall late at night, drunk out of their gord. People who are drunk usually do stupid things, and one night, a fellow (drunk) stumbled out of the bar and started harassing shoppers. My job was to ensure the tranquility of the mall and the safety of the shoppers as well as everyone's right to be left alone. Being that the fellow was a lot bigger than I, I called the cops to have him escorted out of the mall. That's it. I just wanted him out. I waited for the cops to show up, keeping a respectful distance from the drunk, but visibly there to show folks if he took a swing at anybody, I would be there to step in. I knew that I might get a couple of punches in, but I figured if push came to shove, I would lose, so I kept my distance. He was Caucasian. The color of his skin doesn't matter. The situation shows that cops have thin skins and over-react, just as they did in the Rodney King incident. Anyone who thinks that cops represent a benign Big Brother hasn't been out after 7 pm, or has ignored the world around them. Three cops arrived to escort the drunk out of the mall. I walked behind the cops as they sort-of dragged him past Christmas shoppers (he was that drunk). He didn't take a swing at the cops, he didn't spit in their faces. All he did was verbally protest, resisting to the best of his ability, and call them names. The drunk stumbled over his own feet, and the cops used that as an excuse to let him fall to the concrete. With women and kids walking past, one cop proceeded to pull out his flashlight and pound the guy several times in the face. Not in the knees to disable him, not up the side of the head to give him a reality check, but square in the face. The blood spewed. I didn't say a word, but hoped that he would stop before he killed the guy. After about six good thumps, the cops picked the guy up by the underarms and dragged him out. I can relate a similar incident that occurred while I was a volunteer pig in about 1985, but I think I have made my point. The one getting the pulp beaten out of them doesn't deserve to be permanently disabled unless they are threatening the life of a cop or a bystander. In both incidents, the punishment far exceeded the crime. It's like the UN atrocities in foreign countries. No-one talks about them if they are witness or participant, but I assure you, not everyone there likes what transpired. I agree that the story of the gent who got dragged to death behind the pick-up was a travesty, and still makes me nauseous. Relativism aside, one has to keep one's wits, whatever the colour of your skin. Shit happens, and it's easy to comment on it when really bad shit has never happened to us. Liberman has never had anyone beat the pulp out of him for no good reason, and as a result, he has a distorted picture of REALITY. Respectfully, canuck-l-head