Irishquad
22nd September 2013, 01:02
I would like to comment on the recent phenomenon of people beginning to film police officers during traffic stops and other personal encounters. I think this is important, because even though most of these encounters are recorded on the dash cams in police cars, citizens filming these encounters add a level of accountability to ensure that Law Enforcement are acting lawfully and not violating our Constitutional rights.
Where I take issue, is when I see situations like the one that happened in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2-uZAimH8
In the video, it appears to me (and I admit my perception could be wrong) as if this guy was standing outside of a Sheriff's Department, with a camera, looking to provoke an incident. He wasn't just going about his business innocently and then randomly & unjustly questioned and subsequently detained by the Sheriffs. He provoked an incident.
But one could say, "it's not illegal to stand in a public place with a camera so the Sheriff Deputy had no probable cause to question him about his activities or his identification." I agree that in most cases, a citizen has the right to live without the government reaching into our private lives, including keeping our IDs private even when asked for it by police (except when driving). I admit I could be wrong but, it appeared to me that this guy crossed the line by setting up this situation for the purpose of making his video. He wasn't just standing outside "somewhere," he was standing outside of a Sheriff's Department with his camera, for all appearances like he was filming. The Sheriff had a perfectly reasonable cause for suspicion. He could have been recording shift change habits or something which could have jeopardized security. In particular situations, police officers have a responsibility to investigate suspicious behavior, and a reasonable expectation for citizens to comply with requests for identification. If, of instance, some guy had been standing outside an elementary school with a camera and a child was later abducted, the public would be justifiably outraged to find the police had questioned him but couldn't say who he was, because the guy claimed he didn't have to show ID to the police. I believe that society grants Police/Sheriff departments with a recognizable authority to both defend the innocent and investigate criminal activity, including evaluating suspicious behavior, which they apparently felt this guy was exhibiting.
Some have said to me, "The problem is that every time we make exceptions, that violate our constitutional right to privacy, those exceptions become the norm which then comes to be the expected response. So it becomes necessary to "flex our rights" in order to reassert them, "use em' or lose em'." Nothing wrong with respecting authority when that authority understands that it is by CONSENT that authority is granted. We are Free individuals and have rights to live our lives without fear/threat of force, so long as we do not violate the rights of others."
I agree with everything which was said there, except that I believe HOW we assert our rights will make all the difference. I think we will be much more effective by asserting our Constitutional rights in a respectful way. The way that we build and reinforce a civil society, is first and foremost by acting civilly. One of the ways that I think the guy in the video was absolutely wrong in his approach, was that he immediately began acting like a jerk. If we want law enforcement to begin respecting us, and respecting our rights, we need to respect them by treating them with equal dignity. If we act like jerks to the police, we shouldn't be surprised if some of them lose patience and begin treating us like jerks.
In the U.S. we have a big enough problem with law enforcement becoming militarized and viewing citizens as insurgents, we don't need people encouraging guys like the one in the video to post up outside Police/Sheriff's stations acting suspiciously to provoke cops for YouTube drama junkies. We need real efforts to educate the police to honor the Constitution, not this kind of crap.. As proof that law enforcement can be won over, we only have to look at the rapid growth of organizations like the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. They are growing very fast because more and more law enforcement officers are becoming educated and taking a stand against the corrupt and communist infected government, promising to uphold/defend the Constitution and protect the constitutional rights of citizens.
As a side note, one of the ways by which we will unify the country against the Communist influenced enemy working to demolish our Constitutional Republic will be by engaging in rational, civil dialogue, winning hearts and minds one person at a time. Unfortunately, especially on YouTube, most people who honestly want to defend the Constitution inadvertently adopt Saul Alinsky style tactics to insult, belittle and marginalize a perceived opponent in order to assert a particular point of view, which shuts down all rational discussion and impedes real progress. We have to abandon all communist influenced tactics and get back to civil rational dialogue like the form our Founding Fathers utilized. The United States, consists of many people with differing opinions on a wide range of subjects concerning how the country should run to best meet the needs of the citizens. Until we find a way to respect each other, especially when we don't agree, we will never be able to truly understand those different views or why/how those different views could be viewed as correct, precisely so that our different views can be honestly way weighed and debated in order find the best path forward for this country. Long live the Republic!
What do you think?
Where I take issue, is when I see situations like the one that happened in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2-uZAimH8
In the video, it appears to me (and I admit my perception could be wrong) as if this guy was standing outside of a Sheriff's Department, with a camera, looking to provoke an incident. He wasn't just going about his business innocently and then randomly & unjustly questioned and subsequently detained by the Sheriffs. He provoked an incident.
But one could say, "it's not illegal to stand in a public place with a camera so the Sheriff Deputy had no probable cause to question him about his activities or his identification." I agree that in most cases, a citizen has the right to live without the government reaching into our private lives, including keeping our IDs private even when asked for it by police (except when driving). I admit I could be wrong but, it appeared to me that this guy crossed the line by setting up this situation for the purpose of making his video. He wasn't just standing outside "somewhere," he was standing outside of a Sheriff's Department with his camera, for all appearances like he was filming. The Sheriff had a perfectly reasonable cause for suspicion. He could have been recording shift change habits or something which could have jeopardized security. In particular situations, police officers have a responsibility to investigate suspicious behavior, and a reasonable expectation for citizens to comply with requests for identification. If, of instance, some guy had been standing outside an elementary school with a camera and a child was later abducted, the public would be justifiably outraged to find the police had questioned him but couldn't say who he was, because the guy claimed he didn't have to show ID to the police. I believe that society grants Police/Sheriff departments with a recognizable authority to both defend the innocent and investigate criminal activity, including evaluating suspicious behavior, which they apparently felt this guy was exhibiting.
Some have said to me, "The problem is that every time we make exceptions, that violate our constitutional right to privacy, those exceptions become the norm which then comes to be the expected response. So it becomes necessary to "flex our rights" in order to reassert them, "use em' or lose em'." Nothing wrong with respecting authority when that authority understands that it is by CONSENT that authority is granted. We are Free individuals and have rights to live our lives without fear/threat of force, so long as we do not violate the rights of others."
I agree with everything which was said there, except that I believe HOW we assert our rights will make all the difference. I think we will be much more effective by asserting our Constitutional rights in a respectful way. The way that we build and reinforce a civil society, is first and foremost by acting civilly. One of the ways that I think the guy in the video was absolutely wrong in his approach, was that he immediately began acting like a jerk. If we want law enforcement to begin respecting us, and respecting our rights, we need to respect them by treating them with equal dignity. If we act like jerks to the police, we shouldn't be surprised if some of them lose patience and begin treating us like jerks.
In the U.S. we have a big enough problem with law enforcement becoming militarized and viewing citizens as insurgents, we don't need people encouraging guys like the one in the video to post up outside Police/Sheriff's stations acting suspiciously to provoke cops for YouTube drama junkies. We need real efforts to educate the police to honor the Constitution, not this kind of crap.. As proof that law enforcement can be won over, we only have to look at the rapid growth of organizations like the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. They are growing very fast because more and more law enforcement officers are becoming educated and taking a stand against the corrupt and communist infected government, promising to uphold/defend the Constitution and protect the constitutional rights of citizens.
As a side note, one of the ways by which we will unify the country against the Communist influenced enemy working to demolish our Constitutional Republic will be by engaging in rational, civil dialogue, winning hearts and minds one person at a time. Unfortunately, especially on YouTube, most people who honestly want to defend the Constitution inadvertently adopt Saul Alinsky style tactics to insult, belittle and marginalize a perceived opponent in order to assert a particular point of view, which shuts down all rational discussion and impedes real progress. We have to abandon all communist influenced tactics and get back to civil rational dialogue like the form our Founding Fathers utilized. The United States, consists of many people with differing opinions on a wide range of subjects concerning how the country should run to best meet the needs of the citizens. Until we find a way to respect each other, especially when we don't agree, we will never be able to truly understand those different views or why/how those different views could be viewed as correct, precisely so that our different views can be honestly way weighed and debated in order find the best path forward for this country. Long live the Republic!
What do you think?