Comments on: “W” actors pepper sprayed, tasered, and called racial slur

By: crew

crew — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:57:06 +0000

I was there that night….
There were no punches thrown…
There was COMPLETE racism from the police department, brutality, and it was like nothing I have ever seen before…Both Josh and Jeffrey were under control,,got tasered and pepper sprayed…for asking how they could help. TRUST ME ON THIS…wait till the video is released…YOU WILL ALL KNOW THE TRUTH.

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By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:40:57 +0000

ri23:
Oderint Dum Metuant

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By: Josh

Josh — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:33:59 +0000

George Bush is not worthy of a movie that glorifies him which I hope isn’t the case. On the bar fight? Welcome to the South. If you are better than they are, they will get violent to make them feel better about themselves.. Looks, fashion, style, intelligence? They will beat your ass for not being a dumb redneck. Which is definitley what George Dubya Bush is. What is the world coming to…

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By: dana

dana — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:03:15 +0000

this is why we need police for the police! you have these guys running around with all of their (personal)baggage and prejudices, and guns at the same time. police have waaaaay too much power and “lee-way”. they hold all of our lives in thier hands at any given moment. and God forbid they shoot and kill someone, justified or not, they’re NOT going to be repremanded, let alone FIRED, and you can forget about jail time or even an appology for the family. even the very best of us would go on a little power trip with all that authority. but as soon as one of thier own gets shot or killed (a risk that they ALL accept when they become an officer) all hell breaks loose. it’s totally unfair. no individual should be able to have as much unchecked, unsupervized power as we give these police officers.

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By: Leila

Leila — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:29:31 +0000

I’m an American, somewhat of a libertarian, and agree mostly with Anna on the “freedom” issue. Daisy, our constitution is an incredibly wonderful document guaranteeing some very fundamental freedoms. But Bush (with the help of Congress) has really gutted it during his tenure. As a lawyer, it’s been pretty shocking to watch, and the implications aren’t really being reported or explained well in the media. Hopefully the next president, whoever that may be, will dial that back.

Also, regarding taxes for a life sentence versus death sentence, death penalty are *more* expensive than non-death sentence cases. Daisy, it’s true that recidivism rates for child molesters are extremely high. I wouldn’t shed any tears for executed child molesters, even though I’m uneasy with the death penalty in general only due to proof issues.

The police in America do have extra concerns with armed arrestees that may not be so prevalent in Europe, so I can definitely see police here being more “in your face” during arrests, in order to get control of an arrestee to search for weapons.

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By: daisy424

daisy424 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:17:37 +0000

Anna if you were not such a condescending, self-absorbed snob, you would see that I did read your post, you obviously didn’t understand mine.:-)
Countrybabe, thanks!

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By: countrybabe

countrybabe — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:48:17 +0000

I agree with you daisy on this one. I also get tired of these American Eurpoeans saying -oh this is America and American police should be like police Switzerland yada,yada.

When I heard this I did feel bad for Jeffrey being the subject of racial slurs. This goes on to show that if folks think just cause they elect Barack Obama all the racial problems will go away they are sadly mistaken.

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By: RC

RC — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:39:14 +0000

American police are definitely more aggressive, both by training and by nature; it depends who applies. And I don’t think it’s a matter of being Southern that made these ones worse. It’s because they’re rednecks, and there are rednecks in every state of the union, of every race (although, usually white). The difference is, where most rednecks live, they never have to meet anyone different. I’ve met rednecks in Michigan who were openly hostile to people who looked different. The South is a melting pot, and always has been. Makes it just that much harder for the rednecks to ignore reality.
as for foreign cops, as a temporary expat, I can tell you that i feel way sfer with properly armed and trained american cops than the cops here. near where i live, a guy walked into a police station and stabbed 5 cops to death. stabbed. in a station. surrounded by cops. sure, there’s a low crime rate (police are irrational, just not brutal) but if anything DID happen, you’d kinda be screwed. i’d rather better screened and better trained american cops than cops in the eurasian mold…

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By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:03:43 +0000

Ok, this is my last comment on this.

Sheesh… Daisy424, I really wish you had properly read my comments, but you chose not to do that.
So I’ll reiterate a few things: I’ve said very clearly I don’t believe that all criminals can be rehabilitated. I know full well that many sexual predators can’t. However, I stick to my guns in saying that the death sentence is not a solution I find, no pun intended, viable. Of course the death sentence is a punishment. What I’m saying is that it’s not a corrective measure, as in: a measure able to correct or at least control behaviour. It’s revenge, disguised as a lawful punishment. I understand your argument about tax money, but frankly, I prefer my taxes didn’t go into killing people.
Furthermore, you are a perfect example for what I’ve said earlier on about fear and the conscious propagation of fear in America. You agree with the radical methods used against terrorists and suspected terrorists. When I touched upon that, I made sure to say I thought these methods took away peoples’ freedom in the case of suspected terrorists. If somebody is a *proven* terrorist, I understand. However, I find it incredible that someone who isn’t a proven terrorist could be snatched up, stripped of any rights and subjected to interrogation, detention and maybe even torture. That innocent until proven guilty thing just has a way of sticking in my mind.
What you seem to forget about the “seven years ago” thing is precisely that: it happened seven years ago. Courses of action that were implemented immediately after the shock of the 9/11 attacks are certainly not courses of action that can still be fully valid seven years later, when the world has changed quite a bit.
My heart goes out to all who lost someone dear on 9/11, but the reality is: it’s seven years later, the world has turned politically, economically etc.
I’m also sorry about what happened to your grandfather and father. That is not something I would wish on anybody. However, any police officer in the world deals with that kind of threat to his life. It’s part of their jobs and they know it’s a possibility they will be killed. Be it by repeat felons or first time offenders.
Finally, have you ever asked yourself why the rest of the world is bombarded with negative press coming from the US? Maybe because uncovering uncomfortable truths and critisizing problems with the government etc is more important (and let’s face it, sells more papers) than the latest baseball game win or any other news that Americans find positive? World press focuses on what’s important on an international basis. “Local” matters go unnoticed mainly and these are the ones that tend to be more positive news. So ask yourself, if what we receive overseas is negative, then something must not be going to swell concerning global policies and courses of action. Just a short example: if George W. had signed the Kyoto Protocol, that would have made great positive headlines.
Just an addenda and then I’m really outta here: I have a bunch of American friends who are indeed the most loyal and friendliest people ever. Most of the criticism I’ve uttered here clearly is a reflection of what is going on with the current American government. I hope that’s understandable for all.

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By: daisy424

daisy424 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:18:38 +0000

Anna, I’m sorry, but I still disagree with you. Sexual predators can not be rehabilitated. No sense in trying to ‘fix’ them. The death penalty is a punishment. I don’t want my hard earned tax $$ going to feed and house these losers that would get a life sentence if citizens such as you were in charge.

My Grandfather was a Chicago cop that was killed on duty. Because of that repeat felon, my Father and his 5 siblings grew up with out a Dad. I wasn’t in that LA bar for this arrest, but, someone picked up a phone and called the police for help.

I agree with what our government is doing with the terrorists, or as you put it ‘ *suspected* of terrorist activity. We were attacked on our soil, remember? 7 Years ago, our government’s and most of the nation’s actions would have been praised, not criticized. How soon we forget.

What the rest of the world seems to see is only the negative’s about the US. The media is putting it out there, and that is I’m sorry to say is usually left biased. It is worse now that there is a presidental race going on.
Sorry to rant, I can see this is a heated topic.

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