Took me a second

[trinityvixen]

Apparently, the last Republican primary debate was sponsoered by Google. And Rick Santorum was in attendance. (That's the joke, folks.)

In other, well, not hilarious news, but hilarious reportage of news, this article by the Guardian regarding the arrests at the Occupy Wall Street protest:
"Hero Vincent, 28, an artist from the Bronx, said: "I think it should be out there, so that people know what's going on and if people want to enter his precinct and ask that he should be fired, they can. We are a peaceful protest. For them to attack us is wrong."

Vincent, who was arrested for resisting arrest on Saturday, claimed he was kicked in the stomach by officers."

I may not have loved Catch-22 as a piece of literature, but damned if this isn't some classic Catch-22 shit going on right here.

(Disclaimer: I realize that such arrests are just police arresting people for no reason to get them off the street, etc. etc., but, really? Arrested for resisting arrest, no other charge? That shouldn't pass any smell test for reasonable arrest.)

Comments

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

Is this post meant to be edgehopper bait? :)

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

*popcorn*

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

God, no. This is not about having a fight. I'm neither well-read about or deeply interested in the Wall Street thing to care about fighting about it. I was really and truly just laughing my head off about the patent absurdity.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

patent absurdity

So you *do* want edgehopper to show up!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

::groans::

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Groan...

On point--I don't know how much to credit the absurdity to the police and how much to the reporters, who too frequently are only skeptical of government claims. The Guardian, being a left wing British tabloid, is particularly bad. I do know that most of Saturday's arrests were for obstructing traffic, seeing as how they marched up Broadway, blocking vehicular and pedestrian traffic, without a permit. I have no doubt that Mr. Vincent was charged with resisting arrest, but it seems more likely that he was originally arrested for obstructing traffic or disorderly conduct.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

When in doubt, blame the liberal media! :P

(You might get to take the sarcastic crown for being Mr. Full-of-Surprises from my Dad, though, so there's that.)

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Not the liberal media generally, but the Guardian specifically. If you only read their articles, you'd think this was a mass movement with the support of a majority of Americans that will topple the banks and the US government. This is a typical example:

When the history is finally written, though, it's likely all of this tumult – beginning with the Arab Spring – will be remembered as the opening salvo in a wave of negotiations over the dissolution of the American Empire. Thirty years of relentless prioritising of propaganda over substance, and snuffing out anything that might look like a political basis for opposition, might make the prospects for the young protesters look bleak; and it's clear that the rich are determined to seize as large a share of the spoils as remain, tossing a whole generation of young people to the wolves in order to do so. But history is not on their side.

They published earlier similar nonsense from Amy Goodman, and also a heavily biased news post. The New York Times and Huffington Post were much more on target here, and that says a lot coming from me.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Let it go, will you? I'm not fighting anything with this post. Whatever the facts, I was laughing about the language. The "disclaimer" was just to let everyone know that I know why such seemingly innocuous charges exist. I am not interested on indulging condemnation of this or that thing about the media right now. I really dislike that that is where you go with this every time, too :(

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Sorry, misunderstood your response. Also, extraordinarily annoyed on this issue right now because these idiots are trying to take over my neighborhood.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I understand that frustration, but it's not where I was going. I've studiously avoided making political hay out of this, especially considering your current relationship (spatially) to those people.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I don't see what laughing at the absurdity of "being arrested for resisting arrest" has to do with politics of any kind, really, but if you want to construe it that way, whatever. Also, no, I don't really structure my posts about anything looking to bait anybody. (I suppose edgehopper thinks the same, though.)

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

Oh. I wasn't even thinking about your generally opposing political alignments, just about edgehopper's recent annoyance over the protesters messing up his neighborhood and making pests of themselves.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I haven't commented on those. Like I said, haven't been paying attention, and that's not something that's worth my time getting hopped up about.