A haunting video
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Reader and friend Ted N. writes in to comment,
The reason why I'm writing today is a clip I saw on Friday and have been haunted by ever since. It literally made me sick.
Whereas I've become all too familiar with instances where one's individual freedom is trampled despite any wrong-doing -- there is something particularly visceral about this instance, where multiple law enforcement officers so methodically and purposefully strip this poor woman (literally and figuratively) all the while maintaining this appearance of righteousness (They're the law. They know what's best and what's necessary. They are in charge -- completely. They create the rules -- period.). Perhaps most unsettling about this gross violation was the professional manner in which these officers acted. Like they were doing nothing wrong. Nothing at all. No shame. No outward hostility to the victim. No acting on emotion. Just part of the job.
I think this is probably typical of what happens to non-criminals when they are brought into the criminal justice system. Real criminals (the folks who should be lock-up for good like robbers, burglars, rapists, murders, etc.) probably go right into the mix. But the innocents (folks who never committed a crime against another person -- i.e. folks who never committed a real crime) learn the horrible lesson that our individual freedom is limited to the permission of our government and the whim of his agents.
Wendy McElroy
- Monday 18 February 2008 - 13:53:52
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