Who’s Watching the Watchdogs?

Montreal Police have quite the reputation for brutality.  I had not given much thought to it until I was walking along St. Laurent street on Saturday night. I came upon a police officer harassing a man and a woman. The girl looked scared, so I decided to observe the situation.  I informed the officer that I would be observing the situation. He told me to step away. I did. He told me to step away again. So I did.

He got pissed off, and walked up to me. He spoke to me in rapid-fire French, a language that despite my efforts, I am unable to fully understand. Having informed him that I did not understand what he was saying, he scoffed and told me that I should leave. I told him that I know that I have a right to observe.  He proceeded to yell at me in French. He asked for my ID (in English), and I happily provided him with it. He then informed me in English that he was going to give me a ticket, but did not say what it was for. My friend, Sven, came up to me and asked what was going on. I explained the situation to him. Meanwhile, the cop stomped off to his police car.

“For what?” I asked. I walked up to the police car and demanded that he inform me of what I had done wrong. He told me to step back onto the sidewalk. So I did.  Sven turned to the car and asked “what is she being charged with?” Sven is a lawyer, by the way. Two other friends, Tom and Catherine, joined us on the sidewalk.

The other cop demanded that Tom show him ID. Tom refused. He doesn’t need to show ID, no one does unless police have cause to suspect that someone has just commited a crime, or is about to commuit one. Suddenly ten police cars showed up, and twenty police officers emerged from them. One of them grabbed my arm and pulled it up behind my back, breaking my glasses in the process. (I woke up with a big bruise on one arm, and scratches on the other today.)  Six police officers grabbed Tom and tackled him to the floor, and smashed his head against the concrete. They shackled his arms and legs. Another four grabbed Sven, and put him in hand cuffs. 

The police woman holding my arm let me go, and yelled at me in French. I told her I did not speak French, and informed her that I’ve only been in Montreal for two years. She yelled some more (in French) and then walked away. Catherine and I watched in horror at the brutality, the nonsensical use of force. We asked for a pen from the police officers so that we could write down their names and badge numbers. The approximately seven officers in earshot all refused, saying that they didn’t have any extra pens. One of them patted his shirt pocket, which held some pens, and said “see, I’m using mine,” as he walked away laughing.

In the end, Tom, Sven and I were given tickets for “En ayant gene la circulation des pietons et refuse sans motif valable de circuler a la demande d’un agent de la paix.” Which apparently means “For having obstructed pedestian traffic and refusing without viable motive to circulate upon being asked by a peace officer.” I find it ironic that he calls himself an ‘agent of peace’.

They took Sven and Tom to the police station parking lot, then pushed them out of the cars and told them to leave.

Tom has bruises, cuts and scrapes all over him.  As well as the ticket for ‘obstructing pedestrian traffic’ Tom is being charged with ‘resisting arrest’ and ‘assaulting a police officer’. Sven is also charged with ‘assaulting a police officer’. Neither Tom nor Sven laid a hand on anyone that night, which leads me to the newfound understanding that the phrase ‘assaulting a police officer’ is code for ‘being assaulted by a police officer’. The phrase is simply used to justify the bruises and the blood caused by “officers of the law”on the citizens they are meant to “protect”.  I don’t feel any safer. Next time I walk alone at night, I won’t be scared by the random drug dealers walking by, I’ll be scared of the legally armed golems that are there to ‘protect’ me from harm.

Moral of the story: don’t ever stand on the sidewalk near police officers: you have no idea what will happen next.

This video is American, from the Guerilla News Network. Canadian law is similar in that you are legally allowed to observe the actions of a police officer as long as you stand at least 2 metres away fromt the scene.

Beware: watching the watchdog can go horribly awry.

What in J.C.’s name is this?

It suddenly occurred to me that Johnny Cash’s initials are J.C. This totally changes everything! Q: What Would J.C. Do? A: Drink whiskey and throw the tv out of the motel room window, of course.

My how things have changed:

Plato’s The Laws:

Athenian Stranger (coming to the end of a long dialogue with a Cretan and a Spartan) : This then – the knowledge of the natures and the habits of the souls – is one of the things that is of the greatest use for the art whose business it is to care for souls. And we assert that that art is politics. Or what?

Spartan: It certainly is.

Now imagine Harper or Bush saying something like this (that had no Christian overtones.) Oh, come on, just TRY to imagine!

  

Silence of the Limbs

This renders the tail-chase extremely passe…

Women should be seen and not heard?

Holy shit.

I don’t know how else to acurately express my reaction to this article.

Excerpt:

“Couples where the man talks more are happier than one where the woman is more talkative, according to the latest research by a team of behavioural scientists from Green Mountain College and University of Texas at Austin.”…”Martha, who is a mother of two, also has a similar opinion about the matter.

“I’ve always played the role of silent partner. When we talk too much, men lose the confidence about their power and the position they have in the family. It can lead to fights in the family,” she said. “It’s always healthy to stay rather silent than creating troubles.”

It was not published in 1940 – oh no, it was published Aug. 20th, 2007. This year. Whoever thinks ‘all is fine’ for women, needs a reality check.

All things converge on one societal norm: the silencing of women’s voice in society is best for the society. Is this article just expressing the cultural normative values of the day?  What next: studies that show that parliament runs better when women do not participate? Supreme court judges make better decisions if there are no women on the panel? Buses are more environmentally friendly if they are not driven by women? What The Fuck.

Everytime I look around at this society, I lose clarity on all things except one: This world is FUBAR (fucked up beyond all recognition.)