| This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
|
Locked on 02/14/2004 5:58:39 PM PST by Sidebar Moderator, reason:
Locked at poster’s request. |
Posted on 02/14/2004 5:15:19 PM PST by RightFighter
Okay, I need some advice from some of you about what "my friend" should do regarding a situation that happened at work yesterday. Here's the scenario:
First, my "friend" lives near Daytona Beach. Of course, you all know that President Bush is going to be there tomorrow for the Daytona 500 race. My friend was at work yesterday at one of our locations, and he noticed a couple of our vendor support reps were on site. He went back to greet them and chat for a minute. One of them was getting ready to leave, so my friend suggested that he find an alternate route to drive home because the traffic on the Interstate was pretty bad heading south from that office. He said he would.
At this point, one of my friend's co-workers, having overheard this discussion about the traffic, said something like "Oh, is the traffic bad because of the races?" The vendor rep said that he didn't think it was bad due to the races this particular time, but rather due to the construction that is happening on I-95 right now. The employee then said "Oh, I thought it might be for the races. President Bush is coming to town for that. I bought a gun for the occasion."
My friend did a double-take and said "You'd better be careful saying something like that." It had clearly made everyone in the room uncomfortable. He looked at my friend and said "Why? Are you going to turn me in for it?" My friend said "I might." The vendor rep then made a positive comment about Bush, in an obvious attempt to try to give this guy some hint that he wasn't talking to anyone that was sympathetic to any hostile feelings he has toward the President. The employee then started arguing with this vendor rep about tax policy. Pathetic!!!
Feeling thoroughly uncomfortable at this point, and not wanting to associate with him any longer, my friend left the room and went to another area. He talked with one of the girls that works there and mentioned it to her, and another girl who overheard them talking said "Oh, he said that to me earlier too." So now my friend has heard that he's said this multiple times in one day. Needless to say, he was very concerned, not so much that he thinks he's serious in any way, but it's just one of those things that you don't joke about. It's the equivalent of getting on an airplane and saying to the stewardess, "What would you say if I told you there's a bomb in my bag?"
My friend wasn't sure what to do. Part of him wanted to just call the police and narc on the guy, knowing full well that he would probably spend a night in jail, at a minimum, for what he said. The Secret Service doesn't play around with that kind of stuff. However, he doesn't want to ruin the guy's life for what is most likely just a stupid comment by a stupid liberal. So, he waited around until after hours and talked with the manager of that location and let him know what had happened. He was shocked and said he would deal with it, and my friend told him that he would take it no further, but that he wanted him, as this guy's boss, to know the kinds of things he is saying at work, and also that he didn't care if the guy knew it was him that reported it.
The question is - did my friend do the right thing?
I understand your friends reluctance to say anything more than he has, but a threat against the President is not to be taken lightly.
Anyone who would make a remark like that in the present atmosphere in this country is either stupid or has evil intent or both. Err on the side of caution.
I'd give him some :)
He may not face criminal prosecution, but at a minimum he may end up being carted off to the nearest Federal building for a "visit" with the Secret Service that lasts for the duration of the President's stay there tomorrow.
You can also call your nearest field office
http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
Although we'd all like to believe the FBI or Homeland Defense monitors FR, the fact is there are entirely too many FBI agents and HD investigators posting stuff here for that to happen. So, you'll have to get in touch with them.
You can rat out your buddy by name, address and phone number too. That way you become a "witness" rather than being somebody reporting a tip.
Good luck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.