Mont. Man Convicted for Yelling at Teens

Herald ^ | 1/14/04

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

A rural Montana man says he was upset with a carful of teens who played their music too loud - but he was the one punished for turning the volume up.

The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Allison Chapman's disorderly conduct conviction for yelling at the teens to get out of town.

Four teens, parked on a public road in front of Chapman's house in 2001, weren't blasting their stereo at the time, although Chapman said they did so almost every night in Geraldine, a tiny town in north-central Montana.

Chapman admitted he went into the street and scolded the teens. He denied shouting or yelling, but said he used an expletive to order them to leave.

Three of the youths testified Chapman did yell at them and they were scared as they drove away.

Prosecutors said Chapman's threatening language was not speech protected by the Constitution. And while Chapman argued that no one's peace was disturbed by his actions, the high court ruled that the teens' peace was disturbed.

[Zack Nguyen]

Give me a break.

[EggsAckley]

two dum fur wurds

[microgood]

Must have been the prosecutor's kids.

[southernnorthcarolina]

I can certainly sympathize with Mr. Chapman.

My God, I'm turning into my own father!

"These kids today! And their music -- it's just noise!" --Anonymous, and in widespread use, uttered by middle-aged people about teenagers since the late Paleozoic Era

[caisson71]

This "Montana Supreme Court" decision further reduces my respect for our so-called justices. I would expect some sanity in Montana, at least.

[Cuttnhorse]

It's getting pretty bad out there when this can happen in rural Tookash*t Montana.

[trussell]

My neighbors are grandparents, of Mexican descent, and they party like no kid I have ever seen. I have had to call "The Man" more times than I care to count.

[AAABEST]

Somebody was arrested for yelling at someone and officers of the law sworn to uphold the constitution upheld it?

I didn't read this, I'm freaking dreaming.

[Elliott Jackalope]

What really gets to me is that I am a music lover, and enjoy a wide variety of music. I'm one of those people that seeks out new bands, even though I'm middle-aged. I also went out of my way to try to inoculate myself against whatever strange music variants might come along, just so that I would not become one of those middle-aged guys who said things like "These kids today! Their music is just noise!"

I listened to music by The Residents, Reynaldo and the Loaf, and Snakefinger. I even listened to noise bands like "Doctors for Bob" and other such mutant outfits, like the Velvet Monkeys and others. I listened to "Not Available" by The Residents about a hundred times, just to make sure that I could take anything those darn kids could dish out.

So what did they come up with? Rap. I don't know how they did it, but they mananged to come up with a form of "music" that is so obnoxious and repellant that it makes me violently angry after about one minute. I can go from being in a good mood to being ready to smash things and people in sixty seconds flat, just by being exposed to rap.

I'm now convinced the music industry is populated by evil demonic entities whose sole purpose in this world is to make sure that music is as vile, repellant and evil as possible. They report to Satan himself, and get their marching orders from letters with a Tartarus postmark.

[AppyPappy]

Oddly, I rather like rap.

[ladylib]

Prosecutors said Chapman's threatening language was not speech protected by the Constitution. And while Chapman argued that no one's peace was disturbed by his actions, the high court ruled that the teens' peace was disturbed."

This happened in Montana? Jeez, if you can't tell people to f-off anymore, especially in Montanta (or NY for that matter).......

Wimpy kids (probably products of a wimpy public school system run by wimpy nancy-girl male school administrators), terrified by some pissed off old man who told them to f-off....

We're supposed to go to Mars -- with whom?

[Arkinsaw]

He should have trapped himself a skunk. Sometimes you have to be creative.

[Guillermo]

They vote for Max Baucus, what makes you think they're sane?

[NYTexan]

LOL! I really had to laugh! Too close to home.

How kids dance to todays' crap is unimaginable.
I wonder how many emergeny room visits involve crossed piercings!

[caisson71]

I learn something every day. I ASS-U-MEd, shouldn't have.

[Cobra64]

Perskonally, I like Mozart, Racmaninoff, Billy Joel, James Taylor, The Bratles, Jim Crotch, and Karen Carpenter.

Regardless, I play these tunes at different setting for a differing variety of people. The classics are played on the deck, patio, dining room at a soothing disciplined level.

When the wine kicks in, we close the doors anr boogie in the great room to the more upbeat swinging tempo.

[Quix]

WHO NEEDS TERRORISTS?

We are suicidal enough without them.

Shrillery was a low water mark. Now this.

Sigh.

[Cobra64]

Rap is not music. Can you sing a rap lyric. Or hum a rap mylody? Rap is just noise from no-talent dolts who couldn't get a job at McDonalds.