Spend $16.99 so you can wear this to your grave
Posted on 07/22/2005 11:06:07 AM PDT by BigFinn
Reacting to the NYPD's announcement Thursday afternoon that police would randomly—but routinely—search the bags of commuters, one concerned New Yorker quickly created a way for civil libertarians to make their views black-and-white. In a few outraged moments, local immigrant rights activist Tony Lu designed t-shirts bearing the text, "i do not consent to being searched." The minimalist protest-wear can be purchased here, in various styles and sizes. (Lu will not get a cut. The shirts' manufacture, sale, and shipment, will be handled by the online retailer. Lu encourages budget-conscious New Yorkers to make their own and wear them everywhere.)
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had announced the legally obvious—that New Yorkers are free to decline a search and "turn around and leave." But Lu, who is a lawyer at Urban Justice Center, warned that even well-intentioned cops could interpret people's natural nervousness or anger as "reasonable suspicion." The possibility of unjustified interrogation and even arrest is real, Lu said.
Although police promised they would not engage in racial profiling, Lu said that, as with all street-level policing, people of color and poor immigrants would be particularly vulnerable, especially if encounters lead to arrests.
Move to Texas!! Can't search us here, we all have guns and not a lot of public transport. I don't think we would let anyone take our guns. There was a big stink when they made it illegal a few years ago to have an open can of beer in the front seat. :)
"I'm beginning to despise the way I look at people I see out and about."
You should not despise yourself. You're doing the right thing by profiling people you meet on a daily basis. It's a first line of defense and it could be the difference between life and death. Now, if you don't live in the inner slums of America and stay home most of the time, I can understand your guilt. But, really you should not hate yourself, only the enemy.
on civil matters, it exists everywhere. there are no police officers losing their homes and private assets in civil suits brought by citizens for "line of duty" incidents. the municipality pays when such a verdict is given.
I'm stunned by the way so many on this thread just wholeheartedly throw their arms around an announcement like this and declare as idiots anyone who dares to express concern.
I'm VERY pro-law-enforcement, VERY anti-terrorist, and a 100% conservative. BUT, there's a reason why some protections are built into the constitution, and respecting those elements of the constitution does not automatically make one a "moonbat." Granted, the people behind these t-shirts probably ARE moonbats, but not because they see a problem with this.
It is the very height of naivete to automatically assume that ALL policemen are honorable, or that ALL members of ANY authority-group are honorable. This is EXACTLY why these protections are built into the constitution. It's called FREEDOM. The very notion that "if you got nothing to hide, you shouldn't have a problem with it" is entirely antithetical to the U.S. constitution, and it's a bizarre thing to see trumpeted on a board that so prides itself on allegiance to that document.
Finally, there's the reality that the odds of stopping anything via random searches are so miniscule as to be statistically non-existent. It's a knee-jerk move that will do nothing except cause trouble and clog up the arteries of public transportation.
MM
So do I.
Never leave your house. That will make you safer. I suppose you've seen the last of the sun. On the bright side, think of all the money you will save on clothing.
Oh, and wear full football gear indoors. People have been known to slip while indide.
Since you'll consent to ANYTHING to make yourself "safer", I can give you about 1,000 more instructions. Would you like me to post them, or freepmail them.
Well, if this is actually true than good. But don't you think these officers are being told to avoid the arabs, because this would be racial profiling? I hope this profiling is not like what we see in our airports.
Right you are, Sonny M.
Oftentimes, if not most of the times, the politicians are the ones who impede police officers from enforcing the laws.
Thanks for reminding me.
Sorry, I refuse to move to the state that spawned Destiny's Child.
So one would think, at least until the black robes get hold of a definition. In recent years, the supreme court has ruled that police roadblocks where they randomly check for drugs or sobriety are "legal" precisely because they are random. I can't recall the cases offhand, but I recall them saying that such searches would not have been legal if they'd searched every single car or driver.
The courts in this country live in a weird, make-believe world.
"Because by definition, a random search is a fishing expedition."
Not if you profile and do target searches of the foe.
Sadly, yes, it is.
Spawned is the right word. It's a big state - you can't watch everyone.
target = targeted
Well then it's not a random search, is it?
Nowadays, non-juried courts are wrong more often than they are right.
Now excuse me while I declare eminent domain on your toolshed.
No kidding. I'm not in total agreement with Israel's treatment of Arabs either. But it's common sense to narrow the field down to the most likely suspects and let the most unlikely alone. I do think most of our problems are with our borders. If we could solve them there, the rest of the nation could be in peace.
"You apparently didn't read what I wrote. It is the RANDOM searches that are the problem."
Oh, I read it very carefully before responding. That is why I did not mention random searches, but rather "targeted" searches and profiling.
But I do agree with you that RANDOM searches should not be made - only targeted searches with the aid of profiling.
Here in D.C., the Metro actually closes down to the public for a few hours each night, so it's not totally apt. In New York the subways are 24 hours so it's probably more analagous there.
Even public roads are pretty much fair game now, as many courts have established the legality of random DWI checkpoint stops. Sadly, it's proabably just a matter of time until it gets extended the rest of the way to the public sidewalks as well.
That's amazing. It sure looked like you were disagreeing with me at first, but now it seems we're in agreement.
Just for the sake of argument, I'll accept that you may be as inane as that question suggests.
1) The islamotrash are here.
2) A portion of their support network is here as well.
They are allowed to remain here, and move about freely, because their presence provides an excuse (there's that word again) for those who seek to restrict the rights and freedoms of all Americans.
Ideological profiling, internment and deportation would eliminate the need for restrictions on society as a whole.
The islamotrash, as a group, are simply low level operatives who don't even realize how or why they're being used.
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