posted on January 25, 2005 02:01:36 PM new
Officer Threatens To Arrest Woman For Anti-Bush Sticker
POSTED: 1:42 pm EST January 25, 2005
DENVER -- A police sergeant is being investigated for allegedly threatening a woman with arrest for displaying a profane President Bush bumper sticker.
The "F--- Bush" bumper sticker on 26-year-old Shasta Bates' pickup truck offended a shopping center patron who saw it Monday on Bates' parked vehicle and flagged down Sgt. Michael Karasek, who was patrolling the area.
"He (Karasek) told her that this was a warning and that the next time he saw her truck, she was going to be arrested if she didn't remove the sticker," said 25-year-old Alinna Figueroa, assistant manager of a store at the shopping center where the officer confronted Bates.
"I couldn't believe it," she said.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman said the incident was under investigation. He did not elaborate.
City Attorney Cole Finnegan said there were no city ordinances against displaying a profane bumper sticker.
Bates said she put the sticker on her truck because she disagrees with Bush's stance on homosexuality and other issues.
"I get some older men who pull up at the side of me and start yelling and cussing," she said, adding she's had only a few complaints since placing it on her truck in August.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- "Give it up for George W. Bush, the best friend international jihad ever had."
posted on January 25, 2005 02:32:20 PM new
SHHH......slowly.....quietly....on tiny cat paws.....our freedoms....one at a time....little by little .....
posted on January 25, 2005 02:37:37 PM new
I always wondered about the legality of those kinds of things. You can't say F*** BUSH (or anyone else) on TV or the radio or they'll bleep you. They won't print it in the nespapers.
I would also assume various communities have passed their own civil ordinances about profanity in public.
Would it hold up in court? I doubt it. But it doesn't really surprise me, either.
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posted on January 25, 2005 02:56:42 PM new
During the VN war, anti-protestors wore arm bands to school...to show they were against the war. Now Christians are forced to remove any mention of religion or crosses. Each case is a BIG deal. I don't think it was the right wing approving of that.
Yes, there's no reason for public profanity. But it's what we see more and more of...less respect for everyone. Is her bumper sticker legal [Constitutionally] ...most definately. Is it necessary? No.
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Four More Years....YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Jan 25, 2005 02:59 PM ]
posted on January 25, 2005 03:39:18 PM new
Libra - I couldn't agree more. There are many different commentators pointing out the ACLU is not the ACLU of the past. I hear it mentioned more and more frequently.
Their founders would probably be rolling in their graves at what the so called 'leaders' of the ACLU are current doing, policy-wise. Their organization, just like our mainstream media appears to have made the decision to support more 'liberal' views than to truly be for the citizens 'rights'. It's a VERY changed organization.
That's led me and a couple of my friends to start sending checks to the ACLJ...who is good at representing people against the ACLU's charges. They had some successes - I hope they have more.
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Four More Years....YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Jan 25, 2005 03:41 PM ]
posted on January 25, 2005 03:40:02 PM new
I think that it was the F word alone that caught the attention of the police, like replay said, different communitys have different ordinances. Who knows
posted on January 25, 2005 03:45:38 PM new
Near - They probably do....and I think the public has just as much a 'right' to voice their disagreement with statements made anywhere as the offending people do. After all...they're having to see it, their children are being exposed to it. But it appears more and more are willing to accept/ignore any type of rude/vulgar/etc behavior because 'they can'.
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Four More Years....YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Jan 25, 2005 03:47 PM ]
posted on January 25, 2005 05:26:10 PM new
As everyone knows by now, I hate the man. However, I wouldn't plaster my car with profanity only because I have respect for other people. I still won't swear in front of my mother, for Pete's sake. I think it was in poor taste, but I think the cop used his power to intimidate her. He should lose his job.
Cheryl
"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
posted on January 25, 2005 07:51:14 PM new
Personally, I think those stickers are offensive. I hate for kids to see them and think that kind of language is OK. But there's apparently no town ordinance against her sticker, so she's guilty of poor taste, nothing more. Let's hope she doesn't remove it. I'd love to see a follow up where the Barney Fife policeman makes an even bigger ass of himself.
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Dick Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11..."
posted on January 25, 2005 08:10:10 PM new
Ya, let's ignore the slaughter, chaos, torture, death in Iraq, and worry about a bumper sticker......some people just don't have REAL problems or REALLY REALLY BAD sense of priorities........
