Potty-Mouthed Shopper Enticed, Then Frustrated, by Wal-Mart's Low, Low Prices, and Handcuffed
Nick Gillespie | August 15, 2008, 10:31am
Via Michelle Shinghal comes this Houston Chronicle account of an apparently insane assistant fire marshall in Texas:
Kathryn "Kristi" Fridge made a last-minute stop at the Wal-Mart at FM 1764 and Interstate 45 with her mother and 2-year-old daughter.
Finding the batteries shelf bare, she expressed her displeasure and disbelief to her mother.
"I was like, 'Dang.' I looked at my mom and said, 'They're all ----ing gone," Fridge recalled.
Suddenly, Capt. Alfred Decker, the La Marque assistant fire marshal, appeared from around the corner, dressed in a fire department uniform.
"He said, 'You need to watch your mouth,' " Fridge said.
Perplexed by who the man was—his badge said "fire department"—Fridge offered a scant apology.
"I was like, 'Oh, OK. Sorry?' " she said.
Fridge walked away, but said the man ordered her to come back. She then protested, telling him she was having a private conversation with her mother that was none of his business. When the man ordered her to come to him and she refused, she said he pulled out his handcuffs.
Turned out the guy was an assistant fire marshall with very sensitive ears. As he was hauling Fridge away, this priceless exchange occurred:
[Capt. Alfred] Decker ordered Fridge to come out to his car because that's where his citation book was stored, [Fire Chief] Zacherl said. Fridge eventually complied, but admits she used the offending word again when she turned to a crowd of onlookers while being led outside and yelled, "Can you believe this? He's ----ing arresting me for saying ----!"
I don't know about you, gentle readers, but I really can't fucking believe it. Only in America!
More here.
Fridge was booked on a disorderly conduct charge and ticketed. She can either pay a fine or show up in court to argue some more. She shouldn't have to do either. And Wal-Mart really ought to keep its shelf stock up better, even when hurricanes are approaching (as was the case when this took place in early August).
Take a break and watch the excellent South Park episode (legally! for free! right on your work computer!), "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes."
Dave2 | August 18, 2008, 6:40am | #
Ricardo Cobos,
First of all, fuck you, you shitsucking po-faced prick.
Next, let's examine your comments. I will begin by temporarily assuming for the sake of argument that profane language in public is shameful and inappropriate. From this starting point you draw the conclusion that fire marshals who arrest foulmouthed citizens are to be applauded. But the conclusion does not follow unless you are a lowdown piece of shit who sucks the thick dick of fascism. In particular, it does not follow without the underlying assumption that any shameful or inappropriate behavior
ipso facto falls within the legitimate scope of law enforcement. And this underlying assumption is plainly false: for example, if I act like a know-it-all or mooch off of my friends or emotionally manipulate my girlfriend, my conduct is quite shameful and inappropriate, but only a stupid rotten cocksucking bastard would say I am to be punished by law enforcement. Not every moral lapse or shortcoming in virtue is fair game for the apparatus of the state, you bootlicking shithead.
You show some interest in the legal background of the case, citing anti-profanity laws in Michigan. Well, note the following, you cretin. The Texas law relevant to the case concerns disorderly conduct, which in turn concerns an "immediate breach of the peace". And if you think for a second that Ms. Fridge's comments even come
close to meeting that standard, then perhaps you should build a time machine and join the Justice Department of Woodrow Wilson. The rest of us will be here in present time, where
Cohen v. California extends serious constitutional protection to profane speech and strained 'immediate breach of the peace' rationales for speech restrictions haven't been on the table since
Chaplinsky.
But now let us drop our temporary assumption and ask whether Ms. Fridge did anything morally wrong. In a privately owned place of business open to the public, she used profane language in a private conversation with her mother and was overheard by a stranger. You, like the mewling tampon-up-your-ass pussy that you are, are scandalized by this behavior. But this isn't Victorian England, faggot. Profane language is a central part of colloquial American English and private conversations that get a little salty are about as morally offensive as a mixed-race couple. If your monocle drops out every time you hear the word 'fuck', then that's
your problem. Making a moral issue out of bad words in everyday conversations is priggishness defined, and priggishness is not one of the classical virtues.
But if you want to write letters to
Reader's Digest complaining about young black men using "the N-word" with their friends, go right ahead. After all, it's not against the law to be a dried-up old fuck whose mind has been poisoned by bigoted sanctimony. It's just shameful is all.
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