Gauge
Posts: 5689
Joined: 6/17/2005
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This is a fast reply Re: Walking in the middle of the street.
When I was a kid, we were taught in school not to walk in the middle of the street. The reasoning was because it is dangerous and that sidewalks were readily available in most areas. It was made clear that in a battle royal between a human being and a vehicle, the vehicle will win. Being taught these things made me aware of the dangers of being in the middle of the street and if I did do it, I would get off the street if a car was coming. Simple, basic, logical safety.
The way I see it, this situation could go down this way:
1. Brown and friend were walking down the middle of the street. A car was coming, they get to the side and let the car pass and then resume walking.
2. Brown and friend were walking down the middle of the street and saw a cop car coming and they choose not to move. The cop makes a request to get out of the street, Brown and friend listen to the police officer and get out of the street.
3. Brown and friend were walking down the middle of the street and did not care about the fact that cars might come down the street. A cop sees them and asks them to get on the sidewalk. They refuse, the cop asks again, they refuse again, cop gets angry because they are now breaking the law by being in the middle of the street and not yielding to oncoming traffic, cop "escalates" the situation by stopping his vehicle and getting out to make the kids move.
Whether or not a cop was establishing dominance is irrelevant when the easiest, most logical response was to get out of the street when asked to do so. That it got out of control was solely up to Brown and friend. The bottom line is that if a cop asks you to do something, you have a choice, do it or don't do it. If you refuse to do something a cop asks of you and you have a good legal standing to refuse, then that is fine, but it still doesn't mean that the situation will not get worse. If a cop asks you to do something and you are the one in the wrong, then do what they ask.
It boils down to respect for authority and the difference between being reasonable and unreasonable. Every day, kids walk out in front of my car while it is moving and they don't care that they put themselves at risk and me at risk as well for an accident. Driving down a side street and kids walk in the middle of the street and don't get over, don't care and just continue on without regard for the fact that they are not crossing, but using the street as their sidewalk. If I beep my horn at them, they curse and act all tough even though they are wrong.
Tell me something, is it the cop that escalated the situation, or was it Brown and his friend? I am guessing, just based on what I have observed in my town, that the choice was in Brown's and his friend's hands.
_____________________________
"For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men." Herman Melville - Moby Dick
I'm wearing my chicken suit and humming La Marseillaise.
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RE: Rioting is the answer - 
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