Concerned citizen calls 911 over man walking ‘with purpose’ with Confederate flag

originally posted by: anon72
a reply to: Indigo5

Here is a news story from the Washington Times. I hope that helps...

Darn Oathers... Caring about the country- Crazy bastartsssss

www.washingtontimes.com...

Thanks for the actual story...for some reason the OP link just gave the Pic..

So someone called the cops and the cops disregarded the call because of freedom of speech and all..

Is the story that someone called the cops about something, but the cops decided nothing illegal was going on?

Slow day on ATS?

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
a reply to: anon72

Every time a call like this is made, the cops ought to arrest the caller for wasting their time, and reporting non-crimes. If people can't handle that other people have rights, they should go off somewhere and live where that isn't a concern.

The caller should have had enough sense to know that the police could not infringe on this man's rights for carrying a flag on a public sidewalk. Why call when there was nothing the police could 'do about it?'

...Unless you are too stupid to understand the police have to uphold First Amendment rights OR unless you are hoping to 'entrap' the person (IOW, hope the person will not comply with the police who are bound to respond by asking questions).

See something, say something is a fine policy -- as long as you aren't intent on being the catalyst for the violation of someone's Constitutional rights. This caller was, or they were just plain stupid. And ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Pretty soon it will be a crime to stare at someone for more than a few seconds, along with and of course walk anywhere "with a purpose".

Comet/asteroid/meteor please come soon.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6

He has a right to grow a pair of testicles and stop living in an imaginary world of fear and butthurt, too. We've had ONE (1) black church shooting in the news recently which was loosely tied to a dude who owned a rebel flag... that gives license to calling 9/11 over seeing an unrelated guy actively walking with a rebel flag because "he might be heading to a school or church to shoot a bunch of black people!?!?!?!"

The exact world that gun owners live in. Why is one OK and not the other?

Also were you in agreement with the Martin case...did Zimmerman have the right to be suspicious of him?

How is one OK and not the other?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Uh no... I'd probably point out that the caller was racist or bigoted, but I certainly wouldn't have a problem with that person exercising his or her right to call 911.

In other words, you would do exactly what people here have done, which is to point out that the caller was bigoted. Yet you seem to be unable to accept bigotry when it's against someone with whom you disagree, such as a guy carrying a Confederate flag.

In either case, if bigotry prompted a call, the person calling should be fined.

a reply to: lucifershiningone

Zimmerman was acting in the capacity of an assigned neighborhood WATCH position, so he had every reason to be suspicious of anyone in the neighborhood he wasn't familiar with.

I don't own firearms because I live in fear, I own them so I don't have to. And, for the record, I live in Alaska. There is no such thing as a brown bear "walking with purpose" that doesn't end poorly for someone. Different situations entirely.

originally posted by: beyondtruth
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

So if there is a lunatic standing outside your house with a machete talking about blood and going to heaven you wouldn't call the cops? And if you did, would you like it if they arrested you for reporting a non-crime as you call it? Perhaps if more people would step up and call on suspicious activity it would cut down on violent crimes.

Someone standing outside a home with a machete isn't the same thing as someone walking down a street with a flag. Even trying to make such a comparison is stretching things past the breaking point. If someone was in my yard with a machete, they'd be met with a gun, and have one chance to leave the property. If they were on the street, standing and talking, I wouldn't care. Unless they were making a clear threat, they would not be committing a crime. Waving the machete at joggers, or stating they were going to kill someone, would be a different matter. Again, though, none of that is relevant to a man carrying a flag, and some bigot calling the police on them.

You seem so willing to live in fear.

originally posted by: MotherMayEye
The caller should have had enough sense to know that the police could not infringe on this man's rights for carrying a flag on a public sidewalk. Why call when there was nothing the police could 'do about it?'

...Unless you are too stupid to understand the police have to uphold First Amendment rights OR unless you are hoping to 'entrap' the person (IOW, hope the person will not comply with the police who are bound to respond by asking questions).

See something, say something is a fine policy -- as long as you aren't intent on being the catalyst for the violation of someone's Constitutional rights. This caller was, or they were just plain stupid. And ignorance of the law is no excuse.

I quite agree! When a call is made about carrying a flag, it's difficult to believe that the caller didn't know better. Unless they are mentally incapacitated, they know carrying a flag isn't a threat, or a crime. I suspect the goal was to get the person in trouble, hoping the cops would violate his rights (since some are known to do this), or even hoping for violence. With all of the hype about "violent cops" these days, I see that as highly likely. Regardless of what some in the thread might want people to think, such a call is just s small step down from the "SWATTING" calls people have made.

originally posted by: lucifershiningone
The exact world that gun owners live in. Why is one OK and not the other?

Also were you in agreement with the Martin case...did Zimmerman have the right to be suspicious of him?

How is one OK and not the other?

Zimmerman called the cops and reported a guy casing houses, in an area where young black males were known to be breaking into houses. He didn't call for someone walking down the sidewalk minding their own business. carrying a flag. This fellow with the flag didn't knock anyone down and bash their head into pavement, either. Unrelated cases.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Actually the only difference is one is white and the other black.

He wasn't casing houses...but of course he was black at night..making it an automatic fed flag to a racist.

The other guy was a white guy walking with a racist flag...but hey he is white never mind that should cause some kind of reaction because of another white guy with the same type of flag walking into a church and killing people.

You people and racist BS is starting to show.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6
a reply to: lucifershiningone

Zimmerman was acting in the capacity of an assigned neighborhood WATCH position, so he had every reason to be suspicious of anyone in the neighborhood he wasn't familiar with.

I don't own firearms because I live in fear, I own them so I don't have to. And, for the record, I live in Alaska. There is no such thing as a brown bear "walking with purpose" that doesn't end poorly for someone. Different situations entirely.

Above post states what I think about your assertion concerning the Zimmerman BS.

As for guns, when talking to gun people they always bring up fictitious scenarios about why they may need a gun, they live in fear of imagined situations.

Hey does anyone want me to walk around a specific neighborhood waving a confederate, american, arabic, rainbow, and umm Israeli flag with a NAZI shirt just to see what happens???? I bet that would make a great youtube video and it would be one hell of an exercise of the first amendment. Then if people walk up and ask me about it I'll just be like "oh yea man I am just selling first amendmant symbols for 4.99. Anything here you want to buy??"

I know my cities police, they are just going to stand back and laugh at me probably.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

Oh what the heck. I dare you to do that. Please video everything!

Wear a Nazi shirt and a C-flag, with a while hood. That should spurr things along!

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: chiefsmom
They called the police because he was walking down the street, carrying a flag. Who the hell does that, and why would it be ok?
Would it have been done ten years ago?


a reply to: Krazysh0t

Who cares? If he did something wrong, charge him with filing a false police report. Are you denying that people call in dumb 911 calls or something? Do you think that is suddenly a new thing with the PC generation?

This thread is just an excuse to feign outrage over PC people.

I don't see anyone feigning anything. I see them as legitimately outraged.

As they should be.

Yes, the police did the right thing. As they should have. However, they should have also paid the caller a visit to explain that they are wrong, and that they can be charged with making a false report. Give them a stern warning, and put it on record. As they do with others that make a false report.

Sounds like the caller needs a little education on freedom of speech and that they do not posses a right to not be offended.

a reply to: lucifershiningone

That and a buck fifty will buy you a cup of rot gut coffee somewhere. Did you have a point, or was that post just for doing some flexing and posturing?

a reply to: anon72

alright man, you went and done it. You done dared me, now I have to see it through. I just need to call someone to make sure it is captured on multiple cameras, and I have to get me some flags. If there is a single website where I can get them all, I would appreciate a link. I'll be clicking on ebay and amazon for the time being.

Would some people call the police if a Muslim walk down the road with some Arabic writing? i most certainly think people will.

a reply to: luciddream

...and the following day the news would be chock full of "Justice for Ahmed" stories of protests, rallies, and marches. The differences aren't that subtle and are easy to see.

originally posted by: lucifershiningone
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Actually the only difference is one is white and the other black.

He wasn't casing houses...but of course he was black at night..making it an automatic fed flag to a racist.

The other guy was a white guy walking with a racist flag...but hey he is white never mind that should cause some kind of reaction because of another white guy with the same type of flag walking into a church and killing people.

You people and racist BS is starting to show.

Nope, if you mean the Martin/Zimmerman case, one was Hispanic, and one black. One actually attacked the ther s well, which witnesses (multiple) confirmed. I watched long hours of witness footage.

Guys with cell phones rob banks. So, by your logic, we should call the cops on every guy with a cell phone, because, gee, they might commit a crime. See how silly that sounds?

Carrying a flag isn't a crime, and you can't assume someone will go on a shooting spree, because ONE person did. That's beyond ridiculous. Tossing out a racist label is flat out lame. Race has nothing to do with it.

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

I'm not going to read this whole thread but I did read the news article.

The people complaining about this... What is the matter, exactly? Are you guys just looking for reasons to complain about political correctness?

Here's a reality check: The confederate flag is offensive to a lot of people, because for many people, the flag basically stands for racism and racial hatred.

So the guy in the article was parading an object that is often a symbol of hatred. It actually made sense for the 911-caller to be concerned, because symbols of hate can easily be linked to ACTIONS of hate. For example, the guy with the flag could have been walking his way to go kill people of the wrong color. Yes, it's concerning for people to parade their hatred. This incident is similar to someone getting the cops called for walking down the road in a KKK outfit.

I can't understand the outrage that the police were called. Do you guys realize that most cops spend most of their time getting paid for sitting around? Think about it... In this case, at least the cops were getting paid for DOING something.

Anyhow I'm done with this thread, enjoy the nonsensical outrage guys.