Words fail me. Unfortunately, I think you can expect to see more and more of this type of behavior at the hands of our government agencies.

February 4, 2008 @ 1:07 pm | Comment

Yeah, I saw this too. I’d like to say that it’s unbelievable, but it’s not.

This is what happens when you militarize the police and institutionalize authoritarianism.

February 4, 2008 @ 1:45 pm | Comment

The system in the US, though flawed like any system, is actually damn good. But its flaws mean that things like this will always happen, no matter what we do to try to stop them. The reality is that if you give a government power, there will be a certain arrogance that goes with it and that arrogance will eventually lead to things like this. I think that is simply inherent in government and that is why we citizens must always be mindful of giving our governments too much power. Power corrupts humans — it’s that simple.

February 4, 2008 @ 3:41 pm | Comment

“The system in the US, though flawed like any system, is actually damn good.”

Yes, if you consider the highest per capita lockup rate in the world as a measure of success.

Unfortunately, nothing really unusual here, except that it got caught on tape and released. Notice that she was charged and convicted of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

February 4, 2008 @ 8:34 pm | Comment

A couple of months ago, I was reading an interview with a lawyer, who said that bystanders should never get involved in any kind of legal incident, even as witnessesbecause a well-meaning witness / bystander could easily find themselves under arrest.

February 5, 2008 @ 7:48 am | Comment

Best line in the comment section of that video link:

We’re all black people now.

February 5, 2008 @ 7:54 am | Comment

It’s back to the wild wild west: The law is the police is the law; untouchable. Yeah, We’re all black people now.

February 5, 2008 @ 10:03 am | Comment

The American Society Is At Most a Pseudo Law-Based Society

One of the most powerful slogans of
pro-American and anti-China activists is: “American society is a law-based society.” This post of course wants to disgree with that statement. This post believes that the American society is at most a psuedo law-based society.

What should a law-based society look like? Let me define certain characteristics. First, it must have laws, or “stipulations”. Then, anyone who violates these laws will be punished. And the degree of punishment is also stipulated. All laws are strictly enforced.

Then, why do I say that the American society is a psuedo law based society? The reason is lawyers. In other words, in America, lawyers became an enterprise, a commercial industry. This industry provides “legal services”. I am not opposed to this industry. In a modern society, this industry is essential, because if one needs to go to court against others, either willingly or unwillingly, he needs help from people who have expert knowledge in the related laws.

But the problem with American version of the industry is that it is divided into levels. Some levels are more expensive than others. And the differences in price is almost astronomical. An expensive lawyer in new york city could be several hundred times more expensive than an inexpensive one. This will cause a problem. What is the problem? Let read on.

For example, if I am a consumer in this society, and I need to go to court one day. Then, I need to spend money to hire a lawyer. So far so good, I have not opposed anything yet in this example.

But, the price for a lawyer varies a lot. For the same case, if you hire an expensive lawyer, then, at least in theory, your probability of winning is higher than a cheap lawyer.

I have seen many American movies about lawyers. And the plot is essentially this: there is a case looks a certain way from the beginning, but because of the smartness and good argument ability of the lawyer, the case started to change and resulted a totally different outcome. And there’a always a lot of suspense, in which the viewer thinks the case is lost, yet becaues of all kinds of genius strategies by the lawyer, the case is finally won.

Now American exports a massive number of such lawyer movies to China, this I believe is a plot of “peaceful transformation” by the Americans. When a Chinese viewer watches these movies, he’ll think “look how great American society is! Everything is about law and lawyers!”. But I’m sorry, I do not see anything about “law” in those movies. How ridiculous it is that justice can only be delivered through the smartness and argumentat ability of individual lawyers. So in American society, whether you will receive justice depends on how “glib” your lawyer is, and how good he is at arguing. This is not lawfulness, this is called debate game, or talk show.

For the same case, a very rich man can hire a very good laywer, and a poor man can only afford low-level lawyers or free laywers given to him by the government. Of course we know that in law school, only the stupid students end up become free lawyers for the government. So when a rich man goes against a poor man in a court, who has a higher chance of winning? This is not a lawful society, this is a reactionary society, a fascist society, a rich dictatorship society.

Now, you may ask “Shut up Math! Everyone knows American society is the best, at least better than China! Do you have any better idea?!”

Well, in my mind, “legal services” should be very similar to bottled water. That is, when you buy bottled water, ou are simply getting water, there’s not much to it. Some brand may be slightly more expensive than others, but there’s no fundamental difference between one brand of bottled water and another, so the the price differences are very low. It’s impossible to have one brand of bottled water priced at 100 times more than another brand. If there is, no one will buy that brand.

If legal services industry is set up like that. Then anyone can hire a lawyer, and there’ll be not be much difference in price or difference in the lawyer’s performance. Why is there not much difference in performance, because when you hire a lawyer, you are not hiring him to argue for you, you are simply hiring him to fill out some forms, write up some documents, etc. And argumentation will never even play a role in a court system.

In other words, the more the legal services industry look like bottled water industry, the more the society will be a law based society.

But, today’s American society’s legal services industry looks more like the restaurant industry. An expensive restaruant can serve 1000 times better dishes, 1000 times better service, 1000 times better decoration, and of course 1000 times more expensive. And as a result, only rich people can afford the better restaurant.

Therefore, as China is building its current society, it must not learn from America in this aspect. It must try to build a society whose legal service industry will look like the bottled water industry. Unfortunately, it’s too late for Ameria to change, because legal services in industry in America is already too powerful, their voice is too strong, and unless there’s a violent revolution, they’ll of course oppose making changes to the current structure.

February 5, 2008 @ 10:49 am | Comment

We are all humans, and we are not perfect even with the law protecting us.

The victim will get a big fat pay check from the tax payers because of the stupid sheriffs. That’s also why the entire thing is taped and so are every police cars having a camera. Do you think the sheriff will win his next election? That should be the question you should ask.

Oh, Math, in this case with the video, trust me that you have to have a really really bad lawyer to screw it up. As for how you could set up a law system like you described, that’s up for debate. Wait, did I say debate?

February 5, 2008 @ 3:14 pm | Comment

Absolutely disturbing. I’m sure there are a number of angles missing from this, and that the tape is edited to effect the most impact, but even in its best case scenario its just completely nucking futs.

FYI: The video at your original link seems to have been killed by YouTube. It’s currently available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qvip6Sanp4

February 5, 2008 @ 6:34 pm | Comment

This is why the founding fathers gave us the 2nd amendment. Governments only respect those that can hurt them and 50 million gun owners can do the job.

February 6, 2008 @ 12:21 am | Comment

@Math;

“Therefore, as China is building its current society, it must not learn from America in this aspect. It must try to build a society whose legal service industry will look like the bottled water industry.”

Could it be said that China’s legal service industry is like the bottled water industry, especially the bottled water industry in China? Alot of hype, glitz and promise and promise but in the end often hazardous to your health.

February 6, 2008 @ 12:44 pm | Comment

people actually read math’s comments?!?!? wtf

February 6, 2008 @ 5:06 pm | Comment

Now I understand why the right to arms is so important to you people. I would not hesitate to use one to defend myself if I had one under such circumstances.

February 6, 2008 @ 5:20 pm | Comment

“think hard about what’s wrong…”

Well, let’s see: Drunk Shrieking redneck….police officers called. Redneck confusion! Seems like they couldn’t tell who’s the true shithead, and no wonder.

Moral, don’t get drunk, loud, indignant, and call the cops.

February 6, 2008 @ 8:49 pm | Comment

Oh, sorry, I was confused for a moment.

Shredding the constitution! Decline of moral order! Wrong party in power! Drunk wenches never get busted when MY party’s on the bench!

February 6, 2008 @ 8:52 pm | Comment

I guess she got what she deserved, Sam.

February 6, 2008 @ 9:07 pm | Comment

Governments only respect those that can hurt them and 50 million gun owners can do the job.

That’s true. I think they should send 20 million middle aged rambos jacked up on Lou Dobbs and cocaine to handle Iraq, since the American military can easily be defeated by domestic militias.

Alot of hype, glitz and promise and promise but in the end often hazardous to your health

America Lite

February 7, 2008 @ 10:07 am | Comment

“I guess she got what she deserved, Sam.”

I was laughing at the idea that this is a major socio-political development. Do you suppose Democrat cops ever rough up drunk, obnoxious Republicans? I suspect it happens.

February 7, 2008 @ 1:13 pm | Comment

ferin:

Your bitter response shows that you know what an ugly and degenerate country China is, and that neither the society nor government has evolved beyond brute feudalism.

February 8, 2008 @ 2:34 pm | Comment

nanhe:

Your bitter response shows that you know what an ugly and degenerate country the U.S is, and that neither the society nor government has evolved beyond brute feudalism.

That and you have a homoerotic fixation on the PLA.

February 8, 2008 @ 3:36 pm | Comment

I see Richard erased my factual comment regarding the PLgay and the inability of PLgay soldiers to find significant others without needing to 1. pay for sex or 2. rape.

Otherwise ferin, take those links as a warning for what will happen to China the moment it steps on US soil…genocide of the inferior China.

February 9, 2008 @ 4:47 pm | Comment

Nanhe,

The comments weren’t deleted, but there have been a couple of off-topic and off-color comments by you and Ferin in the last 12 hours that are awaiting Richard to make the final call on.

February 9, 2008 @ 5:38 pm | Comment

Unfortunately Richard is traveling; Jeremiah, please feel free to take action whenever you feel it’s warranted. I completely trust your judgment.

February 9, 2008 @ 11:38 pm | Comment

Nanhe, I did not delete your comment; one of my co-editors did. I didn’t see it. If they felt it merited deletion I trust them. Send me an email if you want to appeal.

February 9, 2008 @ 11:43 pm | Comment

@nanhe & ferin

What does it take to make you two understand that this post is about a person suffering, because policemen abuse their power which they originally were given in order to protect the people (and originally this was not meant as a hollow phrase)? This is an issue that concerns us all, because tomorrow it could be your mother, sister, wife, daughter or maybe yourself. This is something we have to fight together against, yet all you two can do about it is the age-old America versus China mud-slinging, name-calling, I-can-write-even-more-nasty-comments-than-you, bashing competition.

February 10, 2008 @ 7:23 am | Comment

this post is about a person suffering

No it’s not. It’s about the police misbehaving, from what I understand. There’s so much bad news on the headlines that there’s no point in expressing condolences, it’s more or less assumed that you’d feel bad about it unless you were sick. Not going to bother posting what everyone else has already.

PLgay soldiers to find significant others for sex or 2. rape.

There’s a job for you I guess.

February 11, 2008 @ 4:25 pm | Comment

That is, expressing them on internet forums. Not in person.

February 11, 2008 @ 5:05 pm | Comment

I see that it has already been pulled from YouTube – and I live in Hong Kong. Since I have not seen it cannot say, but maybe judged as too ‘offensive to the general audience’

whatever

February 12, 2008 @ 7:04 pm | Comment