Hey, Skippy, Don’t Dare Us
Republican Texas State Representative Jason Villalba has introduced a bill making it illegal for you to film or photograph the police. HB2918 allows the filming of police only by a television station with an FCC license or certain magazines and newspapers.
Even his fellow Republicans jumped on him like a fat lady on a milkshake. Jason is a lawyer so you’d suspect that he has at least become vaguely familiar with the First Amendment.
So, after getting whacked about the head by both Democrats and Republicans, Jason decides that the wisest thing to do is to stand his ground. Hey, if you’re going to be a fool, be a stubborn fool because those are the most fun.
He dares his distractors on Twitter —
Pssst, Jason, I think that’s already being arranged.
And then he has a meltdown – right there on Twitter and starts daring everybody.
This goes on for a few fun hours and then he sobers up, dammit, and takes them all down.
I love Republicans in the Lege.
C’mon Skippy this isn’t about the cops who keep your family safe (BTW they don’t but if thinking so helps you sleep at night ok, but they don’t) this is about transparency. Cops make mistakes. We don’t care about the little ones. Like when they drop powdered sugar on their blue uniform at the donut shop. We care about the big ones. The big ones have to stop even if it means selecting hiring and keeping different people as police officers.
1One of the main reasons police don’t like being filmed is that they do horrible things to people they interact with. Filming police has nothing to do with keeping Villalba “safe”; he’s just supporting the police’s illegal and criminal activities. #PoliceareStateSanctionedCriminalGangs.
2Maybe somebody pointed that out to him. I like cops sometimes and think it’s fine to give traffic tickets long as it’s to everyone fair and square. It’s fear of tickets that makes me drive at or below the speed tickets.
3We stand with police too, the good one’s, and if you are not doing anything wrong you should not be afraid to be filmed, photographed or taped.
4Jason Villalba, exercising his right to “stand his st00pid.”
OK, Jason, you’ve stood, now sit down and shut up, while the adults talk.
5Just what part of PUBLIC servant did he completely ignore?
6Anyone with a slight knowledge of todays tech will be able to film the cops without their knowing it and have it streamed to the internet. Make it illegal and you still can’t stop it. And I could still use the film in the court of public opinion…and where do they get the jury from???
7And as others have pointed out….THE COPS CAN”T protect you from anything!!!! The “serve & protect” has NOTHING to do with individual people but concerns the status Quo.
Personally I have no use for the police in general.
And on the same day that camera footage of a Dallas police officer shooting a man armed with a screwdriver is released:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2015/03/graphic_body_cam_footage_shows_dallas_police_shooting_mentally_ill_man_holding_screwdriver.php
(The officer knew it was a screwdriver: “Drop it, guy! ” a voice says again. “Put the damn thing down. Put the screwdriver down. Put the screwdriver down.” )
8The police are just like an other organization. There are rotten apples among the good. Heck, most police departments are filming themselves so why can’t John Q. Public do it as well.
9Mr.V. is making a false premise: Either you agree with him or you are against the police. Ain’t necessarily so.
Well, considering a many of the police “forget” to turn their body cameras on or for some strange reason the footage is “faulty”, I have bought my own dash cam just to be safe. I’m not particularly worried for myself…white woman of a “certain” age (not telling), etc….but I want to be there for any person who is beaten or worse when the cops lie, blame the victim, and falsify their reports. I am sick of what is passing for law enforcement in this country today.
10I also stand with the police, which is why I think it is vital that we find and remove the bad ones.
11Yep, I agree with many who support police and want the bad ones punished like any other criminal. That’s the best thing we can do for all the cops.
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