A reminder that exactly five years ago, the police in Pennsylvania were hunting for college kids who committed the crime of assembly (formerly a “right” protected by the First Amendment). From Life on campus during the plague:
At the same time, the students were reminded “It is better to report someone who’s innocent than to not report someone who’s guilty.” (context: sexual assault, though it is unclear how a sexual assault might occur among students who were following the college’s coronapanic dictates).
Lol. Bet that this crime leads went cold.
We have a satellite sorority house on our street, 10 miles away from campus, and not one of them or their numerous “guests” followed our Governor’s orders for quarantine. I didn’t turn them in, but they deserved to be cited. People engaging in civil disobedience (and I’m being generous here) should expect to be jailed (see Thoreau). Government is so messed up we’re lucky the pandemic didn’t turn out worse than it did.
> college kids who committed the crime of assembly (formerly a “right” protected by the First Amendment)
With all due respect, this is kind of cherry picking–rights can and are limited during emergencies. Recall after 911 when there was a no-fly order, and other various civil liberties were “suspended”, some still–just go to an airport. Which is the real questions: what is a legitimate emergency and when is it over? The U.S. is still under official emergencies dating back to the ’70s. Trump declared a state of emergency in 2020 for the Wuvid-19 virus, and he is arguably using emergencies to expand Presidential power.
Why aren’t many more people incensed about all the other, every-day, intrusive “nanny state” policies like marijuana prohibition? Presumably, most of these students were underage, what about their illegal drinking? Maybe we should worry more about 18+, draft eligible men (still only men), being able to drink a beer at a frat party.
I do not think that Pennsylvania police cared to enforce covid shutdowns. The state troopers I met did not care and were looking the other way, and I had never been stopped, on the highway or in other places. Following shutdown orders Pennsylvania voters bipartisanly voted to take Pennsylvania’s Governor ability to shutdown Pennsylvania away. I think that only small businesses were affected because they could be easily fined, but even those sometimes stayed open. Pennsylvania is not really a pro-business state, and it is too seems to be a bipartisan consensus. Maybe State College municipal police department is different but I doubt that. PennState is a well known party school with decent academics and I think it is one of the less “woke” schools.
I also like that Pennsylvania keeps marijuana illegal, despite most of neighboring states made it legal and experience lower air quality because of that.
> experience lower air quality because of that
Well, at least that is some progress. (I don’t use weed myself, I just detest hypocrisy.) It used to be widely considered a moral failing to be a pothead. We’ve moved it to a odor nuisance! Why don’t they make lifted diesel trucks rolling coal illegal? That along with cigars stinks up my neighborhood more than anything. Oh, wait, tampering with vehicle emissions is already a federal crime. Tobacco and alcohol, quite addictive and have no known medicinal uses, and are legal, marijuana might and is a Schedule I drug. /shrug
Fallen Angel, maybe you should trade Penn State for Rutgers and enjoy skunky fumes of marijuana that spread over large area, even from moving vehicle to a moving vehicle, instead of trying to borgerize the commonwealth to make it a part of global Jersey https://youtu.be/veH-NdODMjo
Rutgers? Damn, I ain’t that fallen, bro/sis/cous. I’d have to pry the skanks off my leg. Last time I was in Jersey, in the previous millennium, the hydrocarbon soup in the air on the ‘pike nearly knocked me out. You can really smell the skunk weed over that? Sheeit.
Isn’t it ironic? Five years ago, failing to follow COVIDFear policies was considered a crime, and we were instructed to report anyone who didn’t comply. Today, however, we are being guided on how to report on ICE and how to protect illegal migrants and this is not considered a crime!
That’s a great point that I hadn’t considered, George. Thank you! You’re right. It was virtuous to rat out young healthy neighbors who assembled. Today it is unvirtuous to rat out neighbors who have no legal reason to be in the U.S.
> we are being guided
In a democracy, our guide is the law. If we disagree with unjust laws, we either petition the government or commit civil disobedience to change them. In anarchy, we (police, politicians, citizens) pick and choose at will. I’d rather have the former, than be at the whim of overgrown toddlers.
Drunken soror-whores shouldn’t flaunt government orders, ICE shouldn’t trip over themselves violating rights, people blowing weed smoke out the window of their car while driving should be arrested, and illegal aliens should be deported. “Guidance” to the contrary from either polarized side with its own agenda is actually misguidance and antidemocratic.
We really should turn in anyone we know is breaking the law, as tiring as it is when the police don’t seem to give a shit about laws either.