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1995-01-03
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Date: 05 Feb 93 16:25:34 EST
From: Steve Brown <70511.3424@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject: File 6--In Re "Legal Strategy on 2600 Nov. '92" (CuD #5.07)
Response to CUD 5.07, File-3 "Legal Strategy on 2600 Nov. '92
Mall Harassment" by Robert A. Carolina.
<<<First, recognize that guards, cops, and other "uniforms" get
really nervous around organized groups. The more inexperienced
the uniform, the more nervous they get.>>>
Who are you talking about? Just because someone wears a badge and a
uniform does not mean he or she will act a certain way. Security
agents are private agents who protect property and assets for the
owner. Security guards do the same with a state certificate (as long
as you are breathing and have never had a felony conviction). Law
enforcement officers are 24 -hour-a-day public servants who are sworn
to uphold the laws of the state within the parameters of the
Constitution. Private security guards and law enforcement officers
have completely different missions. The former has minimal (if any)
formal training. Why do you think they would act the same?
>>When you combine nervous uniforms (like under-trained mall
rent-a-cops) together with volatile personalities (like hackers
sporting anti-social nick-names) the result is usually a rapidly
escalating level of disharmony. (At the far extreme, disharmony
like this can produce four cops beating the hell out of Rodney
King because he "just wouldn't lie still on the ground". The
point is not to criticize Mr. King, but to make sure that you
don't end up in the hospital. Money awarded by a court is a poor
substitute for missing teeth.)<<
The point is that you are confusing the issues by comparing apples to
oranges. You over generalize and create the impossible. By using the
term "uniforms" you lump law enforcement officers and security guards
together. "Uniforms" implies that since they look alike and use some
of the same tools (gun, baton), then they must act alike and do the
same. This is not likely if they follow different rules, laws,
standards, and training.
>> Fourth, mall cops are not government agents, and as such,
their conduct is (mostly) not governed by the Constitution.<<
This IS true. Unless, the mall SECURITY GUARDS are directed to do
something in behalf of a government law enforcement agency (in this
case the Secret Service). Then, technically, the SECURITY GUARDS
become government agents and are subject to the same formal
procedures. This may have been the case, and you do point this out.
>>Third, recognize that a mall IS private property and the mall
operators can throw you out for little or no reason. Fourth,
mall cops are not government agents, and as such, their conduct
is (mostly) not governed by the Constitution. So what does this
all mean? Basically, Ghandi was right. The ticket to dealing
with obstreperous uniformed mall cops is polite, passive
resistance. The key here is POLITE. At all times, assure the
mall cop that you will obey all lawful instructions. Do not give
the uniforms any reason whatsoever to escalate the scene.<<
>>If you are confronted by a group of threatening looking mall
cops and they hassle you, ask if you are being ejected from the
mall. If yes, then wish the officers a nice day and head for the
nearest exit. If no, then wish the officers a nice day and head
for the nearest exit. (Do you see a pattern emerging? Remember,
you do not generally have a "right" to stay in a mall. Thus,
your best defense from ignorant mall cops is to get the hell off
of their turf.)<<
Once again you are right. "The mall operators can throw you out for
little or no reason." So if that's the case, why would you even want
to stay and ask a bunch of unintelligent questions. As for your
strategy, I think Ghandi would tell you to forget about being polite.
I think he'd tell you to "get the hell out of Dodge." Why you would
encourage anyone to confront "obstreperous uniformed mall cops with
polite, passive resistance" is beyond me. You'd be better off leaving
on your own accord. This would at least insure your chances of a safe
return at a later time if need be. If it is evident that you are not
wanted while on private property (mall or elsewhere) just leave and
take your $$ with you.
Through subtle uses of the English language sectors of society (law
enforcement and the media) have portrayed the would-be criminals
behind a keyboard "as "hackers." There has been a great amount of
ignorance and myth regarding the use of the computer as a criminal
tool. The ignorance has led to the name calling of the people who use
these powerful machines to conduct crimes. They are called "hackers"
when they should simply be called criminals. I can surely understand
how the derogatory use of the term "hacker" could anger the
legitimate computer world. By choosing to use the term "hacker" rather
than criminal, more attention is placed upon the computer, itself,
rather than the person who has done the crime. The derogatory use of
hacker is dehumanizing. By definition criminals have rights; Hackers
and witches do not. Steve Jackson might be a witch (or would it be a
warlock?) in a modern day Salem Witch Hunt.
My biggest concern is your attempt to dehumanize the police in a
similar way. Whether you know it or not (maybe you don't really care),
you have employed the same dehumanizing method in your effort to
portray law enforcement. The computer world should not alienate its
"enemy" through the use of name calling.
Your effort seems to have been to inform people of their legal
recourses during an incident similar to the "2600 Harassment"
incident. The strength of the legal advise given, however, was
weakened by the strategy you chose to use. You have probably confused
a good many people in your attempt to explain sound legal ideas. A
GUARD is a guard. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (police, cop) is a law
enforcement officer.
A uniform unfortunately is what many ignorant people see. It is a
way to dehumanize a person who gives you a ticket when you speed,
prevents you from driving home after a fun night of partying, rushes
your child to the hospital while he or she bleeds to death in a patrol
car, and risks his life to protect yours during a robbery.
Occasionally, he or she has to arrest an individual whether it be for
a crime committed with a computer or not. Often when a police officer
is killed in the line of duty, the news passes like a cold wind. It's
much easier to put a bullet through a uniform than someone with a wife
or husband and children.
Ignorance is a disease of the mind which must be fought, not
only with facts, but with a sound strategy.
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