the citizen-viewer

Ray Kelly’s fascistic tendency is showing through again. Surely not, you say. Not fascism!

The New York City police department, of which he is commissioner, proposes to make it an offense subject to arrest for any group of pedestrians or bicyclists to violate any traffic law, rule or regulation. The arrest would be for parading without a permit.

The way they do this is to redefine the word “parade” to mean pretty much everything:

“any procession or race which consists of a group of two or more pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles or other devices moved by human power, or ridden or herded animals proceeding together upon any public street or roadway in a manner that does not comply with all applicable traffic laws, rules and regulations…” [continued here]

Literally, you and a friend step off the curb while the light is red and the nearest cop could arrest you and put you in jail.

This rule change would make literally millions of people subject to arrest every day — literally guilty, too. But don’t imagine that the police would be working overtime hauling in every suit and tie that jaywalks with his pals on the way to a three-beer lunch at Hooters.

What it is, is an effort to create a situation where the police can exercise selective enforcement of the most pernicious kind.

The last time I lived in a dictatorship, Cambodia that is, they had a similar rule (and still do).

The debate was over the wording. The opposition party types insisted that the law was that they only had to notify the police of their plan for a march or rally of more than X people, and that the police “permit” was merely an acknowledgment by the police that they had received this notice. The police position was that they could deny the permit and thereby illegalize the march or rally.

In other words, are you notifying them, or are you asking them for permission?

In the end, the firehoses and electric batons rule the day. And that is what we will see in New York. The police will have a new tool to turn citizen-viewers into criminals at will, and arrest them as soon as they express an opinion that Ray Kelly and Mike Bloomberg don’t like, and beat them down if they stand up for their rights. If you think I’m exaggerating, well, you weren’t there in 2004, 2003, 2001 and keep going.

One of the big differences, in theory anyway, between the US and places like Cambodia (and Mussolini’s Italy) is the presumption of legality. In other words, in the US any activity is presumed to be legal unless there is a law that specifically forbids it. In Cambodia, the premise that is widely accepted and often stated by authorities is that any activity can be illegal unless they, the authorities, have given prior permission.

Now, the NYPD is doing an end run around the presumption of legality by trying to cast the net of illegality over pretty much everyone. That way, they can pick and choose who to arrest.

Transportation Alternatives and the NYCLU are, as always, fighting the good fight against this creeping fascism.

And if the new rules go into effect, I propose the following: Apply, citizen-viewers, apply for a permit every time you plan to cross the street in a group of two or more. Flood the bastards with applications.

But when you want to make a political statement, just do it. You don’t need a stinking permit, you never did and you never will, so don’t ask for one.