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Aqua Teen Art 'Terrorist' Describes His Ordeal
destinyland writes "Boston police arrested artist 'Zebbler' for installing L.E.D. devices that promoted Aqua Teen Hunger Force (after police mistook them for bombs). He's finally shared the real behind-the-scenes story about his arrest and release. He describes his interrogation ('My interrogator gave me nothing but carrots to eat') and remembers a surreal exchange with a police officer. ('My daughter is a huge fan of you ... So, did you really mean to blow up Boston?') Now his latest project is a cool high-definition/surround sound installation for an event called RIP.MIX.BURN.BAM.PFA."
It is so bizarre and still indicates the rigidness of the public service to go so over the edge that it can only be fully described as a work of surrealistic art.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Just because it alarmed the public, didn't mean he knew it'd happen. I think intent should have a lot to do with things. Anyway, people are just retarded. I was in Boston that day. I wish I had seen it!
Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
it must be a bomb.
Because a bomb squad, who should have handled the dismantling of these devices, should have known in 5 minutes it wasn't a fucking bomb. Now either: 1) they weren't called in so the police are incompetent. 2) they were called in and ignored so the police are incompetent. 3) they were called in and thought it was a bomb so they were incompetent. In any event, someone was incompetent in reacting to these LED sticky thingies. It certainly wasn't the PR company.
The goal of terrorism is to effect change in a society through fear. Every time you and your fraidy-cat buddies jumps because something reminds you of a crappy episode of 24 you give legitimacy to those tactics. Not only that, you encourage the subversion of the necessary civil liberties inherent to the United States by government forces. Instead of plotzing every time we see some unfamiliar blinkenlightz, we should be thinking about root causes. All the security in the world is not worth the price of my freedom. I'm surprised you don't feel the same way.
She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue.
I blame the paramilitary and militaristic mentality in most police forces. In fact, I would go so far as to say I don't even like the term "police force."
I'm a police officer in Florida. There are several principles I follow which have resulted in my getting only two complaints against me in the past two years.
1. I'm a peace officer, not a law enforcement officer. My goal is the peaceful resolution of conflict, using the law to do so.
2. You cannot insult me. I take offense at nothing while on the job.
3. I will never threaten to arrest someone: I will only warn them that they can be arrested for their actions and will give them several options for peacefully resolving the issue.
4. I will always explain my reasons behind my actions to anyone who asks, so long as safety permits.
5. I will never blindly follow the rules.
6. When in doubt, ask myself if I could talk with my family about what I was about to do to someone without feeling ashamed.
The military mindset is POISON to the civilian police service. If I could do only one thing to improve police relations with the community and performance levels, I would eliminate everything remotely resembling the military. No sergeants, no lieutenants, no military-looking uniforms. Cops should look, think, and act like the civilians they are.