The disturbing case of Carol Fisher.
I've just come across a story online that says a lot about the creeping elements of fascism that appears to making it's way into American society.
Carol Fisher was arrested for putting up anti-Bush posters in Cleveland heights. The posters stated that "The World Can't Wait". I presume for Bush's removal from office.
At this point she was approached by two police officers who asked her to remove the posters as this was an offence.
Fisher turned and walked toward the poster, in compliance with the officer’s warning. But instead of allowing her to take it down or just issuing a citation, Downey and Frinzl were on top of her “knee into [Fisher’s] back and [her] face into the sidewalk.”She then appeared in front of judge Timothy McGinty who sent her to the psychiatric unit of the Cuyahoga County Jail in downtown
Fisher said she told the officers she could not breathe. That didn’t matter. Two more officers showed up, and they dragged her to a bench, shackled her legs, and handcuffed her tight enough to cause serious bruising.
Fisher objected to her arrest, telling the officers that “as citizens we have the responsibility to stop the crimes of the Bush regime.”
According to her statements, this inflamed the officers. One told her, “I am sick of this anti-Bush shit,” and they threatened to kill her. “You are definitely going to the psych ward,” said another. And that’s where she ended up, incommunicado, even to her Power of Attorney for health care. University Hospitals personnel were forbidden by the police to allow visitors or for Fisher to make a phone call.
Of course, the judge's attitude to protest was well signalled when he asked her attorney, before the beginning of the hearing, to read out what was written on the defendants T-shirt. It read:
"Wanted for Illegally Crossing Borders: The Bush Regime
"If you are going to insist that crossing borders illegally is a crime which cannot be tolerated, how about George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice (and yes, Colin Powell) and the rest of that gang, with their highly illegal, and violent, 'crossing of the border'-into Iraq, among other places?!"
The judge said that, "The fact that she's still wearing these protest shirts to her trials tells me that she's not focusing on the issues."
"But I haven't seen anybody in the exact circumstances of Miss Fisher has in her resisting, continuing to resist, hysterical behavior, accusations, ranting and raving about fascism. And this political, somehow aligning her arrest with Bush, and the political ramifications, as if this is part of the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld response to her, you know. I mean, it's borderline delusional, and I want to find out if her behavior is delusional or not. I don' t think Bush or his group that she has on the shirt here, had much to do with the Cleveland Heights incident."
"I want to find out if there were other hysterical behaviors, martyrdom-type acts, where she's purposely getting arrested, or going through these type of things for attention, or whatever the issues are. Maybe she thinks, in her mind, that going to jail will help the cause, and she wants to sacrifice her freedom for the cause."
She has since been released, although it is worth remembering that the crime that started off this whole extraordinary legal process was putting up a poster protesting against the President's actions.
The Land of the Free? You're suspected of insanity if you even question the actions of Dear Leader.
I don't know Carol Fisher and have never heard of her before I came across this story. She could be a grade A nutter for all I know. But no matter what kind of person she is, in this case the treatment meted out to her came nowhere near commensurate with the crime.
To find yourself confined, without access even to those who have Power of Attorney for your health, in a psychiatric unit for the crime of putting up an anti-government poster makes most of us think of Russia and the Gulags.
Welcome to Bush's post 9-11 America.
Thank God I'm an old European.
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8 comments:
Remember the Eleventh Commandment, and keep it Holy:
"Thou shalt not get caught."
These are words the Bushistas LIVE BY, even if they are too incompetent to obey them.
Our signs have to be covertly placed in locations where they are overtly visible.
In that order.
My Aunt Katherine spent five YEARS in an East German mental hospital where she was held as a political dissident by the government.
Vanity published a book about it, but it never got picked up by a publisher.
Might be time to try and get my hands on a copy to use as a Primer as to how to get through the next decade or so, because we have not only arrived at that kind of culture, we're going to pass it.
Dustin, I hear you. It may well come to that. Especially if the Dems stay so quiet. We need to shout this stuff from the rooftops. It's Pastor Niemoller all over again.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
Kreskin, Amen to that.
Stash, loved the rubbers!
Blogenfreude, I was depressed when I first read it as well... then I started to get fucking angry. Who are these fascists?
As much as I dislike this administration (I'll be dancing in the street when the articles of impeachment are handed down), I would be curious as to the validity of the news report. I would like to see a reference to a print newspaper.
Well, the newspapers are only going to report the police's side of the story, taking what they say as verbatim.
However, this is from the Cleveland Sun News .
"She said police threw her up against a shop window and forced her to the ground, and one of the officers put his knee in her back to handcuff her. Her legs were later shackled.
Both Fisher and the officers were treated following the incident at University Hospitals for cuts and scrapes.
Fisher's attorneys, Terry Gilbert and Dan Shields, say it is a case of police over-reaction.
Others police officers responding to the scene were Inv. Michael Kane, Inv. Michael Marko, and patrol officer Anthony Piotrowski.
The city is not releasing incident reports, witness statements or EMS reports related to the incident until after the trial, and has referred all questions to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office."
First, yes it is illegal in Cleveland Heights to post any type of advertisement on utility poles. It is called posting handbills and there are several laws on the books prohibiting it. If Carol Fisher was not ignorant to the law in the first place, she could have avoided this whole situation. Secondly, I did observe this confrontation first hand. I had just left Subway with my young son and had watched Carol Fisher staple several posters on both sides of telephone poles in front of the store. About this time I heard a police officer call to her that she would face a fine if she didn’t take down the signs. Carol Fisher took another sign from her bag, and as to shove it in the face of the officer, stapled it up with authority. The police officer then asked Carol Fisher for her ID, and Carol Fisher started to walk away from him, he asked her several times. She began screaming in an attempt to draw attention, that she did nothing wrong and would not give her ID to the officer. The officer attempted to stop her by stepping in her way, Carol Fisher began to swing her arms wildly. The officer then called for another officer that was standing across the street. Carol Fisher began clawing at the officer’s face, and kicking him. Both officers then held her against the building. Both officers were telling Carol Fisher to stop resisting and just settle down. This woman was out of her mind, kicking, punching, and spitting. The woman then fell to the ground on her own, the officers actually tried to soften her fall by grabbing her coat. Carol Fisher laid face down with her hands interlocked so the police could not handcuff her. As one officer knelt on the ground, Carol Fisher tried to bite him in the face several times, and did get ahold of his shirt with her teeth. The police officer then told me to call 911 and tell police dispatch they needed help. More officers showed up and finally were able to control. These officers never struck, brutalized, or my favorite… abducted Carol Fisher. They were nothing short of professional. I had to post this real account of the “story” as I was sick and disgusted with all the false facts of this non news worthy story. I look forward to testifying against Carol Fisher in the above matter. I find it amusing that in Carol Fisher’s statement of what happened to her, her last comment is… any legal help would be greatly appreciated. If she did nothing wrong, why would she be trying to recruit national legal representation ?
Dear Anonymous,
Lets assume that all you say is correct.
Why was this woman placed in a psychiatric ward without access even to those with power of attorney over her health?
Why did the judge feel that the T shirt she was wearing was relevant to her trial?
I have always argued that I have no knowledge of the woman but that the treatment meted out to her was not appropriate to the crime.
That is still my position. Putting up a poster is not a reason to question a persons sanity. Do you disagree with this?
And I'm amazed that you are looking forward to testifying against her, especially as she has already been found guilty and is due to be sentenced on June 2nd.
She was not placed in the psychiatric ward without access to even those with medical power of attorney. She was put into jail for not conforming to simple pre-sentencing requirements, and when she was PUT in JAIL, for her own protection, they put her in the psych ward because they truly have concerns about her mental health.
That's not what it says on the Daily Kos page that you linked to. There it refers to the judge's "highly unusual decision to force Carol to undergo a state psychological exam as part of her pre-sentencing investigation."
Her sanity was not questioned because she put up a poster. Her sanity was questioned because she refused repeated lawful orders to provide her ID.
Again, that's not what her lawyer said according to the site that you linked me to. "Terry Gilbert, one of Carol's attorneys said, "This is Gulag stuff--saying that people who are dissidents are crazy." He said that in his 33 years of practicing law, he has never seen anything like this."
Kel -And I'm amazed that you are looking forward to testifying against her, especially as she has already been found guilty and is due to be sentenced on June 2nd.
Sue -And that statement from 'anonymous' was a witness statement from months ago. 4 witnesses testified to exactly what this anonymous witness said.
I'm not sure what you are trying to say there. Anonymous posted that on this site on the date marked claiming he/she was looking forward to being a witness in a trial that had actually already taken place. You will note that there are no quotation marks used to suggest as you do that the anonymous poster on this site was quoting an anonymous witness to the events.
Here's a link to more info. The diary is full of half-truths and limited info. The comments have links and info giving you the full story.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/11/1534/61596
I've had a look at the Daily Kos article but I have no intention of trawling through all the comments trying to make your case for you. If you can't be bothered to do so I don't see why I should.
I must be honest and say that both the people who have posted on here on this subject have sounded just as incoherent as Miss Fisher is claimed to have been.
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