The Petty Mindset of Oppression
Bureaucrats Do Not Like To Be Told They Are Silly!
"It took a year, 10 court hearings, a police helicopter, a spotter aircraft, a video camera and lots of public money to bring Sarah McCaffery to justice."
An article in today's UK "Daily Telegraph" tells the story of this desperate woman!
The dastardly crime?
"Holding a Golden Delicious apple as she drove to work."
In the UK, it's an offence to drive while eating or drinking (also while using a mobile phone). While I can understand the reason for this particular law (indeed, would even support it), that's not really what this story is about.
"The magistrates heard that when Miss McCaffery had the "temerity" to challenge the prosecution in court, which attracted publicity, the police used their helicopter and a fixed-wing spotter aircraft to film the junction as evidence, while a sergeant and a constable in a patrol car made a video.
Mr Forrester said: "This is all about trying to crush her because she stood up and said, 'This is silly.' The police and the CPS do not like to be told they are silly.""
Indeed. Tyranny often starts in a small way. This story is simply the latest in a series of examples of the authorities in the UK acting in an oppressive fashion in what is really a very trivial case. The point is how it is illustrative of the mindset of the petty bureaucrat and how the apparatus of the state can easily be turned towards oppression in the absence of strong safeguards.
Note to readers.
I'll be travelling for the next 4 weeks. I hope to be able to continue posting but it may be even more intermittent than even in recent weeks!
"It took a year, 10 court hearings, a police helicopter, a spotter aircraft, a video camera and lots of public money to bring Sarah McCaffery to justice."
An article in today's UK "Daily Telegraph" tells the story of this desperate woman!
The dastardly crime?
"Holding a Golden Delicious apple as she drove to work."
In the UK, it's an offence to drive while eating or drinking (also while using a mobile phone). While I can understand the reason for this particular law (indeed, would even support it), that's not really what this story is about.
"The magistrates heard that when Miss McCaffery had the "temerity" to challenge the prosecution in court, which attracted publicity, the police used their helicopter and a fixed-wing spotter aircraft to film the junction as evidence, while a sergeant and a constable in a patrol car made a video.
Mr Forrester said: "This is all about trying to crush her because she stood up and said, 'This is silly.' The police and the CPS do not like to be told they are silly.""
Indeed. Tyranny often starts in a small way. This story is simply the latest in a series of examples of the authorities in the UK acting in an oppressive fashion in what is really a very trivial case. The point is how it is illustrative of the mindset of the petty bureaucrat and how the apparatus of the state can easily be turned towards oppression in the absence of strong safeguards.
Note to readers.
I'll be travelling for the next 4 weeks. I hope to be able to continue posting but it may be even more intermittent than even in recent weeks!
posted by Kevin Francis at
6:21 pm
