Woman gets ticketed for dropping f-bomb in a Walmart

[RealSNR]

Wow. Can we finally say backwoods Texas is a "special" place?

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=6325920
Mother ticketed for swearing in Wal-Mart

By Laura Whitley

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- A woman is in trouble for cursing inside a busy store in La Marque. An assistant fire marshal heard her, and wrote her a ticket on the spot.

But investigators say that's not the only reason she ended up with a citation. The incident happened inside the Wal-Mart off I-45, the night before Tropical Storm Edouard hit.

"She should have gotten a ticket. She's lucky she didn't go to jail," said one shopper.

The woman was responding to a recent incident which sent a mother home with a ticket for cursing in public.

The shopper continued, "Because, you're in public. You can't do that."

That's exactly what La Marque's assistant fire marshal, Alfred Decker, tried to tell Kathryn Fridge, 28, when he allegedly overheard her use the 'f-word' in the store last week.

"He said, 'Ma'am, please refrain from using that language. You're not allowed to cuss in public like that,'" explained La Marque Fire Department Chief Todd Zacherl.

Zacherl spoke on Decker's behalf. He said the officer's warning to Fridge was only met with more expletives.

"I think he just originally went to just ask her politely not to use that type of language," Zacherl said. "Things escalated to the point where he had to do something. He couldn't just walk away."

The single mother walked away with a ticket, and concerns, say the chief, about his assistant fire marshal's actions. Zacherl says as far as he can tell, Decker responded appropriately.

"He said he did have to place cuffs on her in the parking lot because he couldn't get her to calm down," Zacherl said.

Cursing in public is certainly not a federal case. But people do get in trouble for it, just usually not at a Wal-Mart.

Zacherl explained, "These are the type of tickets you would find around the Kemah Boardwalk, things like that, or outside of a bar or something."

Most people we spoke with about the incident sided with the officer, but not everyone.

"It depends on what the reason is," said one woman. "She might have had a reason. She could have had a bad day and somebody just touched her wrong."

We made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Fridge. She was ticketed for disorderly conduct. She will either have to pay it, or go before a judge.

[little jacob]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

That would also be lewd and is against the law.

(adj) lewd, obscene, raunchy, salacious (suggestive of or tending to moral looseness) "lewd whisperings of a dirty old man"; "an indecent gesture"; "obscene telephone calls"; "salacious limericks"


So, in what substantive way is being verbally explicit different than being visually explicit?

And aren't all laws against lewd behavior just some stick in the mud trying to enforce his morality on you? Why should there be laws against lewd behavior?

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by RJ

Apparently in that community there is a law against using that type of language in a public place. Am I missing something here? I believe that's why she received the ticket.

Do we know that there is a law there of that nature? Such law would be unconstitutional.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by little jacob

(adj) lewd, obscene, raunchy, salacious (suggestive of or tending to moral looseness) "lewd whisperings of a dirty old man"; "an indecent gesture"; "obscene telephone calls"; "salacious limericks"


So, in what substantive way is being verbally explicit different than being visually explicit?

And aren't all laws against lewd behavior just some stick in the mud trying to enforce his morality on you? Why should there be laws against lewd behavior?

Oh, I don't know. It's hard to really, really offend someone by something said. But you know, a gang bang at the local mall might scar some people.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by RJ

We don't have the freedom to say whatever we want. That's the whole point. He didn't make up the law on the spot, it already existed.

There's a big difference between having "delicate sensibilities" and expecting common courtesy and decency. IMO, we've turned into too much of an "anything goes" society. There is nothing wrong with expecting folks to have respect for others in a public place.

I amended my original post.

And I will agree there is a huge difference between letting an f-bomb fly if she stubs her toe, and dropping f-bombs like she's carpet bombing outside of Tikrit.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by RJ

We don't have the freedom to say whatever we want. That's the whole point. He didn't make up the law on the spot, it already existed.

There's a big difference between having "delicate sensibilities" and expecting common courtesy and decency. IMO, we've turned into too much of an "anything goes" society. There is nothing wrong with expecting folks to have respect for others in a public place.

Hmm.. I may be mistaken but I don't remember it being afforded the right to life, liberty, RESPECT, and the pursuit of happiness.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Really?

Did she yell fire and put people in danger?
Did she yell gun man and put people in danger?

No. At least not that we know of. So, no, there's no harm to other people. People don't have this right to be offended and have the offensive thing reprimanded.


And as for the bold, nothing could be more laughable. We can't show a breast on a movie screen without an instant R. We can't allow cuss words on cable. We can't deal with sound effects in Paper Planes by MIA on the radio. We can't deal with growing a certain type of plant. We can't deal with what people put in their bodies. We can't deal with lots of things.

Anything goes is as far from American society as anything.

I'm talking about our behavior. I don't actually care about breasts or cussing on tv, I can decide what I watch or don't watch. I'm talking about people having respect for each other. You're on a whole different subject.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I amended my original post.

And I will agree there is a huge difference between letting an f-bomb fly if she stubs her toe, and dropping f-bombs like she's carpet bombing outside of Tikrit.

No difference, unless someone is in danger. And kids' ears don't count as danger.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Hmm.. I may be mistaken but I don't remember it being afforded the right to life, liberty, RESPECT, and the pursuit of happiness.

No, it is simply a reasonable expectation for all of us to have of each other.

[little jacob]

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Oh, I don't know. It's hard to really, really offend someone by something said. But you know, a gang bang at the local mall might scar some people.

Perhaps I find your saying the F word in front of my 5 year old daughter really, really offensive?

Is that the objective, to protect people from having to feel offended? In that case, we're going to need a LOT more laws about what you can say and do.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by RJ

I'm talking about our behavior. I don't actually care about breasts or cussing on tv, I can decide what I watch or don't watch. I'm talking about people having respect for each other. You're on a whole different subject.

While I agree that people should have respect for each other, I also recognize that people shouldn't be FORCED to display respect nor should they be punished/reprimanded for lacking respect.

I believe certain things but I don't try to force my morals on others through legislation unless there is some sort of tangible harm induced if not regulated.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by RJ

I'm talking about our behavior. I don't actually care about breasts or cussing on tv, I can decide what I watch or don't watch. I'm talking about people having respect for each other. You're on a whole different subject.

No, I'm not. It may be different than what you want to get at, but it applies to your previous statement.

As long as you are not putting others in danger (fire in a theatre) freedom of speech is covered. It doesn't say the speech can't be offensive. If you want that, go to Canada where they're having their hands full with hate speech laws so vague that it's absurd.

You don't have a right to be offended and have said offender persecuted.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by little jacob

Perhaps I find your saying the F word in front of my 5 year old daughter really, really offensive?

Is that the objective, to protect people from having to feel offended? In that case, we're going to need a LOT more laws about what you can say and do.

That's my point. There is no danger. Kids' ears don't count as danger.

It seems the objective of the dissenters in this thread (your side) want to have this right of not being offended. You don't have it. People say offensive things. Period.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

While I agree that people should have respect for each other, I also recognize that people shouldn't be FORCED to display respect nor should they be punished/reprimanded for lacking respect.

I believe certain things but I don't try to force my morals on others through legislation unless there is some sort of tangible harm induced if not regulated.

[KC Kings]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

**** **** ****ITY ****

I think i'll curse everywhere the rest of the week

"yes i'd love ****ing fries with that" "Do you have that in a ****ing extra large?"

"Thanks for your ****ing assistance!" etc etc

So if you said "I'd like some ****ing fries with that" in front of a family, and one of the parents asked you politely to refrain from using foul language, would you oblige or continue to curse? Most people, yourself included, would have the decency to cut it out if asked respectively to do so.

I have asked people to watch their language on at least 10 occasions, mostly at sporting events, and not once has anybody had a problem or continued cursing. The most recent came at the Brigade season opener when 2 drunk guys were acting like they wanted to fight in the nosebleed seats in front of three of my friends and our young boys, and they were screaming F-you and P_ssy at each other. I went between them, pointed at the kids and asked them to tone it down or take it somewhere else. They were still both drink and mad, but it difused the situation.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by KC Kings

So if you said "I'd like some ****ing fries with that" in front of a family, and one of the parents asked you politely to refrain from using foul language, would you oblige or continue to curse? Most people, yourself included, would have the decency to cut it out if asked respectively to do so.

This is beside the point. There is no law that mandates you have to be courteous.

I have asked people to watch their language on at least 10 occasions, mostly at sporting events, and not once has anybody had a problem or continued cursing. The most recent came at the Brigade season opener when 2 drunk guys were acting like they wanted to fight in the nosebleed seats in front of three of my friends and our young boys, and they were screaming F-you and P_ssy at each other. I went between them, pointed at the kids and asked them to tone it down or take it somewhere else. They were still both drink and mad, but it difused the situation.

Doesn't matter. There is no law that mandates you have to not be rude. Or a law that says you have the right not to be offended in public.