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Thursday, July 5, 2007
“I’m not going to let this go.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s tough being a cop. The on-going saga involving the jaywalking professor in Atlanta and the hissy-fit by part-time Atlantan Elton John when stopped by a policeman while enroute to his dressing room, are reminders that …well, it’s tough being a cop.
Two types strike me as particularly difficult. One is the “don’t you know who I am?” crowd (those were Elton John’s words). Though the professor never uttered those words, his conduct in ignoring a cop’s directives reflected the sentiment.
The other particularly difficult group,I’d guess, are those aren’t rich or famous who aggressively assert rights to behave irresponsibly. Atlanta seems to have an unusually large number of people who aggressively jaywalk, defiantly stepping into traffic without regard to oncoming vehicles, signs or signals. It’s a hit-me-if-you-dare mentality. Bicyclists, incidentally, often fall into this category, running through traffic lights or aggressively crowding traffic lanes, forcing motorists either to come to a near-stop or to vacate the lane.
The Tufts University professor, respected as a historian, was here for a convention, when Atlanta police officer Kevin Leonpacher arrested him for jaywalking. It was a bad scene, with the professor, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, a British citizen, ignoring the officer’s instructions. He said he didn’t know Leonpacher was an officer and, furthermore, jaywalking is not illegal in Britain.
A just-released 101-page internal investigation of the January incident exonerates Leonpacher, agreeing that he acted properly. The professor called the internal investigation incompetent and declared: “My goodwill is not inexhaustible. I’m not going to let this go.”
Elton John blew off steam after an officer stopped him enroute to his nearby dressing room after a Concert for Diana performance Sunday. The route in security-conscious London was blocked, apparently because of concern for the safety of Princes William and Harry. After “do-you-know-who?” didn’t work, he stormed off on foot to his dressing room.
The professor’s words should be the creed-of- the-cult for those who are convinced individuals can rewrite the law on the spot if, in their view, the law doesn’t (or shouldn’t) apply to their circumstance:
“My goodwill is not inexhaustible. I’m not going to let this go.”
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