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Civil-liberties lawyer: Alleged moron at Nantasket Beach may have had right to be a moron
By adamg on Mon, 08/29/2011 - 9:34am
The Herald talks to Harvey Silverglate about the guy arrested at Nantasket Beach yesterday when he refused to come out of the surf. Well, that and after he allegedly ran across the road to try to evade state troopers.
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Comments
Well, then..
Two subjects of which Harvey is expert at; people's rights and being a total moron. This is the guy who thinks Sal DiMasi was railroaded!
Nanny State
nanny state, na-na-na-nanny state. Nanny state, nanny state, na-na-na-nanny state. Nanny state!
Inform the idiot that nobody is gonna save his arse and then go get some real work done.
Surfer my arse, too - no board, no brain.
Waiver
I think it was in Rhode Island, where police went door to door in evacuation zones and made people who refused to leave sign waivers that they won't call for help if the storm hits and they need help.
But on the other hand, I'm rusty on my constitutional law, but I believe the state has a "compelling state interest" in protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens so it's legal to arrest bozos like this guy for his own safety.
Who decides?
So, who decides this and where is the line crossed? When Maverick's (big surf break on the left coast) is going off big, who stands on the beach saying who can go and who can't? Who stands at the bottom of El Capitan and tells people they can't climb it? People that aren't ready for these will learn the hard way. Oh well. If they're lucky, they'll survive.
I'm from the "Don't protect people from themselves" school of thought. What one person thinks is insane is a very controlled risk for another. People BASE jump, people ski unbelievably sick lines, people climb 8K meter peaks, people free climb rock walls, people kayak ridiculous whitewater. I'm not going to be the one to limit what somebody wants to do.
I originally heard this was a surfer, implying he had a board, but now I hear he was a swimmer. Maybe he was in way over his head. If he really wanted to swim, maybe he should have gone to a beach that wasn't as controlled as Nantasket.
idiot waiver
"Some people should die, that is just unconscious knowledge." - Jane's
Addiction