Peep Chrisette Michelle covering No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.” I have always loved this song and used to wear out my Tragic Kingdom tape (yes, cassette tape) in high school. I had a real alternative/ska/angsty period that snuggled up to my hip-hop/reggae tunes so No Doubt fit in quite nicely. Oh, and this song stands out because once I was at the skating rink with all my friends, must have been freshman year, and I got into an argument with my boyfriend at the time. I think he was talking to some other girl or whatever. Could’ve been anything back then. Anyway, our friends tried to mediate the whole thing and nothing was working. Someone requested “Don’t Speak” and since at that age we searched for meaning in every lyric of every fucking song, we were so overcome with emotion that we just had to makeup. CORNY, I know. LOL.
One annoying thing about staying at my aunt’s crib is having to deal with my uncle commanding the remote control. He’s got me watching all kinds of bullshit. In additio to the crap he makes me watch on television, then there’s the garbage he subjects me to on WebTV. Yes. There is a WebTV in this house. Mainly, it’s because my aunt won’t let him touch her laptop so he’s banned from accessing the internet like any rational human in 2009.
Anyway, the latest YouTube vid I’ve been subjected to is one of a 15 year old girl being “abused” by the police. It’s an old video (been discussed in the national media and even Al Sharpton’s posse got in on it) but I’ve got to put it to you all. Please watch this and tell me if you think that the officer in the clip abused and battered the girl. My uncle is of the opinion that it was a gross miscarriage of justice (although he would never use words that big) and I wasn’t that offended by the whole thing. Peep game:
Okay. See, being arrested is a scary thing so someone is bound to be irrational. Still, I think the cop gave numerous warnings in a calm manner while trying to handcuff this girl. Apparently she was getting hemmed up by 5-O for a curfew violation, but no matter what, it’s policy of many police departments to handcuff anyone they’re going to put into the car. Safety of the officer, ya know. So let’s assume Officer Gilroy had to cuff her. How many times do I have to tell you to put your hands behind your back before you understand that I need you to put your hands behind your back?! He even said he didn’t want to force her. Clearly Shelwanda is small/skinny and could break a bone or whatever, but that’s all the more reason for her to have chilled out. To me, the situation became worse because of all of her flailing around. The resisting itself makes it more likely that she’ll get hurt. So you’d think if a person were trying to bend your arm behind your back and it was hurting, you’d quit all the resisting and just let it go. No. Oh… and she bit him.
My uncle kept reiterating that she was small and of no harm to the officer. Okay, true. still, I think she did as much contributing to whatever injury she sustained as the officer did. Tell me, how else was he supposed to get her cuffed and in the car? The vid’s editor makes a point of slowing down certain parts but I think the slo-mo exaggerates it instead of allowing us to see more clearly.
I concede that the push into the hood of the car and the pepper spray may be a bit extra. Buuuuuut sistergirl needed to calm the fuck down and maybe if he didn’t subdue her that way, she would have continued to resist and ended up getting more hurt in the end.
Or I’m just wrong and I support police abuse.
Discuss.
bourgie, interrupted 