By Laura Armstrong Monica
Once upon a time, Cobb County was still red, taxes were much lower and county employees were happier in their work. Controversies happened, but for the most part elected and appointed officials were competent and accountable.
I was thinking about an arrest, however, that happened just before I “retired” from my job as a columnist with the local newspaper. It had to do with free speech and it’s worth mentioning in the wake of the “Heil Hitler” incident percolating in the county today.
Way back in 2012, Easter Day to be exact, a woman on her bike spotted Cobb police questioning a guy outside a convenience store near Marietta and decided to yell, “Cobb police s*#k. F*#k the police!”
She then flipped them the proverbial middle finger and rode away. Outrageous, right? How dare she?
The officers to whom she referred gave chase and arrested her for attempting to “incite an immediate breach of the peace.”
The woman, a Cobb activist named Amy Barnes, promptly filed a federal lawsuit against Cobb for violating her first amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and, two years later, she won. She was awarded $100,000 by the courts. Bam. We taxpayers forked over that hefty sum so she could have her speech, however awful it was, and people moved on while she no doubt moved up.
Alas, but the world has changed. As we all know, leftists running the county now have no sense of history or respect for free speech OR the Constitution. Their victimhood and trauma rule their response when words they don’t agree with are uttered.
Take the investigation associated with the Board of Elections’ meeting last week.
The incident of note happened in just a couple seconds during the public comments after a string of democrat activists had publicly applauded the board’s dedication to “democracy.” All was going so well for the embattled board until a critic stood up to publicly shame one member, Jennifer Mosbacher, because of her refusal to stand (during the Pledge) and show respect for the country she lives in and the board on which she serves.
As if that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, and just as the critic finished his comment about the defiant Mosbacher, someone from the back of the room – not the public speaker, just a random audience member – decided to holler out, “Heil Hitler.” Perhaps he didn’t realize Mosbacher is of the Jewish faith. His likely target was actually her critic. But we don’t know, because he refused to stand and take blame, even at the orders of officials in the room. And no one saw him, or so they say.
At that, the board saw their opportunity, jumped on the outrage train and halted the important public meeting due to the trauma. Who cares if their business wasn’t finished? A police investigation has been launched, and now everyone is talking about the anonymous perp and Hitler. No longer are we talking about the board, its member’s disrespect, the security of our ballots or other important business just weeks from an important election. Because you know, inflammatory words and maybe Nazis. Even Chairman Queen Cupid weighed in unnecessarily, just in case HER outrage went unnoticed.
Meanwhile, if they catch the guy and arrest him for his two words, uttered from the back of the crowded room, I hope they all remember what happened ten years ago when Little Miss F-the-PoPo got $100,000 for her outburst. It was awarded, rightly, to punish those who would steal her First Amendment Rights. A lot has changed in ten years, however.
In any case, let’s not reward this guy’s rancid mouth or let the Elections Board off the hook. Let it go, Ms. Cupid. Jerks are everywhere these days. Get back to the business we pay you to do: protect our elections and respect our laws.
