this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024

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630

Cemetery Staffer Declines To Press Charges For Fear Of Retaliation (talkingpointsmemo.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

124 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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[–] [email protected] 201 points 2 months ago (6 children)

This is part of a statement put out by Chris LaCivita, a Trump campaign spokestroll:

For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country.

I don't know what makes me angrier, his assault on the English language (it's "hallowed," you utter dipshit), or his pathetic attempt at DARVO.

[–] [email protected] 95 points 2 months ago

Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender for anyone else who didn't know.

uno reverse

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hollowed, like, they hollow out the place to put in the bodies, ya know?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hollowed because he requires rigorous application of Getsuga Tenshou

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Is it pathetic if it works on his intended audience?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Hollowed made me laugh

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Funny, I would say the ones dishonoring the men and women buried there were the ones who assaulted a woman so they could take campaign videos in a restricted section.

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[–] [email protected] 171 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Stop treating these fucks with kid gloves for fucks sake. Press the goddamn charges! Quit being fearful of retaliation because that is exactly what the rapist and his cult want. This is frustrating.

[–] [email protected] 140 points 2 months ago (3 children)

The problem is that as a random cemetery worker who can't afford bodyguards 24/7, pressing charges stands a significant chance of getting you killed.

[–] [email protected] 80 points 2 months ago (4 children)

And doing nothing only emboldens them.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 2 months ago (15 children)

For sure. But as an individual, it makes a lot of sense to hide instead of fight.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (3 children)

As does the system of nothing happening to people like Trump, while also allowing him to use his platform to target his cult on his new "enemy". We need a system that will treat a former president accused of assault the same way the cops would respond to an alleged assault with a minority involved.

Until the system is actually going to work for the victim instead of caring about the optics of the assailant (or their "help"), I don't blame this woman for not wanting to put a target on herself for just doing her job and protecting the privacy/dignity of fallen soldiers and their families.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Why the fuck can't the police place charges anyway? Here in Canada any assault charge is automatic, it doesn't require the victim to do anything. Is that not true in the US?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (11 children)

You would sacrifice your life or your family to teach Trump a lesson?

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 months ago

Man, fuck stochastic terrorism.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

What a shame the assassin missed.

There would undoubtedly be fallout, but the public really needs to remember that we are the ones allowing democracy to be shit on and destroyed in front of our eyes as Media across the country only cares about engagement.

It turns out letting America be held hostage by Fascists makes for good TV, and the 6 people who own almost every media outlet never forgot how great enslaved populations were for their bottom line.

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[–] [email protected] 92 points 2 months ago

And so, the brown shirts are making them think twice. What a sad day for America as domestic terrorism wins.

[–] [email protected] 71 points 2 months ago

Makes sense, Trump’s cult will come after you and will literally send you death threats.

Fucking USSR-level shit.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Moral of the story is that terrorism works. Remember this once voting no longer does.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 2 months ago (4 children)

We have to stand up to fascists even when they threaten us with violence otherwise the fascists win. There is no sign up sheet to stop fascism. There is no safe way to stand against fascists. There is no future worth living in under fascist rule. Fascists do not go away if the society that spawned them stays the same.

If threats to someone's safety is where we decide our resistance to fascism ends that is where our freedoms end. We do not have to shame this woman, but we do have to disagree with her decision. If we allow her decision to be incorrectly labeled as a reasonable strategy for self-preservation then we will all be living in a christo-fascist dictatorship.

It's liberty or death. That idea is one of the last remaining cornerstones of our democracy. If living is more valuable to use than freedom then we will be incapable of stopping the fascists.

Fascism proceeds one step at a time. One day you wake up and everything is different. Today is that day. The people saying to stand up to fascists got it right. The people calling them armchair warriors and telling people to choose life over liberty lost the plot. The fascists plan is to take power by any means necessary and then kill the people they hate indiscriminately. To stop them we must stand against them even if that means risking death.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Sorry, but some guy threatened another driver with a pipe in front of 10 cars in front of my house, and I was the only one to step in and I'm the only reason the situation didn't escalate. And the only reason I can think of why I did so, is that I don't have much to lose in practice.

It's scary to intervene and despite your pandering, I suspect you've never been in a situation where you have to choose to put your life in danger (I've also done mountaineering/glacier travel and got a pilot licence which really opened my eyes up too).

It's easy for you to disrespect her gracefully and talk crap when you've never been in a dangerous situation where you can choose to make a difference that might screw you permanently.

There are a million things that will run through your mind when you yourself are (ie, you will likely be advised by people that you could be in danger, etc). When the situation is outside of your control, you think differently.

You might disagree with her, but she has every right to protect herself. And she has every right to make that decision.

If I was in the same situation and my family was in danger, I'd make the same decision too.

It's not because she wouldn't want to do it, but, the decision may have been made to protect her family.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 months ago (1 children)

So it's not illegal then, seeing as there are no consequences for doing it.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's illegal for Democrats.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 2 months ago (1 children)

An aide to Donald Trump “abruptly pushed aside” an Arlington National Cemetery employee on Monday when the former president visited the site with family members of U.S. service members killed in the 2021 Kabul airport attack during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, NBC News reports.

The Trump aide pushed the cemetery employee out of the way to get past to take photos and video at Section 60, where service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.

Any decent organization would have apologized to the employee and her boss a long time ago. But, we're talking Trump here.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

They had already talked to the cemetery and set up the visit and the rules were given to him (or his handlers) at that time. He (they ) were told it was just to be a personal visit with whatever handlers he required (ex.- secret service) but that campaign staff and photos/video was strictly forbidden. So him showing up with his campaign posse looking to do a photo op was something they already knew ahead of time was not allowed.

Edit - curse you autocorrect!

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Isn't having knowledge of a felony enough for a public prosecutor to indict someone independent of the victim?

That's how it works in Germany at least - if the authorities get information about a criminal offense, they are obliged to start a criminal investigation. A victim not pressing charges only matters in terms of a civil lawsuit.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago (2 children)

There were two separate crimes here.

The crime of abusing the ANC for a political photo and the crime of physically assaulting someone who worked for the ANC.

The crime of abusing it for political purposes is currently being ignored and the person assaulted has chosen to not press charges for the assault.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Isn’t this Army jurisdiction? Is pressing charges even relevant?

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (7 children)

In the UK, you can't decide whether to 'press charges' or not, the decision is the CPS's.

But in practice, saying you aren't interested in pursuing a conviction often ends it, because:

1 - the prosecution must be 'in the public good' which is undermined if the victim isn't interested

2 - a lot of the time the testimony and cooperation of the victim is key to the prosecution case

3 - the system is horribly underfunded so if they can justify dropping it they will

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Trump is a cunt and anybody who ever voted for him is a cunt.

I know it's obvious and everybody already knows it but I saw his abortion of a face on my feed so now you have to hear it again.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Don’t disservice abortions by comparing them to Trump. Abortions save lives, Trump doesn’t.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I would press charges. This just shows bullying works.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 months ago

This is how fascists win, by being free from consequences.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This is why it works

They really can ruin your life; ask Michael Cohen or Gabby Giffords

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Paul Pelosi or Gretchen Whitmer likely have something to say on the matter as well.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I still don’t understand why any human but the worst would even consider voting for this maggot.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Bullies and thier wannabes.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Donald Trump just threatened Mark Zuckerberg with jail for life because he THINKS Facebook could be used against him.

Zuckerberg is in Trump's fucking pocket already.

Trying to save yourself by not pressing charges won't make Trump forget your face, your name, or the fact that you told him "No," once in his life, which is enough for him to want to destroy your life entirely.

Everyone who said this person is protecting themselves and their family is missing the point that if Trump takes power in November he will absolutely go out of his way to ruin this person's fucking life (and their families lives) even though they didn't press charges.

Is that fucking worth it? To save your family for a short time just for fascists to never forget you told them no and ruin your fucking life anyway?

He is willing to attack people who are literally in his fucking pocket and threaten to jail them for life. He has worse in mind for this person. I guarantee it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Spoken with the easy courage of someone whose family isn’t in the crosshairs

I agree with you that this should be a HUGE deal, but if the institutions who are the ones actually responsible for going after Trump are not going to act, why should this one guy be responsible to take a purely futile stand about it that might get him killed? I agree that he is not safe whatever he does, but amping up the conflict will make him less safe.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

If you don't think these asshats will dox and harass this person anyway without even pressing charges, I've got a bridge to fucking sell you.

They told Trump "no," that's enough of a crime in the eyes of these right wing freaks.

Further, no one is saying they need to do it alone. If asshats can organize to harass them, can't we organize to protect them? This is literally what I mean by nobody will back each other up. Instead of organizing as a group to protect that person, we act like it's their personal responsibility to fight it and then go "oh shucks" when they don't. Jeeze, maybe it's because we didn't back them up.

Isn't that why the Black Panthers fucking existed, because they knew they couldn't trust the cops?

But I guess organizing and protecting people like that is too much to ask.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

All it takes for evil men to triumph...

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

The silent fear of Trump and his cultists strikes again. It is one of things he does a lot where people know how deranged his base is and don't want to hold him accountable.

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