Is It Your Legal Right To 'Shoot The Bird' In Public?

I think minor situations like this are a joke. There are bigger, more serious disorderly conduct instances out there that the citations are meant for.

If those who make the laws had to follow them or else pay the penalty, then there would not be anyone around to enforce the laws! The government has been flipping the bird to the tax payers of this country for years but they use the excuse that they are doing it for the common good. Thus I see nothing wrong in flipping the bird right back at them.

Giving someone a citation for profanity or flipping the bird is ridiculous! Police have much more important things to do: prevention of crime, solving cases after a crime has been committed etc. Now for people who thinks that others curse because they have no other means of expressing themselves, is not always true. I have 2 master's degrees & yes sometimes I will curse in public, if the situation arises. Have you ever dropped your groceries before you even got them into the car? Have you ever had a terrible day at work, & then your car breaks down on the way home? Ever drop anything heavy on your foot? The natural instinct is to curse, which relieves some of the stress/embarassment from the situation. Or you could be a goodie 2 shoes & say darn I just dropped my eggs & now they are broken, & I have just wasted some money!

My husband is a cop and when i asked him what he thought he said this is retarted and childish on both sides.

I think that keeping your bad comments to yourself is what can keep the peace, especially if driving, but sometimes police just go too far when handing out tickets.

I think some cops are on a power trip. They sure dont have the right to arrest you for this. However, a person that flips the bird is out of control emotionally and needs to take a good look at theirself.

In Virginia - you can take someone to court for "verbal assault". While this is on the books, this is rarely enforced. Police around here have bigger fish to fry and if you gave a citation for profanity then we would have a very busy and overworked court system. These officers are having some kind of power issue and the police should have a day without pay for every power trip they get on.

As most people i know say, people who use profanity have no other way to express themselves, since they dont know any. So what is the differance between someoneing giving the finger, and another person using "big words and fancy talk" to express their feelings. Im not gonna call the pot black, i swear alot, and most times it cuz i cant think of anything else to express my anger or frustration. I also feel that cops do take things out of context and use it to thier power. Like whats going on with tazers now, cops using them all the time when they really dont need to.

I think censorship is crap, we only make certain words an issue because of our "social norms." Otherwise they are just words. Do I go around cursing like a sailor? No, but these people have the freedom to say whatever they want. If it is something that is going to harm someone, then the offending should be cited but I hardly think words actually cause physical harm. It is only because we make it so.

While I think that cops deserve respect, they're not exempt from having people express their feelings. I don't think it was wrong to flip the officer off in response to his comments. I would say it would be wrong to flip him off just because he is a cop. The cop was in the wrong on this one! I did want to make one note in response to Pepperjune's comment about there being "some jerks", that there aren't "some" jerks that they deal with on a daily basis. It's more like 99% of the people they deal with on a daily basis... It's a tougher job than most of us can even imagine.

I think cops now a days need to take one big chill pill. As much as I disagree with the use of profanity on a moral level,I dont think it is something,even if directed at a cop,that they(the police) need to get involved with. Of all the horrible things going on in this world,they are going to cite someone for the use of his middle finger? Cops need to remember,like any job dealing with the public,that there is going to be some jerks out there,and to remain calm. When I was a receptionist,I didnt get to arrest everyone that treated me terrible every stingle day. I had to smile and remain calm. Cops need to think less of themselves and remember to serve and protect others.