Historians BewareThe 2007 annual meeting of the American Historical Association in downtown Atlanta was accompanied by the following reports: History News Network - George Mason University wrote: ...January 5, 2007 Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1-11-07) wrote: ...more historians who attended last week's conference of the American Historians Association have come forward with tales of hostile treatment by officers trying to curb jaywalking across Courtland Street. An editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1-12-07) wrote: Other than librarians, it's hard to imagine a less rambunctious group than historians. Yet, one of the world's premier historians ended up in jail during last week's American Historical Association convention in downtown Atlanta... [for] jaywalking... The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1-9-07) wrote: "Where I come from, [Great Britain,] jaywalking is not a crime," [Prof. Fernandez-Armesto] said. "It did not occur to me that there was anything wrong with what I was doing." An op ed written by Prof. Fernandez-Armesto for The Independent (London) (1-13-07) wrote: Unwittingly, I crossed a street at what I later learnt was an unauthorised crossing. I had seen plenty of pedestrians precede me. There was no traffic in sight and no danger to me or anyone else... History News Network - George Mason University (1-12-07) wrote: After sitting eight hours in jail [Fernandez-Armesto] was released on bond. The next day charges were dismissed after the prosecutor heard the professor's side of the story. An underidentified commentator opines: So, if these officers were hired by the hotels, which knew of the tendency of their guests to cross the street at that point, why weren't the officers directed to act as crossing guards and HELP people cross the street, instead of acting like bullies?Another underidentified commentator may offer a (pre-emptive) response: I just returned from AHA and in the spirit of the jaywalking incident, must report that I witnessed an incident of potential police brutality literally five seconds after stepping onto the downtown streets from the MARTA station upon arriving in Atlanta. As I was trying to figure out which way to go to the Hilton, a young African American male (maybe 14 or 15) suddenly ran by me in a sprint, and then changed direction, and he was being chased by someone. I turned around and noticed that the kid ran right into a cop (white for the record). The cop grabbed the kid, threw him on the ground, and I saw him punch the kid very hard in the face before putting cuffs on him. It resembled several recent police bruatlity cases here in LA that were caught on tape. The kid was small and unarmed. This was my welcome to Atlanta. |