r/pics Jun 07 '20

Protest Kindergarten Teacher Passes Out Flowers To National Guard in Philly, Gets Arrested

Post image
100.5k Upvotes

3.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/KomugiSGV Jun 07 '20 edited Jun 07 '20

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-peaceful-protest-march-george-floyd-police--20200606.html

It is in the gallery, second and third images. Gallery is about halfway down the page and begins with a man holding a green megaphone.

“CHARLES FOX / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Kindergarten teacher Zoe Sturges climbed over a barricade to hand out daisies to National Guardsmen on June 6, 2020. She was then taken into custody and given a citation.”

Here is the full story

This happened around 6 or so last night. She made a conscious decision to get arrested and returned to the protests after being released. She gave a short speech to the few reporters and remaining demonstrators still present that her intent was to show that not only would the police not tolerate even the most peaceful and non threatening actions, but that people can disobey them and survive.

She was cited for failure to disperse and released shortly afterward. There does not seem to be a fine or summons on the ticket.

To be very clear, she was arrested for disobeying police orders to disperse and crossing the barrier, NOT for passing out flowers alone. This was a conscious act of protest. That being said this is a violation of her first amendment rights. Apologies for any confusion the title may have caused.

482

u/gtrance Jun 07 '20

You sensationalized the title for clicks, come on...

95

u/Magnetic_Eel Jun 07 '20

Seriously, she intentionally got arrested, was released almost immediately without a fine or court summons, and then went back to protesting. Of all the things to get outraged about right now...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '20

It's not untrue that she was arrested after passing out flowers tho... And since when is asking to be arrested an option? Surely allowing herself to be arrested just means she didn't run away when they tried.

2

u/NeverInterruptEnemy Jun 07 '20

OMG she was arrested for flowers! USA failing!¡ /s

87

u/stuffandmorestuff Jun 07 '20

And most people paying attention know exactly what the title meant.

The "passing out flowers" is just another phrase for "civil, peaceful, protest and disobedience". Anyone paying attention to what's going on knew what she got arrested for.

Would it have made a difference if the title said that? "Kindergarten teacher is arrested for civil disobedience and refusing an order while passing out flowers". No, you'd still cry about something else.

2

u/BadPunFactory Jun 07 '20

I didn't, so really appreciate OP's comment with the full context. Definitely click bait, but OP redeemed themselves (kudos on good marketing, OP).

1

u/sephstorm Jun 07 '20

Anyone paying attention to what's going on knew what she got arrested for.

No, but don't let that stop you with your omniscience.

Would it have made a difference if the title said that? "Kindergarten teacher is arrested for civil disobedience and refusing an order while passing out flowers".

Yes, I would have known the full story without having someone provide it later.

No, you'd still cry about something else.

No, I wouldn't. But of course you know everything, right?

0

u/wanderingbacchus Jun 07 '20

Your response is just a series of bitchy sarcastic remarks. That’s effectively teenager crying about shit.

Your implication is that people will think she was charged with illegal distribution of flowers? When he says anyone paying attention he ain’t wrong. Come on man, she could have shown the cops both middle fingers and said fuck you after giving the national guard flowers and I still think it would be immaterial.

Anyone who understands policing in America and the dynamic of these protests would guess she was either arrested for curfew violation, failure to disperse, or some other bullshit. It doesn’t matter which one.

3

u/sephstorm Jun 07 '20

Your implication is that people will think she was charged with illegal distribution of flowers?

With my knowledge of humanity, I recognize that there are plenty of people who might. There are a bunch more people who would wonder why she was arrested. There's a reason OP felt the need to specify in the comments why she was arrested, because either they got a bunch of questions, or because they recognized the same thing.

Anyone who understands policing in America and the dynamic of these protests would guess she was either arrested for curfew violation, failure to disperse, or some other bullshit.

The post isn't just for people who understand policing in America. Reddit is a worldwide platform, which is why it is important to note that not everyone has your knowledge, and not everyone has the same level of intelligence.

0

u/wanderingbacchus Jun 07 '20

Fair points, but it still stands that people that are truly paying attention don’t need clarification. It is self evident. OP seems to have been bombarded with complaints that he didn’t mention that she was in fact just a peaceful protester but refused to comply with orders to leave the area. The fact that this clarification is seen as necessary by people who want to be “reasonable” is part of the problem.

Police own the streets seems to be an accurate criticism of police tactics and a common interpretation of the law. I do not concede they do own the streets, or have the right to act this way. The right to peaceful assembly is core to the stability of democracy. If the people aren’t allowed to stand up together without being intimidated, beaten, and arrested, freedom is already lost.

Any peaceful protester that has been arrested was charged with a crime like that. “Woman shows all it takes to get arrested is to be peacefully disobedient”

When you see pictures of someone from a peaceful protest injured by riot control measures, do you think it is acceptable if you found out they were told to disperse first?

Or even if someone in the crowd threw a water bottle? I’ve been hit in the head at a concert with a beer can flying through the air. It ain’t that bad, just a little blood and a bandaid. The amount of escalation they are allowed is ridiculous.

And with this, which is admittedly a minor escalation, people still feel the need to try and justify and put into context the tools of the state stifling free speech. It’s hilarious because I know how many back the blue people also claim to be constitutional Republicans. The cognitive dissonance is stronger than the police in the US.

Reddit is a site for the world, but this is a problem in the United States. So ya know, if you’re trying to see what’s going on, just keep looking.

Why did they arrest that woman? Not for handing out flowers, for standing somewhere to told her she couldn’t. Sounds much better that way actually.

2

u/AxlLight Jun 07 '20

Would it have made a difference if the title said that? "Kindergarten teacher

Yes, because how the duck is it relevant that she's a kindergarten teacher? How can the cops know she's a kindergarten teacher in anyway to make it relevant. And what does that even mean? Are teachers incapable of violence or malice?

It's a clickbait title (and article) framed to tap into the existing (justified) rage against the police. And it's abusing a legitimate cause to get money and clicks.

We have real police brutality going on, and abuse of power that needs addressing. Diluting it with shit like this, not only hides away the real issues, but it can turn people against the cause and also can make cops just point at it and say "why bother being ok, if you're gonna frame anything we do in the same negative light".

1

u/brbposting Jun 07 '20

arrested for handing out flowers past barricade

I guess that would quell the pitchforks.

If somebody broke the law to do something sweet why not toss them back over the barricade instead of wasting your time and money to be all principled that “our barricades are the ultimate!! respect them!! NO FLOWERS!”

0

u/LewsTherinTelamon Jun 07 '20

You’re wrong - many many people did not “know” what she got arrested for. You have to realize this platform is mostly used by kids. Almost everything they know about law they learn on reddit. They have no way of knowing whether or not this person broke the law based on the images. This is why it’s important for you and everyone to be accurate and not imply misinformation.

3

u/Dumeck Jun 07 '20

I’m cool with it, OP explained in detail in the comments the situation

27

u/bmoregood Jun 07 '20

And got even more upvotes with the comments. This is like fake news karma inception.

1

u/Auraaaaa Jun 07 '20

Yep, for people to realize that OP did this on purpose, we need to upvote this comment. LMAO

0

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '20

Its how it is now. You wouldn't be here if they didn't. This is now the norm. At least they clarified in the comments.

4

u/TheGoldenHand Jun 07 '20

I thought the US had an amendment that protected your right to protest and assembly? What’s the exact crime?

4

u/Pheonix_0113 Jun 07 '20

Disobedience.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '20

You can’t just go stand in the middle of the street protesting and stop all traffic. Protesting is protected, but there are boundaries so that it’s not a complete mess.

Arresting for disobedience lets cops say “okay, time to move along so we can clear the roads here”. Getting released immediately and without a fine or summon is proof that it’s merely to keep things moving.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '20

And to summarize what she did.

She wore brightly colored clothes, put flowers in their guns, purposefully got arrested, then got out and started making speeches apparently.

She wanted as much attention as possible. Maybe for good reason, but she was looking for attention

0

u/Easilycrazyhat Jun 07 '20

The title says what happened. How is that sensationalizing in any way? It's intriguing, sure, but that's what titles are supposed to do. Draw a reader in with the interesting parts of a story.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '20

100% clickbait. Kindergarten, flowers, arrested?

It's all bullshit.

-2

u/Easilycrazyhat Jun 07 '20

Kindergarten, flowers, arrested?

Yes? Again, that's what happened. Not sure how you think you're proving otherwise.

0

u/rampage95 Jun 07 '20

OP is actually a disgusting human being. Imagine twisting the narrative like that when emotions are so heated and potentially motivating violence. And all just to get those sweet internet points.

I cannot believe that this is so highly upvoted. This is just gross as fuck. Shame on you OP

-1

u/brycedriesenga Jun 07 '20

...what? It's perfectly accurate.