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Fuck the police indeed
By Steven | April 12, 2011
If the facts in this story are accurate, this seems a very questionable exercise of police powers:
A number of people at the gig said [singer Tiki] Taane began singing “f*** the police” when they carried out a standard inspection of the club.
When they approached him afterwards “things got out of hand”, a person who did not wish to be identified said….
Taane was arrested while performing at 3am and has reportedly been charged with disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence to start or continue. I’m not sure what “things got out of hand” means, or whose hands they got out of, but this sounds more like a protest than an incitement to me.
PS 1 Here’s Taane’s statement from his Facebook page.
Hey everyone, at 3:25am on Sunday the 10th of April I was arrested at my R18 concert in Tauranga. I was handcuffed and taken to jail were i spent the rest of the night. I have been charged with – Disorderly Behavior, likely to cause violence – for reciting the lyrics to a song by an American rap group called N.W.A. This song is a pr…otest song written by Ice-Cube in 1988, and i have often played and sang along to it at my R18 concerts with no trouble at all. Also arrested was the promoter of the concert, and my DJ, who was later released uncharged. I have had an excellent rapport with the NZ Police and I intend to keep that relationship positive. Im 34 years old and this is my first ever offense, and i feel it is unfortunate that one particular Police Officer became upset with the N.W.A lyric i sang that night. It was an awesome concert with an amazing crowd, and this is why i always come back to Tauranga to play. I would like to thank my whanau and friends for their support, and really do hope this is resolved positively and soon. All the best to everyone involved. Peace & Love Tiki Taane.
I suspect he means it’s his first ever charge rather than offence.
PS 2 Here are the lyrics to “Fuck tha Police” by NWA. I think it’s fair to say it’s a protest against police racism, in the context of a satirical court hearing. It’s also fair to say that a certain amount of retribution is fantasised about. The song has been widely covered, and is ranked 417 on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs of all time.
PS 3 There are lots of interesting comments on Taane’s website. Some claim that the police were being intimidating. Some berate Taane for badmouthing them when they were just doing their job. One says Taane simply started chanting “Fuck the Police” in the middle of a different song (which also suggests that he didn’t cover the more inflammatory lyrics in the NWA song). Another says by their over-reaction, the police undermined their own authority. There doesn’t seem to be any discussion of any violence actually breaking out or being threatened.
Topics: NZ Bill of Rights Act, Protest speech | Comments Off on Fuck the police indeed