Folks around here are outraged because a local North Carolina woman is facing two years in prison for tossing a McDonald cup into another car while hurling down I-95. This article notes that this Marine wife was not going to put-up with getting flipped-off by a civilian:
“Testimony varies--drivers were cut off, birds were flipped--but one point is clear:
Hall tossed a McDonald's cup (containing ice) into Mr. Ballin's vehicle.”
Now, Jessica (whose Marine Corp. husband is serving in Iraq) was charged with “throwing a missile at an occupied vehicle”, a class IV Felony punishable by ten year in prison! Oh Please, what a joke!
The hamburgular gets a roommate
Mr. Ballin must be the biggest jerk in the world to go to the police over such trivia. I wonder if the State trooper laughed when Ballin said that he got whupped by a cup of McDonald's ice, tossed by a 24 year-old Marine wife who didn’t like being thrown the finger.
Besides, what kind of asswipe flips the finger at a woman?
Balin should have been arrested for being a pussy in public . . . .
Lets punish the bird flippers
Whether you call it “giving the one finger salute”, “flipping the bird”, “tossing the finger” or being “flipped off”, I’ve personally seen people run off the road for making obscene gestures. Evidently, middle fingers are also called “birds” and they are flipped, tossed and thrown and saluted at motorists with alarming frequency. Wikipedia notes this on bird flipping:
“The origin of this gesture is highly speculative, but is quite possibly up to 2,500 years old.
It is identified as the digitus impudicus ("impudent finger") in Ancient Roman writings[1] and reference is made to using the finger in the Ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes.”
Legally, flipping the bird is called an “obscene gesture” or “aggravated menacing”, a serious offense. I decided to do some ad-hoc research.
I was surprised to learn that George Bush (then Texas Governor Bush), was fooling around before a TV show and flipped this bird:
George Bush (real - not photoshopped)
Click this link to see the actual, un-edited video where President Bush “flips the bird”.
While folks disagree about Mr. Bush’s job performance, everybody likes making fun of his “mannerisms”. Gary Trudeau, author of the legendary “Doonesbury” does best of all, by publishing hilarious (and true) “Bush-isms”.
Here is what I found on finger flippers:
- According to the great blog, Dumb-ass-daily, Steve Gilgenbach was cut-off in traffic and flipped off. Like any red-blooded American he fired his crossbow at the car. He was charged with committing a terrorist act.
- This jackass flipped at finger to President Bush in a motorcade (Bush replied “That one’s not a fan”). He was driving a school bus at the time, and was later fired.
- Here, a 37-year-old Canadian was flipping-off another driver when he rear-ended a car, suffering minor injuries and landing in the hospital.
- Kim Roberts, the convicted felon who’s false testimony nearly ruined the live of the Duke Lacrosse players, recently flipped-off the WRAL TV cameras.
- This rude idiot was arrested after she “flipped off” an SUV carrying a sheriff Tuesday. Officers pulled her over and ran a routine check on her license plate. The check turned up outstanding warrants for the woman and her husband.
Where I'm from, "flipping the bird" is a fighting gesture. Fighting someone who flips you the bird should be justifiable, and in some cases rewarded . . . .
