Switchfoot vs. The Police (Not the Band…)
Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, is not the type to get in trouble with the law, but a recent run-in with the police has really affected him.
In the Huffington Post, Foreman tells us how embarrassed he is about what happened. After a show He was playing some acoustic music in the parking lot when a police officer came by and made everyone leave. Foreman shook the officer’s hand and went on his way, so as far as run-ins with the cops go, this was pretty tame. It turns out that the police needed to clear the lot before they left, so it’s reasonable ask people to move on.
You can find a few YouTube videos of the whole thing going down. The officer breaks it up pretty loudly, but no one is pushed around or anything. I agree with Jon Foreman’s notion that a communication breakdown took place, because he and the officer are clearly not on the same page about what’s going on. Even so, when he is asked to stop playing he is respectful to the officer and he manages not to lose his temper at all.
But Foreman is still embarrassed. He’s concerned that he didn’t handle the situation well and seems to feel really flustered about it. (He goes on to say some really nice things about police officers, as well) Of course, he also doesn’t understand why he was being yelled at. He ends the post with an apology:
Foreman is a classy guy. Some of us met him at a conference two years ago and were amazed at how nice and approachable he was, so it doesn’t surprise me that he has handled this situation well. Most people I know would have used the opportunity to criticize the police and make themselves out to be martyrs for a cause. (“Help, help, I’m being repressed!) Thankfully, Jon Foreman remembered that it is the meek that shall inherit the earth, and not the whiners. That’s a lesson for me to remember.
You’re doing fine, Jon.
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Most people I know would have used the opportunity to criticize the police
You say that like it’s a bad thing. The police are a powerful government organization, much more powerful than most people realize, and their actions should be regularly questioned to assure that they don’t wield too much power over the citizenry. Rampant abuse of police power is everywhere, and it’s the duty of every citizen to question their governmental leaders and do their part to protect their individual freedoms.
(NB: I’m not saying this situation warranted any criticism, as I haven’t read the articles, only that the police shouldn’t be blindly trusted to do the right thing)
Justin, you’re bringing an unrelated argument into this discussion. I never said we should let any government agency go unchecked (remember, I’m the Libertarian).
Good post, Adam. (Switchfoot vs The Police the band would also be an interesting post 🙂
唯有用熱情、用智慧去觀察事物，這事物才會把他的秘密，洩漏給我們......................................................................
It was not reasonable for Jon to expect an explanation in a situation with that many people around. The officer was correct in not offering one. Jon’s actions from all three videos that I saw were wrong. It is currently not legal to ignore the repeated requests to leave. It is no different than a store owner/worker wishing to lock up. Either can legally order you from the store.
The officer is also taught not to offer his legal opinion as to why he was instructed to clear the area before locking the gates to it… so the officer offered a personal one – he had family to go home to. [Not to mention, he is paid by the hour for such work.]
All involved are free to ask for an explanation after the event… but it is sad that Jon (in his fame) was/is not wise enough to already know why he should not offer after concert gatherings. [Jon has said that such after concert gatherings will continue.]
I’ve only met Jon once and you are correct, he is “a classy guy”. I hung around after one concert and ended up helping to wind up some cords and load up some equipment along side of Jon. That might not have been the norm for Jon, my guess is that he wanted to talk with those hanging around – but it was raining/lightening and lots of the event’s sponsors (like myself) pitched in to get stuff put away – not a lot of time for chatting.