Hecklers upstage Ariz. sheriff during interview

[Are_grits_groceries]

PHOENIX — Hecklers broke out into song and forced a high-profile Arizona sheriff to abandon a First Amendment forum sponsored by Arizona State University's journalism school.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was asked by a panel of journalists Monday night to explain his relationship with the media, his various law enforcement policies and whether his office conducts racial profiling.

Arpaio told the panel that his office is an "equal opportunity law enforcement agency" that will arrest anyone who violates the law.

Later in the interview at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, protesters began loudly singing a version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and chanting as Arpaio was asked about a federal investigation and his policies on illegal immigration.

The sheriff told the panel the outburst was "ridiculous" and he left the stage.

ASU journalism school dean Christopher Callahan later called the protest misplaced.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20091201/us-arizona-sheriff-hecklers/

He can dish it out...

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I side with the hecklers

And I applaud them.

[paulsby]

11. i don't

i think arpaio is an asshole. my two retired cop relatives who live in his county think the same. but hecklers are the ones who lose in these types of exchanges. because arpaio comes out being the reasonable one, and they are the enemies of free speech and exchange of ideas. sunlight is the best disinfectant, not shouting down a participant in a forum. people like these hecklers disgust me. they are childish, and opponents of free debate.

[phantom power]

2. couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

[bluestateguy]

3. I hate Arpaio, but hecklers annoy me

It makes the hecklers, even if they have valid criticisms, look like petulant children, crybabies and whiners.

And that's as true for Joe Wilson as it is for Code Pink.

[arcadian]

4. Naaaa... you just hate Code Pink.

Damn uppity women.

[mrbarber]

5. Can you stop trolling for 5 minutes please?

Anyhow, I agree with the above poster. I despise Joe, but hecklers don't do anyone any good. I'd rather Joe be allowed to speak so everyone can see just how batshit crazy he is, instead of looking like the level headed one.

[paulsby]

12. exactly

sunlight is the best disinfectant. not a bunch of infantile enemies of free speech singing during a forum.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

6. you're annoyed. Noted.

Do I file this under "don't give a rat's ass" or "dumbfucks who ALSO have 1st Amendment rights"?

[Bitwit1234]

7. Why can't they just fire this guy, or recall him or something.

He is the one who has broken numerous laws and should be in jail. Give him a taste of his own medicine.

[sweetloukillbot]

9. Because he's got a ridiculous approval rating...

It's sickening, but all the seniors in Sun City love him because he's tough on immigration (read - he arrests brown people for being brown in America). He's been elected something like 6 times as sheriff, Democrats can't get a candidate to run a decent campaign against him (Saban did a decent job last year, but got smeared by Arpaio accusing him of masturbating on public time!) The only way he's going down is through the court system, so hopefully this federal investigation will yield something.

[Mnpaul]

8. Bummer

I was hoping for video

[lies and propaganda]

10. couldnt happen to a better Dbag.

living eight years there under his reign makes me know hes asking for whatever he gets.

Perfect song choice too!@

[Heywood J]

13. There's a bit of an art to heckling,

speaking as someone who did university debate. A well-timed remark or pointed question is usually all that's needed to draw attention to things he's done, steer the panel's line of questioning, or make him uncomfortable.

Singing and chanting to drown him out and force him to shut up isn't heckling, it's just interrupting the forum entirely and stupid. Other than making him leave, it serves no purpose and you don't learn why the hecklers were there or what their point may have been.