This summer we’ve seen some truly heinous acts of violence committed by the police against people of color, as well as an alarming number of white people calling the police for non-suspicious activity. Snacking, using coupons, and simply standing in a doorway (while not being white) were all behaviors white people deemed worthy of law enforcement attention, and they were all caught on video.
If nothing else it demonstrates the racial divide in how white people and minorities view the police. If you’re white, they’re your allies and can be reliably called on to “deal with” any minorities who might make you feel unsafe. If you’re a minority, they’re a potential threat best held to account via documentation with a cell phone camera. But this latest caught-on-cell-phone clip of an arrest also features the arrestee hilariously trying to flip the script.
Local police were called to the Orlando International Airport to investigate a report of an “unruly passenger.” The man in question was 59-year-old Jeffrey Epstein, a doctor from Lakeland, Florida and he was evidently pretty upset that his behavior prompted the airline to refuse to seat him on his flight.
"They are treating me like a (expletive) black person." Doctor arrested at OIA tells us why he did it: https://t.co/747uG93w0s pic.twitter.com/BygGbJQcy7
— WESH 2 News (@WESH) August 16, 2018
“I’m pissed off!” Epstein can be heard saying in his best “I’d like to speak to your manager” voice while wiping spittle from his mouth, “When you get pissed off you’re probably a bigger (expletive) than you are now,” he continues, referencing one of the officers in front of him.
“This guy’s trying to provoke me! He’s a law enforcement officer and he’s trying to provoke me!” A finger-pointing Epstein tells everyone within earshot.
That’s when he starts taunting the officers, which is a pretty bold move, but especially so when you’re accusing the cops of provoking you.
“Do you know how to de-escalate things, genius?” he says, hands on his hips. “You’re talking about me foaming at the mouth, is that going to de-escalate things, genius? Do you have training, genius?”
Then he invites them to arrest him, which may have been his attempt at some kind of reverse psychology, but it backfired spectacularly when the officers obliged. And that’s when sh*t got wild.
Epstein tightens up, resisting arrest, and shouts “Do not be rough with me, assh*le!” in one cop’s face before turning back to the now considerable crowd of onlookers. “Look at them! Look at ’em!” he says before being wrestled to the ground.
“Don’t beat me up motherf*ckers, don’t beat me up! Look at ’em! Oh my God, I can’t believe they’re doing this! Oh my God!” he wails as they continue to try to cuff him. But his next sentence is the *chef’s kiss* of the whole thing. “You’re treating me like a f*cking black person!” The officer then threatens to pepper spray Epstein and the video cuts off there, but he did, in fact, get pepper sprayed.
Now, maybe I’m a little crass for laughing at this (after all, police violence is a serious issue), but the guy was asking for it, literally. It’s also revealing of the hidden fear white people have in a country where minorities will soon outnumber them—that they’ll one day be treated with as much disrespect as minorities are now.
Epstein was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, trespassing, and disorderly conduct. Unlike so many minorities, he was not beaten up and called a “fake American,” threatened by the police with a firearm, tazed, or killed for resisting arrest.
Epstein, for his part, is insisting he acted out on purpose to “prove a point” about police abuse and racial injustice.
“If you’re going to do this to a white doctor, who’s 59-years-old, for doing nothing, then why would black people trust you?” he told WESH 2 News.
In case you were wondering, Epstein is a Trump voter, but now seems to be going full Malcolm X.
“I’m a conservative Republican, I’m a Trump guy. But until the police fix this problem, I don’t blame black people for being upset when they get arrested.” he said.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think the conservative white doctor who was throwing a tantrum about not being able to board his flight did it to protest systemic racism in law enforcement. I’m willing to offer even odds he’s criticized NFL players for doing the same, at least that’s what the president he supports does.
h/t: WESH 2 News