Comments on Borat Attacked (Rescued by Dr. House??)

Is there any hope of this happening on a regular basis?

You know what, I'll go on record: I'm not a fan of this bullshit that Tom Green started, going out and harrassing people who have enough trouble getting through their day without some asshole trying to shake them.

If SBC wants to do Borat, he has to know he's due to get attacked every so often.

I think it is funny -- cringe funny -- but I agree that he's got to expect his fair share of beatings. I def wouldn't put up with that crap.

What can you expect in New York?

My question is, was he being filmed? If so, why didn't the cameraman intervene? If not, what the HELL? He just goes out and plays Borat for giggles when no one's watching? That's crazy.

He's still my hero for taking off his underpants in front of Martha Stewart on Leno.

I like SBC as an actor but I hate the type of humor that he and Tom Green, etc. do on "normal people." He's lucky to be alive.

I don't get it. Why is it OK that when Cohen said something incomprehensible, the person he said it to started beating him up? Since when is it OK in this country to hit someone for what they say?

I thought we gave up on the notion of "Fighting words" a long time ago. There just isn't any language short of "I'm going to kill you" that justifies a beating.

I suspect that the violent person in question thought Cohen was hitting on him, and decided to engage in a little spontaneous gay-bashing.

Right on, BC. People speaking anonymously on the internet to defend the use of violence against free speech is a rich, rich irony.

And don't pity the victims/subjects of Tom Green, SBC, et al. These rubes sign the release forms because they're dumb enough to think any little piece of fame will transform their lives.

You don't wanna be embarrased? Don't sign that release from.

You don't like what someone's saying to you? Ignore them and move on.

SBC is genius. These inbread idiots stupid enough to sign a release form just to be in a movie deserve everything they get (including sacks of SBC's steaming shit handed to them at their dinner parties.)

Eveyone should know in today's media world to not sign release forms. If you are backwards enough and ignorant enough to sign something, then you deserve whatever happens. Besides SBC mostly goes after stupid rural inbreds. Red State types should be made to look stupid.

Im laughed through that whole damn movie!

Conversely, when is it okay to harrass passers-by in the name of a televised practical joke? Not to validate the physical attack, but one wrong does not validate another.

The attack never happens if SBC isn't on the street fucking with random people who have done nothing to deserve it, period.

I just take this as further proof that Hugh Laurie is Totally Awesome.

Everyone is making the assumption that the person didn't say anything before he hit SBC. Somehow, I'm willing to bet that he said something in the realm of "get the fuck away from me" - and knowing these types of "actors" was further provoked - before he started swinging. If the attack was totally unprovoked he would be in jail for assault.

So it's okay, or even legal, for me to beat aggresive panhandlers? Or only if I swear at them first? I'm confused, exactly when is it okay to assault someone for public speech?

I guess that depends where the person in question's "line" is. Ya never know till you push past it, do you?

I'm with FITS, do I get to pop one of those "punk" kids in front of Jack in the Box, always harrassin' my ass? Where is the line drawn on an assault charge?

Speech in a public place is not "harassment". If you don't like how someone's talking to you, leave.

While I think SBC is a super hottie I really hate the "embarrass normal people" comedy (couldn't stand Tom Green either, or all the copies that came after). Yes, if after you've been the victim of the joke you sign a release then you have what's coming to you. I don't think those filing the lawsuit have any right to bitch.

BUT, he doesn't come up and say,"I want to make a fool out of you on tv, will you sign this first?" NO, he makes fools out of random people and THEN after all is said and done asks them to sign a release.

Now, with all THAT said I don't think beating the shit out of someone for asking stupid freaky questions is okay either. Though, sometimes I wish it were a legal option.

Thanks for continuing to misread my point.

I'm not saying the random guy was right to attack SBC and that violence against harrassers is a-okay. I'm saying the actions of SBC were what led to such actions, and that when you harrass people, you have to expect that someone will eventually snap and hurt you.

You can't just absolve SBC of blame because someone did something wrong to him. It's similar to saying it should be okay to waltz into a crime-ridden neighborhood because no one has the right to mug, rape or kill you. That's irresponsible.

Anyone who doesn't appreciate SBC's humor is anti-semitic.

But, it is OK to "waltz into a crime-ridden neighborhood". Stupid, but OK. What you are saying is that it's fine to ask a rape victim whether or not she was wearing a sexy outfit when she was attacked. Maybe she was, and maybe it was stupid to wear a mini-skirt to a convention of drunken frat boys, but rape is rape.

Assault is assault. I don't give a shit why you did it.

Oh, don't even start with the rape debate.

The point is that SBC has to realize the danger of what he is doing: baiting people by harrassing them for no reason.

And I'm sure he does. But the blame belongs to the assaulter, not the assaulted. No matter how much anyone thinks Cohen was "asking for it", he did not "deserve" it.

In a civilized society, in a public location, it is the responsibility of the offended party to either ignore the offense, or leave. Blaming the speaker is the route to censorship.

Right. Borat plays on the "walk away" attitude to do what he does. That's fine -- that's where he extract his Funny from.

People are generally nice and will normally tolerate an intrusion into their (socially allocated, no less) space to give the intruding person a chance to correct themself. NBD. Barring that correction, some intrudees will continue to walk away as BC recommends, others will growl, bark, then have their turkey timer pop up, which gets you a pop in the mouth. Your fault.

Bullshit. Violence as a response to essentially harmless public speech is the last resort of the over-sensitive and inarticulate.

There is an option between walking away and beating a person: engaging them verbally. Of course, that option must be infuriating if you're not very smart (or at least not as smart as SBC).

oops. italics should've ended with verbally. please, no one beat me up for misspeaking!

Harrassment has its consequences, and assault is illegal. I think we can agree on both statements.

Sure, but if the "harassment" is speech in a public place, the only legitimate consequence is speech. Period.

So, BC and Fits: You have to admit that there's a difference between

Public Free Speech 1 (say, on streetcorner): "Bush Lied! ITMFA!" and,

Public Free Speech 2 (say, in your face, and following you): "I want to buy your clothes. I want to have sex with them!"

Borat knows the risk he's running. That's how he makes his money. You could get yourself popped in the snout for acting like that, that's why you don't do it.

No. For the purposes of determining whether a crime was committed against the speaker, and whether that speaker is responsible for that crime, I do not admit that there is a difference.

If you are saying that they are different words, spoken by different people, in a different tone, well duh.

Clearly, a number of people here are trying to reserve for themselves the right to beat up people that annoy them in public.

That's pretty sad.

Of coruse Mr. Nippl-e is proof enough the Hugh Laurie is awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2v62_FQAI

For the record: I've lived in a "crime-ridden" neighborhood for most of my life, and if I waltz in the streets my neighbors will join me. If you avoid crime ridden neighborhoods (or only go there to buy your drugs) which are actually cool friendly communities, and have never waltzed, sang or chatted with neighbors in your driveway, please don't act like you know what happens here.

SIR! SIR! EXCUSE ME, SIR! (gets in your face) SIR!

Some harrassment is more unavoidable than others. I can walk by a panhandler. Can I just walk by Borat or Tom Green without him chest bumping or grabbing me?

BC, you commentary seems like you want us all to concede that you have the inalienable right to be as huge of an asshole to passers-by in public as you want.

You're trying to paint 'harrassment' more simplistically black and white than it really is.

For example, if I follow you on the street and flick your ear over and over and over and over again while humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic, do I have the right to expect you to not physically react to me in any violent way, shape or form?

Face it SBC as Borat is a con man who wants to make you look like a monkey so he can make a buck off your humiliation on film before the entire worlde. How can anyone possibly know he doesn't have a camera going at all times.

Personally, I think he's funny...

... but how can anyone he approaches not think, "This guy thinks I'm a loser and a patsy to be humiliated in public?" Some people may have trouble reacting in a conciliatory manner when someone is out to humiliate them in front of their friends, family, employer, and potential employers.

If it wasn't for the prospect of getting a criminal record, one might conclude that beating the shit out of SBC would be better for your reputation than letting him engage you in any other way beyond his first sentence. That's SBC's whole schtick, isn't it?

Boy, I must be a little insecure.

Johs:
"If you are backwards enough and ignorant enough to sign something, then you deserve whatever happens." Boy, your sure are a great example of blue state progressive values of social and economic justice for the weak and undereducated! not.

Gomez, your implication is that Cohen, as Borat, physically assaults people. My limited experience with him indicates that he does not, he uses words, and words alone. I'm sorry, but if words in a public place are the offense, then words are the only legitimate recourse.

As soon as someone "chest bumps", "grabs" or "ear flicks", they've exited the arena of public discourse, and turned it into physical assault, which justifies an equivalent physical response.

Where is your evidence that Cohen resorts to physical assault?

Maybe I don't want to wait for it to escalate to physical before I get physical.

Maybe if enough people punched Tom Green in the mouth when he was starting out, we would have been spared Freddy Got Fingered.

I'm just saying.

In that case, BC, you're blurring the line between harrassment and assault to defend your unreasonable POV. Many wouldn't consider a flick of the ear assault; you'd be laughed away by any courtroom, officer or lawyer if you tried to call it so.

PDXRitchie is clearly one of those people looking to justify punching rude people.

And Gomez ducked the question. Again, where is your evidence that Cohen, as Borat, ever resorted to initiating direct physical contact with strangers in public?

BC, I thought you were talking about public harrassment in general. At least, that's the lion's share of your oratory.

I am saying that if you are offended by someone's words in a public place, hitting them is not a reasonable response, ever. You're the one trying to extend the discussion into harassment in general.

Words. That's it. If someone says something to you in public that offends you, walk away. If they keep saying it to you, go somewhere that isn't public. There is no right to not be offended.

Game. Set. Match to BC.

BC and Elucidarius:

Yes, the law pretty much says there is no right not to be offended. But if someone comes up to me that I know is out to use lengthening of his interaction with me in ways that are likely to publicly humiliate me and my family, I would be tempted to just knock him down. Now, I personally am not really that kind of person. Maybe if I was bigger...

Condoning random violence is a trait of the US that the world is used to so no surprise of Cohens beating. World superpower...world bully. Can't wait for the launch of the Al jazera world news channel so we don;t have to put up with Americanised news stories any longer.

Yeah, that's right. America, random violence, blah blah blah.

What about:
- Football hooligans
- French teenagers beating up immigrants in between protesting the 35-hour work week
- Arab crowds firebombing embassies because they don't like cartoons

Etc. Etc.

As far as SBC getting beat on -- No, it wasn't legal for him to be assaulted. Yes, he had it coming to him.

I'm sorry. Throwing down a beating may be against the law, but it isn't always wrong.

And BTW, my politics swing to the far left, so don't try to paint me with that "red state" brush.

We don't know the extensive details of that night. We can not pass judgment without all of the details. We can only draw generalized conclusions based on scenarios.

As a related note, there are many people that we ALL would love to punch directly in the face, but that is why we drive cars and wear clothing--we are not apes, we are civil. You can't just go walking around beating people for what they say.

Only in the most amazing circumstances does anything verbal warrant physical response. You have to be in fear of your life in order for anything verbal to be considered an assault (FL Statues, may vary in your state, but its pretty general).

I am so glad that people who do law have to go through extensive college education. It would still be the wild west if it was left up to the many obtuse individuals that are attempting to justify violence as an appropriate response. Grow up, and stop dragging your knuckles, and grow an opposable thumb.

What a bunch of fuckn idiots... I mean did you hear that crap BC said? ...if someone ear-flicks me then I can respond back with "an equivalent physical response"

what a fuckn psssy. what are you going to do ear flick each other? Where I come from, if you get in my face with some stupid ass bullsht like you want to have sex with my cloths Id kick your ass too.

BTW while your debating on all your hioty-tioty responses and justifying your pansy ass comments, remember the golden rule... If you get in my face with your BC (Bull Crap) I'm kickin your ass.

Have a nice day :)