(A.K.A. Non-Original Rants)

–Co-opting good stuff from all over the ‘Net and maybe some original thoughts—ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

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Why the Afroman lawsuit was important

Several of you got my lemon pound cake reference last week but for those who didn’t, I’m going to explain a little further.

There’s a rapper (and yes you can actually understand the words) whose stage name is Afroman (real name Joseph Foreman). In the early 2000’s he wrote a cautionary song regarding the use of marijuana. It was basically a litany of all the things he didn’t do ‘because he got high’.

Fast forward to the early 2020’s and the local gendarme actually got a warrant to search for weed and a ‘kidnapping victim’ in Afroman’s home. It was a pretty destructive search and the coppers in question showed themselves on his video system to be, IMO, totally unprofessional (using the flashlights on their weapons to ‘search’ behind a couch that was open to the room, going through the pockets of his clothing and his CDs for massive quantities of weed and a person). And then they disconnected his security system but couldn’t get to the video.

Which is great for us, because he used that video to create several songs and music videos.

Instead of sucking it up, the officers (some now former officers) decided to bring suit in civil court, thus causing a Streisand Effect reaction. So Afroman brought the receipts.

And the jury sided with Afroman under the 1st Amendment, which apparently trumps a bunch of butthurt badges who got called out for their behavior.

But apparently the judge doesn’t like Mr. Foreman. At all. So he decided that, even though Mr. Foreman won the case, he was going to have to pay half of the filing fees and administrative costs (about $300). So I think there’s still going to be some action on this.

You might be asking yourself WTF I’m posting about this. And here’s the answer. Because ultimately the way Afroman handled the situation was pure American. Laughing at those who thought they could steam-roll him. Bringing the receipts when they upped the ante. He is an example of American culture–who we are and what we stand for.

Here’s a link to Afroman’s youtube channel. And here’s a link to a pretty good lemon pound cake recipe.



8 responses to “Why the Afroman lawsuit was important”

  1. It would be interesting to see the text of the warrant. Kidnapping and marijuana possession seem like two very different and unrelated suspected infractions. Maybe one was invented to give more credibility to the other.

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  2. @TRoy – My understanding (hazy recollection?) was that it was based off of an anonymous tip. And chances were very high that the judge presiding over the defamation trial is friends with the judge who signed off on the warrant.

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  3. I’m no real fan of rap, but I am a huge fan of roasting the balls of crooked pigs. With that in mind, Afroman gets huge props from me for the giant, humorous “fuck y’all” he gave these guys.

    Now he should roast the shitty black robed bastard for extorting him, too. I also have to say, I dig that suit he wore to court. A little too ostentatious for me to pull off, but it worked for him.

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  4. Bennie Sprouse Avatar
    Bennie Sprouse

    I sense a NEW Rap and Video coming “Here comes the Judge, I think he packs fudge, I won my case, and you know how my Lemon Pound Cake taste”!

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  5. One of my friends is a retired judge. I was visiting from out of state while he was still on the bench. At some point during the trip, we went to a dinner party one of his friends was putting on. Everyone male there, besides me and the judge, was a police officer or retired police officer.

    I have no doubt that my friend would be impartial. But a lesser man would easily be swayed by friendship and familiarity.

    When my nephew was charged with a crime, at the first informal court appearance, his lawyer immediately walked over to the prosecution table and started chewing the fat (he was a former prosecutor and personally knew the lawyers representing the people). When the judge entered, the lawyer asked the judge if he got that last bottle of scotch. Long story short, justice was not served that day and my nephew got a slap on the wrist (he should have received 10 years behind bars IMHO).

    We have never had a justice system. We used to have a legal system. At this point we have a farce.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. “Justice System”
    “Legal System”
    Not Sam Ting…

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  7. Unferth, bout 35 years ago I was involved in a little fracas and had some charges filed against me. I hired a lawyer and right in front of me, he called the prosecutor and had a chat, then called the judge’s office and talked to someone there. Then turned to me and said here’s the actual charge, here’s what we can bargain down to, and the judge has no objections. No evidence, no testimony, no courtroom discussion, they all knew each other and had this figured out lock, stock and barrel. And it was served to me on a platter. I turned it down flat (cause I was innocent, mostly) and we ended up fighting the charges and winning. But the way they all knew each other and worked it out showed that back room dealing is 99% of the justice system.

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  8. I was involved in a civil matter a few years ago. We hired a lawyer from a large nearby city. During the first meeting, he asked why we had chosen him and we stated that it was because the lawyers in our town were known to collude with each other and the judges that would be presiding over the case.

    He agreed, saying that we probably wouldn’t see the justice we were seeking if we had hired local lawyers.

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