Maybe Quebecers are stupid enough to deserve fascism?

The post title is the question I can't help but ask if there's so little outrage over this story:

A woman is outraged after she was handcuffed and ticketed for not holding the handrail on an escalator at the Montmorency metro station.

In fact, we now have a followup:

The Société de transport de Montréal says it will not change its escalator policy in the wake of a controversy over a woman who was fined for not holding a handrail at a Laval métro station.

“It’s a basic security rule that we have no intention of changing,” STM chairman Michel Labrecque said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after a speech, he said there’s a reason “all public-transit authorities and many public buildings” make holding escalator handrails obligatory: not doing so can be dangerous.

I know that headline and byline writing isn't always accurate, but in this case I think that it is:
"People have to use handrails for safety reasons, chairman says"
Have to use them. "Chairman" is an oddly ironic title. Why on earth do we "have" to use them?

For those keeping track, the proper response to a police officer telling you to put your hand on a handrail on any escalator is fuck you. The cops have no special right to order you to do something that you aren't already obliged to do, and despite STM's attempts handrail holding cannot be a statutory requirement. If a police officer orders a woman to flash her breasts in public, is she similarly handcuffed if she angrily refuses to obey?

Laval police said yesterday they issued three separate warnings to Bela Kosoian that she was obliged to hold onto an escalator handrail in a métro station before they handcuffed her briefly and issued two tickets totalling $420 against her.

They acted only after they got three separate refusals from Kosoian to grab hold, Lt. Daniel Guerin said of the incident. “The third time, she crossed her arms.”

Kosoian also refused, initially, to provide identification, Guerin said.

Wow, not arm-crossing! Dear Lord, she's out of control! She crossed her arms at a worthless asshole!

She also refused, initially, to provide identification. What would happen if she wasn't carrying any? You don't have to carry ID while you are not driving. People forget that a lot, but its something that as a cyclist I am well aware of.

The more you read this story the more you see the clear signs of a police state out of control. Look at "Bob"'s quotes on the original CTV story:

Bob
According to her own words, this woman is the author of her own misfortune. Only $100 of the fine is for not holding on to the hand-rail, and she could have avoided that by complying with the lawful instructions of the peace officer. Instead, she chose to continue to put her own safety at risk, and that of those below her on the escalator. The $320 fine is for obstructing the peace officer in the performance of his/her duty. Yes indeed, the police have more important tasks, and the people who keep them from those tasks should pay the price for their deliberately obstructive behaviour. In this case, that will be $320 please.

Or look at Barry's:

Funny there is a part of this story that for some reason wasn't published. The woman in question after being asked to "PLEASE" hold the handrail, was so caught up in digging through her purse that she answered the cops "What, you want me to grow a 3rd hand out of my a...?" THAT is when they finally issued her the ticket. The police are here to protect us and they do that job the best they can, the least people can do is listen to them when they ask us something, you worried about germs? carry around in you pocket a small bottle of germ killing stuff, take your pick, there are tons of them on the market.

See? All you have to do is obey idiotic commands from strangers, and be polite to them when they make unreasonable requests, and they won't cause you physical harm. Isn't that easy?

The best comment still has to be "Muffy" on the Gazette story where she notices that nobody in the article photo is holding the handrail.