Reply to Lochte Robbery Story: True or False

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What will it take for people to understand that when you go to a foreign country you are subject to their laws and penalties just as foreigners who come to the US are subject to our laws and penalties?

You can argue until the cows come home about shake downs and the minimal nature of the offenses but it is irrelevant. These guys and especially the douche bag Lochte violated the law there and that is the end of it.

The arrogance of Americans in thinking that they can get away with any kind of b-s in a foreign country is just amazing. In most countries, there is no right against self-incrimination, right to counsel, Miranda warnings, etc. If you don't like the way the legal system works abroad then stay in the US but it is ludicrous to go to a foreign country and expect that US standards of jurisprudence will be in effect.

If you go to countries like Malaysia or Indonesia and are found to have drugs, you face the death penalty. In fact, there are large posters at immigration and customs warning you that possession of drugs leaves you vulnerable to the death penalty. What is more, there are foreigners, including westerners,  who have been executed in these countries for being in possession of drugs.

I personally am opposed to the death punishment - and not just for dealing in drugs - but that is neither here nor there. You cannot go to a foreign country and then expect they will not implement their laws.

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Are you arguing that it is the law in Brazil that if you pee in an inappropriate place and remove a poster from a wall that you are required to pay a fine to the police on the spot? There is no arrest, no trial. The law is that you pay off the authorities right then and there? (And are then fined again later.)

That isn't what I understand to be the law, but since the media has gotten so much of this story wrong, I'm willing to be educated. Or are you just going off on a tangent? [/quote]

I am not arguing as to what Brazilian law is because quite honestly I don't know the answer. But my point is that if any of the athletes who made that donation to charity - whether under duress or not - wanted to fight the demand, they had the right to do so. It would have meant that they would need to stay in the country and go through the legal process that is in effect in Brazil and take their chances. If they decided that was not worth the hassle or the risks involved, then it is not a shake down. It is a decision they make that the risk is not worth it.

I think they made the right decision to just pay up and leave Brazil rather than to take a chance.

Lochte was an imbecile for tearing down a poster and then getting into an argument with armed guards. He was very lucky not have been shot - something that could have happened quite easily. He was utterly stupid to then aggravate the situation further by lying about what happened. This idiot is a 32 year old guy - not a kid - and whether he was intoxicated or not, he cannot behave like a jackass when he visits another country. I blame him more than the others because he not only triggered the investigation by the authorities with his lies but put the others in jeopardy.

But above all, I say that when Americans travel abroad, it is incumbent on us to follow the laws and customs of the country we are visiting. If that is so objectionable then stay in the US. I have traveled extensively on business and for personal reasons and never have had any incident that was remotely threatening - sometimes traveling to countries that are not the safest. Just treat the people of other countries when one visits their country with respect and without any expectation that they need to accord any special favors because I am an American.

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