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Next, a vortex of stupidity took hold. One Direction were gearing up for a performance in Detroit Sunday night, and either because of it or in spite of it, people started tweeting about a Detroit Purge. Such an event might set the stage for a tragedy if One Direction were to be robbed and beheaded by a roving gang of masked psychopaths.Also, we suggest that you guys stay safe if you go stalking because of purge threats in Detroit. Hopefully everything will be fine. -R
— Larry Updates (@1DLarryNews) August 16, 2014
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Before long, there were people making up all kinds of stories about purges in every major city in America. Everyone gave themselves the rhetorical authority to tweet sensational nonsense by couching it in concern for others. Most tweets about Purges have the refrain “Be safe” tacked onto the end.THE PURGE DATES* Spread This around if you see your city ✖️ Be safe pic.twitter.com/74EgVVpDM2
— VINE: ImJustinRay (@Imjustinray) August 16, 2014
Inevitably, with all these rumors swirling around, the idea of a St. Louis purge during the Ferguson protests was irresistible. It didn't happen. Ferguson got hit with a curfew, now in its second night. Looting wasn't exactly at an LA Riots level Saturday night, but just being outside was illegal. It was the exact opposite of The Purge.But look, kids, there’s no purge coming to your town anyway. You 100 percent cannot just have a purge. Here's why:Purges Are Impossible in the United States.I'm going to take this seriously for a second.No city or state in the US has the authority to declare a purge. If, hypothetically, the police intentionally backed off for a night, and the people who were the victims of crimes pressed charges afterward, but the bored receptionist at the police station was like, “Sorry your grandma was murdered, but nothing was illegal that night. Next!” they could just take their complaints to the state or federal level. It would be easy to argue, even though there’s no law that explicitly bans a jurisdiction from decriminalizing things like theft and murder. You would just use the always handy Ninth Amendment, which says you have rights not explicitly outlined in the constitution. It wouldn’t be hard to get a judge to agree that you have the unalienable right not to be murdered or robbed with the tacit approval of the local authorities.I liked the movie The Purge but with everything it's caused, it wasn't worth making the movie. if you live in Louisville be safe!
— Shelby Waddell ✌ (@shelbyy512) August 16, 2014
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