Flipping the bird, raising that middle finger solo to let the world know ‘EFF YOU,” we’ve all been there. What’s really impressive is getting arrested for flipping someone off- now that sends a message. Unfortunately, this did happen to one not-so-happy Canadian.
Michael Naccache and Neall Epstein are two neighbors in Montreal who have quite a history of quarreling. One day it seemed to go too far as Naccache decided to call the cops on Epstein for making a throat-slashing gesture and flashing him both middle fingers. He told police in the report he “feared for his life.”
You may think this all sounds a bit juvenile and ridiculous, well so did the judge who received the case. Judge Dennis Galiatsatos in Quebec quickly dismissed the charges.
“Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability.”
He ended his ruling with a request that people stop calling the police over petty disputes. That’s a lesson I think we can all agree on.
