The War on Fuck

In quiet La Marque, Texas, most days pass without incident. But ask fire captain Alfred Decker and he’ll tell you trouble has come to the county’s still streets. On Decker’s beat, though, one doesn’t get away with fuck, as 28-year-old Kathryn Fridge discovered when Decker charged her with disorderly conduct for saying that same word in public.

Fridge says she went to Wal-Mart with her mother for batteries, found the shelves bare and said “Dang. They’re all fucking gone.” That’s when Decker stepped up and suggested she watch her mouth. Fridge offered a perfunctory apology and tried to go about her business, but Decker ordered her to stay put. As a crowd gathered, Decker had Fridge accompany him to the parking lot.

Decker says Fridge berated him with a strain of profanities, but Fridge insists she only asked onlookers, “Can you believe he’s fucking arresting me for saying ‘fuck?’” Once outside, Decker cuffed Fridge while he got his citation pad out of his car, wrote her a ticket and set her free. The class C misdemeanor charge carries a fine, but Fridge hasn’t yet decided if she’ll pay it or take the issue to court.

by SCOTT SAXON