It seems that the people of Montreal are a proud people, and they don’t like to be told when to dance. At least, that’s one possible reason why 39-year-old Taoufik Moalla was pulled over and given a $149 ticket for “screaming in public.” Moalla was signing along to C&C Music Factory’s 1990 hit, Gonna Make You Sweat, which, if you’ll recall, includes a repeated, belted-out command for everybody to dance, now.
According to CBC News, here’s what happened to Moalla:
He was pulled over on Sainte-Croix Avenue and four Montreal police officers came up to look into his car, he said.
They asked him what was happening, and Moalla said ‘nothing.’
The officer then asked him, “Did you scream loudly?”
He replied, “No, I was just listening to my favourite song,” Moalla recalled.
“I repeated, ‘Everybody dance now!’” Moalla said.
A few minutes later, Moalla says police handed him a $149 ticket for “screaming in public.”
In case you’re having trouble imagining what it would sound like to hear someone sing-scream “everybody dance now,” here’s a refresher:
Also, what the hell was up with that bicycle wheel?
Moalla told the CBC that while he understood that police may want to see what’s going on in a car where someone seems to be screaming, he’s “upset” by the magnitude of the fine.
I can see his point; did they really have to fine the guy? How bad could this have possibly been? At worst, it’s just embarrassingly funny if you were to hear it, right? I mean, nobody was under any real obligation to dance, now, if they didn’t want to, right?
Anyway, way to keep the streets safe from amateur renditions of early ‘90s club music, Montreal police.
(Thanks, Stewart!)