High school 'bouncer' reacts violently to cake crumbs on the floor

I'm always a bit skeptical when people toss around accusations of brutality ... like a lot of Americans, I've always believed that if you walked the straight and narrow, you didn't have anything to worry about.

However ...

It may just be a coincidence, but it seems we are hearing more and more stories about security guards, police officers and other law enforcement personnel abusing their power, especially in situations where it seems completely unnecessary.

This story here -- about a high school girl in Palmdale, Calif., who was basically assaulted by a huge school security guard for not properly cleaning up cake that she had spilled when someone bumped into her -- seems especially grievous. The picture above tells the story.

The girl wound up with a broken wrist and an arrest for battery. Her mom was arrested, too, for supposedly pushing the guard and an assistant principal when she went to protest her daughter's treatment. As was the guy who videotaped the whole scene, which you can view here from the Fox television station in LA.

In other words, what started out as crumbs on the floor has turned into a giant mess of accusations and counter-claims, with a young girl injured and lots of lives tossed upside down. One thing is clear, however ... the guy above needs to find a new line of work, and the school needs to do a better job of protecting its students from the people hired to keep the peace.

More than one pundit has connected this apparent surge in brutality with the government's obsession with the war on terror and a general decay of individual rights. I don't know if that's the case ... it could just be that we are seeing more of these stories because cameras are so prevalent.

What do you think?