Happy Holiday Season everyone? Did you have a good one? I have been out of touch with what is going on for the last week, but what the heck is going on? (Bear with me as I am having trouble typing with my Thanksgiving carving knife injury which is nothing so dramatic as Andrew's problem but it hurts!) What I can gather from reading the local newspapers is that protests are occuring all over the country. With Al Sharpton is fanning the flames of unrest because...well...that is what he does and President Obama is not helping to quell the flames because...well, that is what he seems to excel at. You have to admit that Obama does excel at pitting groups against each other and then stepping in to do...well...more to fan the flames of discontent. I mean, he is a seasoned "community organizer" after all.
I realize that this will be his legacy and what he has used his time to do. Civil unrest is his goal. But, with Al Sharpton as his wingman, what is the end game here? Does he really get off on cities burning, protests and civil unrest?
My opinion is that we should give Obama and Sharpton what they want. Police forces in the country are being too aggressive and should be reined in. Who needs low crime anyway. It is obvious to me that street criminals are just victims of their circumstances and should be treated as victims. Thugs are just "misunderstood" and it is the police that are the problem. Give them what they want and all will be better. We should just hug it out, right?
On the otherhand, I am a firm believer that we have to learn how bad things can get to realize how wrong mob rule can be. As we all know, laws are just for people who will respect them anyway. Obviously, only chumps respect the law, right? Yeah, it's the police that are the real problem.
Of course one can compare the current "unrest" to how the white, privileged class reacted to O.J. Simpson being acquitted of brutally murdering two people. You remember how we took to the streets and rioted after the injustice of the verdict was rendered then. Oh, wait...that didn't happen.
Anyway, maybe we can talk it out. Let's discuss.
I realize that this will be his legacy and what he has used his time to do. Civil unrest is his goal. But, with Al Sharpton as his wingman, what is the end game here? Does he really get off on cities burning, protests and civil unrest?
My opinion is that we should give Obama and Sharpton what they want. Police forces in the country are being too aggressive and should be reined in. Who needs low crime anyway. It is obvious to me that street criminals are just victims of their circumstances and should be treated as victims. Thugs are just "misunderstood" and it is the police that are the problem. Give them what they want and all will be better. We should just hug it out, right?
On the otherhand, I am a firm believer that we have to learn how bad things can get to realize how wrong mob rule can be. As we all know, laws are just for people who will respect them anyway. Obviously, only chumps respect the law, right? Yeah, it's the police that are the real problem.
Of course one can compare the current "unrest" to how the white, privileged class reacted to O.J. Simpson being acquitted of brutally murdering two people. You remember how we took to the streets and rioted after the injustice of the verdict was rendered then. Oh, wait...that didn't happen.
Anyway, maybe we can talk it out. Let's discuss.
Bev, "my Thanksgiving carving knife injury"... what happened?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I managed to get an article up at the film site! Ultimate Airport Dubai
ReplyDeleteMore thoughts on the riots to come.
On the issue of Obama trying to get cameras on all cops, I actually think that's a great idea. For one thing, that will make it easy to weed out the many, many good cops from the very few bad cops. For another, it will wipe out most claims like those by Brown's family when you can see their "innocent child who was fleeing the scene" attacking the cop and spew death threats.
ReplyDeleteIt was the same thing with DUIs. Once cops got dashboard cams, all the claims of bad cops targeting non-drunks started to dry up (no pun intended) because you could see the drunk slurring, stumbling and weaving. Essentially, it was the end of the ability of people to tell the big lie and hope that people trusted them more than the cops.
(It also led to the arrest of several bad cops who were abusing their power.)
I second what Andrew said re cameras for the very reasons he stated.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if I recall, police departments and unions fought dashboard cams like they are now fighting body cameras and interrogation recordings.
ReplyDeleteThough many are coming round to the idea of body cameras as the case in Ferguson showed it would've cleared things up much quicker.
I think is silly to get worked up about the death of a thug fool enough to attack a cop but so long as the protesters are peaceful I don't have a problem with them though they would be smarter to spend their energy elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteObama and Sharpton to the best of my knowledge haven't called for violence so they can't be faulted for goons burning down churches and businesses.
I do agree that nationally the problem isn't police it's thugs like a Brown and I agree with Andrew that cameras will show the truth and silence their excuse making families.
Buy those cameras for all the stated reasons. Also, co-workers of mine in the Ferguson area and some who live in Ferguson tell me that a huge chunk of those rioting and looting aren't even from Ferguson, many were from East St. Louis, IL. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but, I carry a gun, so does my wife. We are not going to be victims, at least not easy victims. I got caught in a mini-riot in Memfrica one time and they stayed the Hell away from my car when I let them see my Glock. Most aren't real brave. The talking heads on Morning Joe were going on and on this morning about how the black folk in Ferguson have never been able to help run the city..Let me point something out. St Louis County has 99 municipalities in it. Most of the people in these towns have no real connection to them other than they live there. The only people you see running for Mayor of Ferguson, or Ladue, or Creve Coeur are people who have lived there a long time and regard them as their home. Frankly, most of the black families filtered into Ferguson in the 20 years. I hate it when I hear the idiots on TV say that there are no job opportunites in that area..really? Boeing aircraft, Lambert Airport, Archer Daniels Midland, In-Bev, IBM, just to name a few are all right there. The busses run all over the county. If you want t a job in a city of 2 million people you can find one..assuming you have a high school diploma, no felony record, can pass a drug test, aren't awaiting trial etc...Hell, even if you have a felony record you can get a good job. The whining, pi$$ing, and moaning from the libs is killing me...
ReplyDeleteHi everybody! Sorry I am late.
ReplyDeleteAndrew - I cut my finger with a very sharp serrated knife while cutting a bagel. Fortunately not too badly. And as it happens I was immediately attended to by an ER doc and two ER nurses in my family...which is surprising because normally they would have just told me to stop complaining and bleed somewhere else. LOL! No, really, they would have said that. It didn't require any stitches - at least that is what I was told...but then again my ER nurse Sister in Law wanted to practice her suturing technique on me for her NP license.
I agree that the body cams are a great idea. I also think that the police should decline to patrol areas where they are not wanted, but that's just me.
ReplyDeleteAnthony - Al Sharpton is being titled "Co-Mayor" with NY Mayor Bill Diblasio. It is rare to see Diblasio without Sharpton at his side. I find it hypocritical that Sharpton owes over $4million in back taxes and he is allowed to go into the WH and has access to the President where I do not as a fully up to date taxpaying citizen. Where is Holder and the IRS seizing his assets and putting in the slammer for non-compliance.
ReplyDeleteI'm not arguing that Sharpton isn't too close to Democrat leaders or that he shouldn't be prosecuted for tax evasion, I am saying that goons are rioting because they want to. I've talked with quite a few upset friends, coworkers and family members, but none of them has skipped work or burned down anything.
ReplyDeleteThe solution is to cut the police force in half. Train communities how to police themselves, each other and first and foremost, train individual how to police their own individual selves.
ReplyDeleteWe do this through, again, The 4 Noble Truths, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and Vipassana. I have seen hundreds of people, including criminals, turn themselves around through these routes.
Most cops are not policing anything serious. Detectives are the ones who solve crimes. Cops are mainly just biding their time giving out traffic tickets, busting people for selling or buying drugs, harassing jay walkers and the like.
We could cut the force and half and STILL have too many.
The remaining cops, aside being trained in the above mentioned modalities, could also be trained in Martial Arts, and merely carry batons and tasers, not guns, on their persons. I've read that tasers have also killed people so that is an issue that needs to be addressed as well, however, if drugs are decriminalized then so much profiling and needless killing will disappear.
We just don't need anywhere near the amount of cops we have right now. Its government largesse.