I used to defend cops but...

[republicanchick]

I don't know.. I've seen so much in my life

traffic stops for NO good reason

rich people (expensive looking vehicles) never seem to be pulled over. Hm... could it be that big fancy LAWYER the person could hire to fight the ticket?

65% of all traffic stops are done against Blacks (not sure what city this was, not sure this statistic refers to the whole nation or what... but i tend to think it does [or virtually does])

and I could tell a few more stories...

I'm glad they are now starting to get those body cameras

I had a lot of respect for the cops until...

I still do respect the ones who do the right thing, of course.. but I do not feel like defending cops in general anymore

Of course, the video showing the cop shooting that guy something like 7 times in the back while he was running AWAY from him...

I had lost my desire to defend them b4 that happened but this...


whatever.. What can you say?



___

 

[Rusha]

I defend cops and even private citizens when it is a matter of SELF-DEFENSE or even defending the life of another human being.

Justice should be colorblind. It's fairly apparent that justice for certain cops and jury is determined by bias.

Though cops are human, IMO, they should be held to a higher standard because they are the enforcers.

 

[republicanchick]

I defend cops and even private citizens when it is a matter of SELF-DEFENSE or even defending the life of another human being.

Justice should be colorblind. It's fairly apparent that justice for certain cops and jury is determined by bias.

Though cops are human, IMO, they should be held to a higher standard because they are the enforcers.

I think a lot of them are on a power trip

If tht guy shot in the back had had a gun like the cop did...

I am more pro gun by the day



++

 

[Quincy]

I can say from experience that there are good cops, worth defending and honoring as heroes. I've got friends I grew up with who are in law enforcement and they are very important to the community here. That's true of the vast majority of cops but in cities where minority communities have large crime rates, I think you end up with power tripping, jaded officers who view them all as the root of the problem. Which is in effect, racial profiling.

So, they abuse their power and those rare occasions have lead to minorities viewing the police as terrorists. It's really putting good and honest cops in a bad situation. You can't tell the good ones from the bad ones just by looking at their uniforms, so I completely understand why some folks get scared of the police, try to flee and escape, or worse, even kill police. It's a bad situation and we have too many reasons to fear for the good guys just doing their sworn duty.

I don't think we should give up on policemen, yet.

Anyways, that's my view.

 

[Granite]

Like you, I know cops personally I'd consider decent, good guys. Unfortunately, when they dummy up and step behind that blue line of silence, they--and others like them--become part of the problem.

I'm at the point where I don't trust anyone who's in law enforcement simply on principle.

 

[Aimiel]

I used to defend cops but...

That's like saying all Christians are evil because the KKK hung someone and they call themselves Christian. :duh:

 

[rexlunae]

I don't know.. I've seen so much in my life

traffic stops for NO good reason

What's interesting to me is that excessive traffic fines are becoming a more acknowledged part of the problem with poverty. This seems like a good thing to me.

rich people (expensive looking vehicles) never seem to be pulled over. Hm... could it be that big fancy LAWYER the person could hire to fight the ticket?

The real injustice is not that rich people can beat traffic tickets, but that they don't need to care about them. A $500 ticket might be crippling to a person living paycheck-to-paycheck, but the rich can pay it without thinking about it. Many countries base the amount of the fine on the income of the offender, which evens the field a bit.

65% of all traffic stops are done against Blacks (not sure what city this was, not sure this statistic refers to the whole nation or what... but i tend to think it does [or virtually does])

and I could tell a few more stories...

I'm glad they are now starting to get those body cameras

I had a lot of respect for the cops until...

I still do respect the ones who do the right thing, of course.. but I do not feel like defending cops in general anymore

Of course, the video showing the cop shooting that guy something like 7 times in the back while he was running AWAY from him...

I had lost my desire to defend them b4 that happened but this...


whatever.. What can you say?

It sure is harder to sympathize with them automatically when you see a cop gun down a fleeing man and then plant a weapon on him. It's one of the consequences when you have people running around in a position or power armed with deadly weapons as a matter of routine. Partially, it seems like a product of our gun culture. If everyone has guns, then the violence that occurs will occur at that level. Lucky for us the Second Amendment didn't specify the right to bear shoulder-launched missiles.

Here's one interesting comparison, for the land of the free to consider:
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/american-cops-killed-people-month-march-uk-entire-20th-century/

 

[Rusha]

I think a lot of them are on a power trip

If tht guy shot in the back had had a gun like the cop did...

I am more pro gun by the day

++

I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt, however, with cases such as the most recent, it's easier said than done.

I have always been pro-gun ... at least for law-abiding citizens.

 

[TomO]

Like you, I know cops personally I'd consider decent, good guys. Unfortunately, when they dummy up and step behind that blue line of silence, they--and others like them--become part of the problem.

Ditto lain:

I'm at the point where I don't trust anyone who's in law enforcement simply on principle.

:think:


I still trust the ones I know personally. lain:

 

[Granite]

In plainclothes, yes. All bets are off once they're on the clock. Sorry, but I wouldn't take that chance.

 

[rexlunae]

I have always been pro-gun ... at least for law-abiding citizens.

The problem with that is that there's no way to prevent people who aren't law-abiding from getting guns when they're in wide circulation. And the fact that police can expect to interact with both the law-abiding and the criminal who is armed is part of the reason that they have to walk around armed at all times. Which is part of the reason that cops in the US killed more people last month than cops in the UK killed in the entire 20th century. The base level of violence is already lethal.

 

[TomO]

In plainclothes, yes. All bets are off once they're on the clock. Sorry, but I wouldn't take that chance.

lain: I understand your hesitation but if they know you personally (I'm talking like years...kids play together...wives know each other...etc..etc) then chances are you haven't been "othered".
Once you are "othered" then yeah, you're no different than any other joker out in the street to them no matter how long you've known them.

Now...Bear in mind that this dictates you know them well enough that you can tell how they perceive you as well.

 

[Granite]

Well that's the thing: I consider them the "other."

 

[TomO]

Well that's the thing: I consider them the "other."

:chuckle:

 

[The Berean]

I can say from experience that there are good cops, worth defending and honoring as heroes. I've got friends I grew up with who are in law enforcement and they are very important to the community here. That's true of the vast majority of cops but in cities where minority communities have large crime rates, I think you end up with power tripping, jaded officers who view them all as the root of the problem. Which is in effect, racial profiling.

I agree with this.

So, they abuse their power and those rare occasions have lead to minorities viewing the police as terrorists. It's really putting good and honest cops in a bad situation. You can't tell the good ones from the bad ones just by looking at their uniforms, so I completely understand why some folks get scared of the police, try to flee and escape, or worse, even kill police. It's a bad situation and we have too many reasons to fear for the good guys just doing their sworn duty.

I don't think we should give up on policemen, yet.

Anyways, that's my view.

I had an "incident" with some police once. I used to live in condo with an alarm system. The system was set up if a wrong security code is entered the police are called. So one day I entered the wrong security code. No alarm went off so I figured everything was ok. I was about to you take a shower a few minutes later when there was a loud pounding on the front door. I was upstairs when I heard this. I then hear someone open my front door and start yelling, "This is the police! Come down here with your hands up!" So I grabbed my wallet and walked down to the front door with my hands up. There were two police officers standing there with their guns drawn. I was like :noway: I think I said, "Hello? May I help you?" :rotfl: They said they were responding to a silent "hostage" alarm. After I explained to them that I lived in the condo they did a search of the condo. After they holstered their firearms we started talking about my cats that were in the garage. Afterwards it got me thinking this could have gone very differently depending on my attitude and the cops' attitude and response. Kind of scary to think about.

 

[Quincy]

The problem with that is that there's no way to prevent people who aren't law-abiding from getting guns when they're in wide circulation. And the fact that police can expect to interact with both the law-abiding and the criminal who is armed is part of the reason that they have to walk around armed at all times. Which is part of the reason that cops in the US killed more people last month than cops in the UK killed in the entire 20th century. The base level of violence is already lethal.

I don't think you can prevent criminals from getting guns, period. Take Canada for instance, that country has very tight gun control laws, so the criminals there grow marijuana and trade it at the border for guns. Gun control only makes it more difficult to get guns, it doesn't make it anything near impossible. If we want to seriously cut back on violent crimes involving weapons of any kind, let alone guns, we have to solve the poverty problem, not get rid of guns. People will just kill themselves with their fists to get what they want, if they have to.

I had an "incident" with some police once. I used to live in condo with an alarm system. The system was set up if a wrong security code is entered the police are called. So one day I entered the wrong security code. No alarm went off so I figured everything was ok. I was about to you take a shower a few minutes later when there was a loud pounding on the front door. I was upstairs when I heard this. I then hear someone open my front door and start yelling, "This is the police! Come down here with your hands up!" So I grabbed my wallet and walked down to the front door with my hands up. There were two police officers standing there with their guns drawn. I was like :noway: I think I said, "Hello? May I help you?" :rotfl: They said they were responding to a silent "hostage" alarm. After I explained to them that I lived in the condo they did a search of the condo. After they holstered their firearms we started talking about my cats that were in the garage. Afterwards it got me thinking this could have gone very differently depending on my attitude and the cops' attitude and response. Kind of scary to think about.

Sounds like a couple cops who actually cared about duty and not what you may or may not be based on superficial means. I'm glad it didn't go the wrong way for you.

 

[rexlunae]

I don't think you can prevent criminals from getting guns, period. Take Canada for instance, that country has very tight gun control laws, so the criminals there grow marijuana and trade it at the border for guns.

I blame the crazy yahoos to their south and west.

Gun control only makes it more difficult to get guns, it doesn't make it anything near impossible.

Of course it doesn't make it impossible! What a ridiculous observation! Making it difficult is the point. And many nations have done so, drastically reducing deaths at the hands of cops and criminals alike. In the UK, for instance, most of the police don't carry guns at all. Hard to shoot someone to death when you lack the means. Perhaps that's why more people have been killed by cops in the US in the last month than in the UK in the last century.

If we want to seriously cut back on violent crimes involving weapons of any kind, let alone guns, we have to solve the poverty problem, not get rid of guns.

We could do both. Well, if we were capable of making sane, rational political decisions we could.

People will just kill themselves with their fists to get what they want, if they have to.

Yeah. If people are really determined to kill each other, they'll find a way. But it's sure a lot easier if you can shoot someone instead of bludgeoning them with your fists. You've bought into the gun lobby's tactic of suggesting that anything short of an absolute solution is worthless.

 

[aCultureWarrior]

I don't know.. I've seen so much in my life

traffic stops for NO good reason

rich people (expensive looking vehicles) never seem to be pulled over. Hm... could it be that big fancy LAWYER the person could hire to fight the ticket?

65% of all traffic stops are done against Blacks (not sure what city this was, not sure this statistic refers to the whole nation or what... but i tend to think it does [or virtually does])

and I could tell a few more stories...

I'm glad they are now starting to get those body cameras

I had a lot of respect for the cops until...

I still do respect the ones who do the right thing, of course.. but I do not feel like defending cops in general anymore

Of course, the video showing the cop shooting that guy something like 7 times in the back while he was running AWAY from him...

I had lost my desire to defend them b4 that happened but this...


whatever.. What can you say?



___

Since you won't ever be calling the police again (surely you wouldn't call for help people who you don't respect), remove the #'s 9-1-1 from your phones.

 

[OCTOBER23]

Acts 10:34 God is no respecter of persons

BUT HUMANS ARE OUT OF THEIR OWN SELFISHNESS.

Romans 13:4 For THE POLICEMAN is the minister of God to thee for good.

But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:

for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

 

[Quincy]

I blame the crazy yahoos to their south and west.

Sure, people here have the guns to trade but even if we somehow did manage to take the guns criminals currently have from them, then they'd just smuggle more in or trade for them at our borders.

Of course it doesn't make it impossible! What a ridiculous observation! Making it difficult is the point. And many nations have done so, drastically reducing deaths at the hands of cops and criminals alike. In the UK, for instance, most of the police don't carry guns at all. Hard to shoot someone to death when you lack the means. Perhaps that's why more people have been killed by cops in the US in the last month than in the UK in the last century.

It would be better if there are less guns widely available but what can be done about the criminals already with guns? The only thing you can do is slowly confiscate them whenever the police make arrests and search a suspect's belongings. The police will never give up their guns, now. We'd have had to make guns less widely available decades ago for that plan to work here.

We could do both. Well, if we were capable of making sane, rational political decisions we could.

Right, but you'll actually get people to relinquish all their firearms before you'll get them to become educated enough to do that.

Yeah. If people are really determined to kill each other, they'll find a way. But it's sure a lot easier if you can shoot someone instead of bludgeoning them with your fists. You've bought into the gun lobby's tactic of suggesting that anything short of an absolute solution is worthless.

It's not worthless to get rid of guns, it would lower murders for awhile which is a good thing. The problem is getting people to do it, as well as dealing with the real issue for why people want guns, or why they buy stuff from criminals groups who have guns. People are miserable and seeking escapes. My point is, it isn't guns that cause the murders ( or a lack of faith in fancy god men, whatever you hear people blame) . What you're talking about won't fix anything in the long run, but sure, it would be a temporary fix. The problem is a poor QoL among more and more people every year, which opens the door to high crime rates.