Quoted from DanQverymuch:Did any of you downvoters bother to read the article? I don't see anything in his post to "disagree" with. His paraphrasing of the article is accurate. What does it say about one's position when one can't even consider a contrary opinion?
Luckydogg420, thank you for posting this link. Everyone should read it. It's straight from a former cop. Try and curb your emotions and really read it.
I didn't downvote his post, as I hadn't read the article.
Just did now though.
I definitely agree with some of his statements and ideas, and proposals, but I also disagree with his overarching generalizations and his general sense of balance in what he's seen, been a part of, and describing.
I also will say, I read an article recently, an editorial mind you, that stated there are 375,000,000 police interactions with citizens annually in this country. I've always thought on this point, of how many direct and indirect engagements officers have annually, and proportionately how few deaths and infractions occur as a result.
Millions of engagements, but still a small number of engagements where things might, and often should, have been handled differently. Media skews and focuses ENTIRELY on the inflammatory, versus focusing on the positives, as positives are dull, and have no ratings value.
To that effect, this article leans to that concept as well. He minimizes his own positive deeds as an officer, to focus solely on depicting ALL officers as misguided, and animalistic.
All of that said, law enforcement, and the military, DO restructure you, to become a tool, a weapon, an enforcer. That unfortunately needs to happen, as a massive population thrives and only becomes greater in number.
Christ, I can't even ask my neighbors to politely stop having their dogs piss in my yard, signs are up even, yet alone could random villagers prevent some nutjob like Genghis Khan from existing?
When a number more than one human exists, resources will be fought for. Natural gathering, and resource management fuel directly into ideas of property and capitalism. As long as there are large groups of people, law enforcement needs to exist. Period. Sadly. But not sadly, as we are animals, like any other. And we will all fight one another for that last scrap of meat to survive.