Police at Ferguson

[esperovintro.livejournal.com]

Comments

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

It's almost like our government has decided that it needs to invade and bring some democracy to our own country.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

That Asian cop is wondering how get got labelled with Whitey.

Where did these come from?

[mudryikot.livejournal.com]

And that is why you need to be able to buy armour-piercing ammunition.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

LOL So practical minded.

[mudryikot.livejournal.com]

Because either the government must be vary of the people or you will have to be afraid of the government. There is no middle ground.

[blackdwarv.livejournal.com]

...maybe the governments are afraid of us, which is why they are piling military-grade hardware on their representatives?

I mean, I don't know about YOU, but generally speaking, I don't take lots of weapons to places where people I'm not afraid of live.

[mudryikot.livejournal.com]

The cycle of escalation and counter-escalation is generaly eternal. Unless both sides see it as too expensive and agree to stop some of it - like USSR and USA agreed to limit some WMDs and WMD technologies.
Next time when some official rants and calls for bans on sale of armour-piercing ammunition or automatic weapons or mashine-guns counter it with a demand for police demilitarization.

[blackdwarv.livejournal.com]

That, I can agree with.

Yet it avoids my origional point. WHY do police agencies feel the need for such high-end hardware unless they feel threatened by the populace?

[mudryikot.livejournal.com]

Ah. I misunderstood your original point.
To address it - yes, people in high position may very well feel threatened by the mobs or general disturbances of lower classes. On the low-rank side OTOH police work is a dangerous occupation, so presumably no sane peace officer will say no to good body armour or bulletproof car. Especially since they do not have to pay for it. Hey, if I could get a free supersoldier suit I would definetely take it.
On a more psychobabble hypothesises it makes them look cool (for a concience shaped by comics, sci-fi movies and games) and also lets them fell as good as armed forces troops (who naturally get more respect from the people for facing real armed foes).

[madscience.livejournal.com]

Yup. This is what the Second Amendment is really about — not hunting or personal self-defense.

[blackdwarv.livejournal.com]

...Actually, if you read the FF's letters from the time, the Second was a bargain to get Virginia on with the whole nation thing. It seems that they needed assurances that their slave-hunting militas would not be interfered with...

[madscience.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a complete hoax made up but anti-gun nutters. Got a source?

[blackdwarv.livejournal.com]

A little dry, but credible:
http://www.constitution.org/jw/acm_5-m.htm

A bit spun, but good info:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/13890-the-second-amendment-was-ratified-to-preserve-slavery

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I have stolen and repasta the first one.

[blackdwarv.livejournal.com]

That's using your noodle!

[interdictor.livejournal.com]

The police state was one of the reasons I listed for getting the fuck out. Lots of non-libertarians mocked me. I have been vindicated.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

No you really haven't. There's an ocean of space between a police state and batshit libertarianville. Neither is happening and neither is right.

[farchivist.livejournal.com]

No, no, no, no, no. See, what's happening now with the cops? It's what everyone wanted. It's what was asked for.

I remember. All throughout the late 80s and early 90s. "We need to get tough on crime." "Three strikes and you're out."
And the movies and the TV. Remember? Always showing that the cities were urban hellholes filled with ravening gangs and drug lords. The only way the cops could win is to tool up and get shooty. Charles Bronson, Dirty Harry, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Demolition Man, Predator 2, Robocop, Darkman, and a billion more. Everyone wanted this. Democrats. Republicans. Libertarians. I remember them ALL saying how we had to get tough, get mean with crims.

And now that we have what was asked for, now that it's being used against EVERYONE and not this or that inner city, there are complaints. Oh, this is all wrong. Injustice is happening.

You got what you asked for, citizens of the USA. Why are you complaining when you are given what you ask for?

[red-pill.livejournal.com]

i suspect it was part of the narative, tied with the cold war paranoia and feeling of collapse. robocop was set in detroit after all, and even now, i can see why people might call for a tough approch to crime there. the citys collpasing in on its self

theres also the question of who was calling for it. the 80s was the time of the yuppie, and greed is good, and the baby boom genration. its 30 years. we are no doubt repeing what they sowed. but we have to fight to change it. the people of today didnt ask for it. the people of today were bearly ten, at most. time for thing to change, and to do that you need to make your point.