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Thread: The Problem With the Police

  1. #1

    The Problem With the Police

    L. Neil on wha to do about out of control cops.


    The Problem With the Police
    by L. Neil Smith
    lneil@netzero.com


    Attribute to L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise

    It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one when I say that I have no sympathy for the crypiggies who've begun blubbering, since the mess at Ferguson, about how dangerous their "profession" is and how some kind of special steps have to be taken now to protect them. I haven't actually heard any demands for more victim disarmament (gun control) but they do want sales of body armor to civilians to be banned.

    Before we go any further with this, kindly allow me to observe that nobody put a gun to their heads and told them "Be a cop!" And being a police officer isn't really all that dangerous—check the statistics, yourself. Being a fireman is more dangerous. Being a miner is more dangerous. Being a deep-sea salvage diver is hell of a lot more dangerous. Nor are these particularly dangerous times. When I was a young reserve officer in the wild and wooly early 1970s, more cops were injured or killed in California alone than in the entire nation now. That fact sparked many changes in policy, including choice of weapons, from revolver to semiautomatic, the design of holsters, and the angle at which the car should be parked during a routine traffic stop.

    All that was in the 60s, and, for a while, the police did acquire a more human face. But then, something went wrong. Several things went really wrong, and it left us stuck in the mess we're in today.

    To begin with there were police unions and lawyers who rode along with them like pilot fish. RICO allowed them to loot the countryside freely. There is nothing in a free society that we could have done, or can, directly, about this. But it has come to mean that no officer will ever have to face the music for whatever criminal act he may have committed, unless he has political enemies somewhere inside the structure.

    Second, there were matters of accoutrement. Mace and revolver speed-loaders were the big news of my time, rapidly followed by CS gas and semiautomatic pistols, mostly Glocks in .40 caliber, while four-shot pump shotguns evolved into eight-shooters on the dashboard. Wooden nightsticks became nylon PR-24s and a engendered whole new martial art. Finally there was Kevlar body armor, and the Taser. Ammunition changed, as well. The Blue Knight's equippage was nearly complete.

    All the while, the courts were depriving ordinary citizens of more and more rights and protections until the attacks on 9/11 swept what was left from the board. The police could now go anywhere, do anything—including locking people up on suspicion—without punishment for it.

    At the same time, the cops have gone insane, shooting people's dogs, smashing in, beating up, and murdering innocent individuals, including little old ladies, and their pet kittens without even having to apologise about it. I'd cite some typical examples, but they happen every day and you can find them all too easily for yourself. You can't blame people for hating the police, they have good reason. I've deliberately avoided learning much about Ferguson—what little information I have would indicate that the cop behaved properly—but you can't blame the public, The police have brought this on themselves.

    If they hadn't, I wouldn't be mildly worried about writing this.I wouldn't be expecting a flood of hate mail and death threats all next week.

    Can the situation be fixed? No one in authority will let it be. Victimless crime laws must be repealed and those imprisoned for them released. All presently-serving cops must be laid off and replaced by individuals who are not tainted by violence and corruption, preferably individuals who've lived in the area they will police for at least a decade,

    They must go back to six-shot revolvers and four-shot shotguns. No rifles of any description, no SWAT teams. No masks, and badge numbers must be displayed prominently on their uniforms. Most important of all, no more Kevlar armor—they must take the same risks that most of us do. Civilians are attacked many times as often as the cops. They also "Get their man"—shoot the actual culprit—several times as often.


    I knew a guy once, a police officer of long standing, who was running for Sheriff. It was his view, he said, and his department agreed, that people should see to their own defense. It was the Sheriff's job to come by afterward to make sure the right person got shot.

    I voted for him.

    Which reminds me: I would abolish all police departments, and actively prohibit them reforming, turning every responsibility over to the Sheriff. Too many layers separate me from the cops: his superiors, the city council, the mayor and city manager. Not all are subject to recall. One electable man—the Sheriff—stands between me and his deputies.

    All of the military equipment police departments have acqquired must be sold at auction. Official oaths must be administered in public (and on TV), with emphasis on the Bill of Rights. Courses on the Bill of Rights must be administered to all would-be police officers.

    None of this offends me as a police officer. Nor would I be offended if I had to be one again. Clearly it needs doing and right away. If you want to know more, I very strongly urge you to read the chapter in my award-winning book, Down with Power [amazon.com paper and e-book] entitled "The Police".

    Or listen to Brian Wilson's brilliant audio version.

    I spend a great deal of time listening to talk radio. One thing that sets me apart from most of those guys presently defending the police is that I was a policeman. They are, and remain, merely copsuckers.

    Remember that word and use it in good health.

    http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2015/tle804-20150111-02.html
    Chris

    "Government ... does not exist of necessity, but rather by virtue of a tragic, almost comical combination of klutzy, opportunistic terrorism against sitting ducks whom it pretends to shelter, plus our childish phobia of responsibility, praying to be exempted from the hard reality of life on life's terms." Wolf DeVoon

    "...Make America Great Again. I'm interested in making American FREE again. Then the greatness will come automatically."Ron Paul



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  3. #2
    The Problem With the Police

    is that they have been allowed to exist,,

    btw,, they are funded by extortion,, and are the enforcers of that extort-er..
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by pcosmar View Post
    The Problem With the Police

    is that they have been allowed to exist,,

    btw,, they are funded by extortion,, and are the enforcers of that extort-er..

    From the essay:

    "I would abolish all police departments, and actively prohibit them reforming, turning every responsibility over to the Sheriff. Too many layers separate me from the cops: his superiors, the city council, the mayor and city manager. Not all are subject to recall. One electable man—the Sheriff—stands between me and his deputies."

    ETA: I think you and Smith are largely in agreement.
    Last edited by CCTelander; 09-25-2016 at 03:51 PM.
    Chris

    "Government ... does not exist of necessity, but rather by virtue of a tragic, almost comical combination of klutzy, opportunistic terrorism against sitting ducks whom it pretends to shelter, plus our childish phobia of responsibility, praying to be exempted from the hard reality of life on life's terms." Wolf DeVoon

    "...Make America Great Again. I'm interested in making American FREE again. Then the greatness will come automatically."Ron Paul

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by CCTelander View Post
    From the essay:

    "I would abolish all police departments, and actively prohibit them reforming, turning every responsibility over to the Sheriff. Too many layers separate me from the cops: his superiors, the city council, the mayor and city manager. Not all are subject to recall. One electable man—the Sheriff—stands between me and his deputies."

    ETA: I think you and Smith are largely in agreement.
    I am fine with elected Sheriffs that are in fact accountable for their actions.
    Especially those with the correct understanding of their position..

    I have met none yet.
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by pcosmar View Post
    I am fine with elected Sheriffs that are in fact accountable for their actions.
    Especially those with the correct understanding of their position..

    I have met none yet.

    Nor have I.
    Chris

    "Government ... does not exist of necessity, but rather by virtue of a tragic, almost comical combination of klutzy, opportunistic terrorism against sitting ducks whom it pretends to shelter, plus our childish phobia of responsibility, praying to be exempted from the hard reality of life on life's terms." Wolf DeVoon

    "...Make America Great Again. I'm interested in making American FREE again. Then the greatness will come automatically."Ron Paul

  7. #6

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Federalist View Post
    ///

    Trying to make this appear as an "accidental" bump? You bastard!

    That said, the OP feels as if he'd been channeling myownself.

    Then there's this:

    When I was a young reserve officer in the wild and wooly early 1970s, more cops were injured or killed in California alone than in the entire nation now.
    How I pine for the good old days... <LONGFELIXUNGERSIGH>...

    Then there's this:

    Which reminds me: I would abolish all police departments, and ACTIVELY PROHIBIT THEM REFORMING, turning every responsibility over to the Sheriff. Too many layers separate me from the cops: his superiors, the city council, the mayor and city manager. Not all are subject to recall. One electable man—the Sheriff—stands between me and his deputies.
    The red text I'd not thought of before, which pretty well knocks me out and underscores with many lines the validity of my belief that certain topics cannot be repeated too many times. It took until now and for someone else to deliver unto me brain the explicit notion of making it a felony for anyone to materially attempt to form a police department. This is so painfully obvious and yet I missed it. This reminds me, as have others, why it is important to keep talking about such things and why my fits of throwing up my hands are worthy of no praise. I stand corrected and will accept any future lashings I may deserve. I try not to succumb to feelings of despair, but at times I fail, so go ahead and let me know when I am being a douche-0-plex.

    While I agree strongly with the most of the OP, the author slips a bit in places. For example, in the above quote, I do not quite agree with the bit about turning all responsibilities over to the sheriff. Way prior to that, those responsibilities need to be explicitly defined in the ways that someone such as myself are grandly expert. Only those of my caliber or better possess the analytic eyes, the grasp of semantical structure, and the knowledge of propriety in such matters to write these sorts of metes, bounds, and specifications. It is decidedly not a job for lawyers, legislators, union reps, or other corrupts and inepts, but rather for those who not only know what needs to be done (a grand analytic and synthetic task in itself), but how to put it into black and white with skill such that the gods themselves would be hamstrung to the nines to find loopholes. This is one of those things that would have to be very carefully crafted against the skullduggery of judges, lawyers, legislators, administrators, and the sheriffs themselves. If history has shown us nothing else, it is that humans in positions of power are endlessly clever in finding paths around obstacles to the arrogation of more power and "authority".

    To wit:

    ...But then, something went wrong. Several things went really wrong, and it left us stuck in the mess we're in today.

    To begin with there were police unions and lawyers who rode along with them like pilot fish. RICO allowed them to loot the countryside freely. There is nothing in a free society that we could have done, or can, directly, about this. But it has come to mean that no officer will ever have to face the music for whatever criminal act he may have committed, unless he has political enemies somewhere inside the structure.
    Notice how the various elements of corruption cited here are of the oblique variety. These were all indirect routes to increases in immediate police power. So-called "qualified immunity" is yet another and is arguably the single most pernicious of them all. It says that the rules which apply to all others do not apply to them. We see how this interpretation holds true every single day, because not one goes by where a cop is not violating the fundamental rights of Freemen in this, the purported Land of the Free. <URP>...
    Last edited by osan; 01-07-2018 at 09:35 PM.
    freedomisobvious.blogspot.com

    There is only one correct way: freedom. All other solutions are non-solutions.

    It appears that artificial intelligence is at least slightly superior to natural stupidity.

    Our words make us the ghosts that we are.

    Convincing the world he didn't exist was the Devil's second greatest trick; the first was convincing us that God didn't exist.

  9. #8
    the problem is that they are order followers



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Working Poor View Post
    the problem is that they are order followers
    A common affliction.

    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom



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