He has done absolutely nothing different than anyone before him and whoever comes after him will maintain the status quo. That's the president's job at this point. Spare me the bogeyman malarkey.
I could not disagree with you more vehemently, for numerous reasons that are valid but, like you I will abstain as not to derail this thread to discuss an alternate topic.
Including your lying eyes.
Or your blindness that criminals are not victims but perpetrators...
No, this isn't a problem limited to major cities. How many different ways do you want me to say the same thing?
Actually it is an urban city problem...I have never seen it where I live... Is it present in large or small cities of New Hampshire? When I see it firsthand then I might consider your assertion but, to believe the news media or social media never, neither have any credibility, they both are promoting a preferred narrative.
Crime continues to decline in this country and it's safer than usual to be a cop. So why do they keep accumulating surplus military hardware and "engaging" the public as though they're at war with the public?
Maybe in non-urban areas but, you cannot say honestly that Chicago has declining crime or that it is safe to serve in law enforcement in this venue. Nowadays the highway patrol have to worry with every traffic stop that the person in the car may be pointing a gun at them when they get to the window. You say you want cops not to treat all citizens as potential criminals but, really how do you do that prior to finding out what your dealing with? I think in some respects your expectations are unreasonable, you have to put yourself in their shoes to respect what they are up against these days, people are much more violent than in the past it seems...another clue that society has changed & not for the better.
Again, exactly the opposite. Can't tell if you're playing stupid or just can't read. Not my problem.
Not playing stupid at all, I read your post numerous times and how you can gloss over the fact you pinned cops as being naive, stupid, and not smart enough to not run amok is beyond me. It is there in black & white, no? I am not playing gotcha so, I will let it rest but, what you said, and what you were trying to convey was obviously different as I read it.
And this is exactly the problem: You are absolutely and completely wrong to believe a citizen has a higher standard than a cop. And this goes back to your authoritarian thinking: You expect, demand, slavish, cowering obedience--not a smart citizen aware of their rights, but a serf who better toe the line or else. That unquestionably makes you a fascist.
Hardly, I realize that I live within a society that has laws & duly delegated people that are charged with enforcing said laws. I know my rights but, I respect those that are in authority in this case police officers... which means I comply with their requests because I know that I have done nothing wrong, and the inquisition that I am being made to endure is temporary. The point is if you are not a criminal, not breaking the law, and being compliant with those in authority for enforcement of the law, there is no problem and everyone walks away unharmed. Your problem is with authority & possibly the law which is becoming quite clear to me at this point.
Let me give you a perfect example to prove my point. Joe Blow, a taxpayer without a criminal record, is walking down the street, minding his own business. A cop decides he doesn't like Joe, or his face, or his shirt. Stops him, asks him what he's doing, where he's going, what he's up to. (Keep in mind, cops can do this for literally any reason whatsoever, and to say otherwise is completely ignorant.)
Given that Joe blow has absolutely no idea why this officer doesn't like his face or shirt maybe he should take it down a notch, it is quite possible that unbeknownst to him a person matching his description wearing a similar shirt just raped a woman in the vicinity where he is presently. Your expectations of law enforcement to not inquire who Joe Blow is, what he is doing, where he has been are not realistic, nor do they take into account what this officer does know and why he is inquiring about it...comply with the officers requests and Joe Blow is on his way...simple as that.
Now Joe's committed no crime and has zero plans on doing so. And the idea that a cop presumed to accost him and hassle him for no good reason annoys him.
Wow! just wow...The cop is not accosting him Granite, he is questioning him, gathering information, it may be a hassle but again, Joe doesn't know what the cop is after or why...his best move is to cool his jets, if he has done nothing wrong than there is nothing to fear, it will be over shortly.
If Joe tells the cop to buzz off, leave him be, and keeps on making his way, I've got zero problem with it, and would commend him for not letting some jerk give him a hard time for no good reason.
So clearly, your problem is with authority, I guess if you consider me a fascist I would consider you an anarchist...you are an island unto yourself devoid of law, or authority right?
But I'm willing to wager you're already working out ways to nitpick this hypothetical and justify this cop's behavior. In fact, if Joe were to use harsher language and keep on walking, you'd likely expect the cop to use violence in response (and would argue he would be justified in doing so).
Your wager is only partially correct in that I gave you a real world reason why Joe was detained, your hypothetical showed me more about where you personally stand than you can know.
That's the difference between you and I: The ability for a man on the street breaking no law to say "Screw you" to unjustified, unwarranted authority is sacrosanct in my book. In yours, it could well leading to a justified shooting.
No, the difference is that you think freedom gives a man/woman the right to live on his own terms devoid of law & authority, where I see the two as sacrosanct to a civil society. You cannot have freedom & liberty without law and those charged to enforce it, freedom comes with responsibility and not just to you personally.
If a cop's being a jerk and kills someone for no good reason whatsoever you'd still blame the victim, not the cop. Sorry, but that's not only un-American, that's grotesque.
What is grotesque is your outright hatred for law & authority, if you had your way cops would wear handcuffs while criminals would have a free pass to terrorize the citizenry. You are quite correct there is a big difference between you and I, it is called respect...respect for the law, respect for authority, respect for innocent citizens. You say respect is earned, how have criminals earned so much of your respect, while ignoring the victims of their crimes? :think:
Before you ask yes, I do not respect criminals in any way, shape, or form...they don't deserve it, nor are they victims, they make victims.
Again, says every fascist, authoritarian, statist, tyrant, petty bureaucrat, and any other abuser of power.
I am not going to touch this but, rest assured the one you defend so vehemently embodies all you have listed to a tee. It really is amazing how differently you and I see the world.
I get it, rocketman: "Do what I say and I won't kill you." You don't need to keep reiterating. The funny thing is you might well consider yourself a "patriot" and have vague ideas about how sacred "liberty" and "freedom" are. I'm sure there were Loyalists just urging people to go with the flow, respect the crown, and not make trouble. Probably would've blamed Crispus Attucks and figured he got exactly what he had coming.
I am quite aware of the definitions of freedom & liberty and they do not mesh with anarchy which is what you seem to be endorsing with your rhetoric. I don't see law enforcement as the ones being coddled through imperial power, I see criminals being given free reign to work their form of tyranny upon the citizenry unencumbered. Having law & order within society is not an afterthought it is a requirement and if what your eluding to is that criminals stand alongside patriots of this nation like Crispus Attucks, you would be sadly wrong Crispus Attucks wasn't a criminal ( except to the crown) but a revolutionary, a patriot for true liberty, and if this is the new revolution as you see it...lawless criminals vs civil society... I'll pick civil society all day long and to hell with the criminals.
Then you are deeply naive or ignorant.
Then tell us of the experience with law enforcement that has so deeply scarred you, so we can be edified from your firsthand point of view.
You're not a thug personally, rocketman, you're something just as bad if not worse: The guy who gives the thugs a thumb's up. They literally couldn't do it without you.
Simply put, you have a problem with authority and a skewed sense of who the thugs are. We agree to disagree...
