You know, it never ceases to amaze me how stupid and irrational people can be. Case in point, the knee-jerk reactions to my posts about the law-enforcement officers engaged in misconduct. More often than not, when I posted articles about LEOs misbehaving, there was the inevitable poster who responded with the same, tired old phrase: “you hate cops.”
I have reacted idiotically to this accusation in the past. I doubt the people who threw such filth in my direction ever really believed it themselves, they just did that with the intention of deflecting the real issues that are plaguing law enforcement agencies at all levels these days. So I would try and defend myself, foolishly believing that by responding that I don’t hate cops, the commenter would have an epiphany of sorts and realize the error of his ways.
In reality, that does not happen either because the commenter is so zealous in his or her own ideology that he or she actually believes that all criticism which targets LEOs can only come from people who simply hate them or, worse still, that person knows how I really think and is merely trying to dislodge my arguments with his or her own irrational arguments. The latter is how the elite left-wing operates with their own arguments because they know their ideas will not work, but they want the power that comes with them all the same.
I think, though, that I should list how I truly feel about LEOs so I can least clear the air for myself and the other reader of this blog:
- I believe that the police and all other law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard than the citizens they are supposed to protect. This means that anytime a police officer is caught behaving inappropriately, whether on duty or not, he or she should be put through the same system that we have to go through when we are arrested. Instead, the usual response, if police misconduct is acknowledged at all, is to suspend the officer, usually with pay, pending an internal investigation. In essence, the police have self-accountability, which is about as effective as letting the lions keep the other lions away from the zebra herds.
- I believe that most of the LEOs are good people who merely wish to enforce the laws and keep people from hurting each other. Unfortunately, most LEOs also believe that they have to follow orders rather than follow the law, so a corrupt superior officer can easily manipulate them into doing bad things. Often times, the default argument a LEO makes when caught is that he or she was doing their job. Unfortunately, that defense didn’t fly when the Nazis killed the Jews, so what makes you so special?
- I know that recently, many local, state, and Federal politicians have been hiring people with sociopathic tendencies and a willingness to follow orders without question, given different statements by former cops. In many cases, these veteran cops admit that there used to be better standards but now the trend has been to get people who are willing to murder when ordered to do so.
- I believe that much of the training police officers receive is inadequate leading them to resort to lethal tactics in situations where it was not necessary. Often times, a police officer will resort to a Taser when it is not needed. A Taser is, at the end of the day, a weapon and a weapon is designed inflict physical injury, which can always risk death. I personally never find Taser scenes on movies to be funny, despite many of them happening in raunchy comedies and if you laugh at them, you’re an idiot.
- I think that the police and other law enforcement should not be patrolling the streets but instead only respond to reported crimes. This way we have a much more favorable opinion of police officers when we pass by them on the road or see them around. Most people get nervous when they see a police officer, usually because they fear being pulled over and ticketed for doing something that everyone else does (if everyone is a criminal, then the law is meaningless and a joke).
I could probably go on, but the bottom line here is that I do not trust police officers or any other law enforcement to be looking out for my interests in any situation, even if I am a victim of some crime. This does not place them in a special group as I don’t trust anyone really, especially people I don’t know. But they are the only group that regularly carry lethal weapons and enforce ridiculous laws like “moving violations”, which render most police officers useless lumps on the roadside waiting to tax citizens for doing something they do as well. A fine is just a tax for criminal activity, after all.
If this means that I hate cops, then that’s fine. From my perspective I do not. I do not wish them harm nor do I wish them to be eradicated completely. But I am not a fool and I refuse to treat any LEO like an angel as so many seem to be doing these days.
Oh, and Og, go screw yourself.