Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
I'm surprised our esteemed moderator (Keith) hasn't asked what thoughts are being formulated on his side of the pond as to the situation in St. Louis?
All my life I looked up to law enforcement as something that is to be respected...period. But as I grow older, and observe an apparent trend of more and more unnecessarily and inappropriately violent force being used by law enforcement personnel (is it better news reporting or is it actually getting worse), I wonder where we are headed. Granted, watching police behave badly on the news does not represent the profession, but when it becomes more and more common (we see local incidents here that never make the national news), one must assume there is a problem brewing, and it cannot all be laid on the shoulders of the public (Joe citizen behaving badly). I've observed first-hand the double standard that law enforce uses so conveniently. Having a human being with a badge and gun (authority and armament), depending too heavily on the "I felt threatened" backstop as an easy alternative to a more challenging non-violent response, is troubling, especially when they are judged to an apparently different standard than if Joe Public I did the exact same thing (e.g. beating woman on the side of the road, shooting at a van with children inside, choking a single (albeit very large) individual to death with at least three officers present, is just the most recent examples). It is almost as if their actions are not based on human error, but instead on the knowledge that they need not be criminally accountable for their actions from a public point of view. Prosecutors or police officers that withhold evidence or perjure themselves for a conviction, being immune from full accountability is even worse. I fear for myself if the time ever comes if I am treated inappropriately or unfairly by the police, because I'm not sure I'll simply say "yes sir" knowing that their "might makes right" attitude may not be inappropriate to the situation.
All my life I looked up to law enforcement as something that is to be respected...period. But as I grow older, and observe an apparent trend of more and more unnecessarily and inappropriately violent force being used by law enforcement personnel (is it better news reporting or is it actually getting worse), I wonder where we are headed. Granted, watching police behave badly on the news does not represent the profession, but when it becomes more and more common (we see local incidents here that never make the national news), one must assume there is a problem brewing, and it cannot all be laid on the shoulders of the public (Joe citizen behaving badly). I've observed first-hand the double standard that law enforce uses so conveniently. Having a human being with a badge and gun (authority and armament), depending too heavily on the "I felt threatened" backstop as an easy alternative to a more challenging non-violent response, is troubling, especially when they are judged to an apparently different standard than if Joe Public I did the exact same thing (e.g. beating woman on the side of the road, shooting at a van with children inside, choking a single (albeit very large) individual to death with at least three officers present, is just the most recent examples). It is almost as if their actions are not based on human error, but instead on the knowledge that they need not be criminally accountable for their actions from a public point of view. Prosecutors or police officers that withhold evidence or perjure themselves for a conviction, being immune from full accountability is even worse. I fear for myself if the time ever comes if I am treated inappropriately or unfairly by the police, because I'm not sure I'll simply say "yes sir" knowing that their "might makes right" attitude may not be inappropriate to the situation.
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