Because we award the contract to "the lowest bidder."

1. Making generalizations is typically a mistake.

2. What sort of personality type actively "seeks" a position in "law enforcement" which is always "government work."

3. WHY DO we have the common expression: "close enough for government work"? Where did that expression come from and why has it survived for decades? Because typically "government work" is performed by those who are LEAST qualified, least able, and/or the LOWEST BIDDER. (Commonly referred to as "NOT the sharpest tool in the drawer.")

4. People who seek employment in law enforcement  do so for a wide variety of reasons. We cannot (and must not) generalize about their motives. HOWEVER, if experience teaches us anything, it appears that many, most, or at least significant percentage of individuals who seek positions of "designated authority" (which is the polar opposite of authority which is "earned" via experience, education or wisdom ) are drawn to it by deep personal feelings of powerlessness, inadequacy, insecurity, oppression and/or fear. i.e. "some"  individuals in law enforcement are actually the MOST frightened, oppressed and insecure people in our culture. Essentially, they fear disorder. They fear change. And they certainly fear "the unexpected." They are driven by a deep-seated personal need for security. Primarily they find this need fulfilled by the security provided from "belonging" to a (powerful) organization: especially an organization which confers on them a position of "designated authority" (the badge) as well as a deadly weapon and backs them up with the force and intent of "the law."  Refer here to any basic sociology text in the chapter regarding "in-group" vs "outsider" relationships. The (law enforcement) organization exploits their need for security and feeds their insecurity by casting all "outsiders" (i.e. anyone not wearing the uniform) as the "bad guys."

5. Many of the intellectually compromised individuals who seek security by association and/or membership in powerful institutions are immune to reason, logic or "common sense." i.e. they cannot be reasoned with. You can NOT explain anything to them, nor do they have the requisite patience nor the ability to listen. Save all that for the courtroom and the judge. The wise course is complaince. Feign compliance of you must. Remember, you are dealing with (facing) the bluntest of blunt instruments. And that instrument is quite probably more frightened than you are. Hard to believe - but fear is what drew them to the uniform in the first place.  i.e. treat any (all) law enforcement drones as you would a cornered reptile, because it is the reptilian brain that motivates and commands (most of) those you are likely to meet who chose that line of work. Keep your distance. Avoid eye contact. Always fully expect that it will strike (out of fear) at any moment. They are MORE afraid than you are, so be a non-threatening presence.

6. Typically a common citizen is most likely to have personal contact with one of these frightened (& dangerous) individuals while operating a motor vehicle. Therefore, to avoid that interface, a wise person would endeavor to operate their motor vehicle in such a manner that would not draw the (unwanted) attention of a law enforcement drone.

7. These days, the political structure has rendered "organized protest" obsolete by devaluing the will and desires of the commonweal. Organized protest events which are coordinated in advance with "law enforcement" by obtaining permits, providing  information regarding routes and times have been, in essence, neutered. "Real" protest has been forced "underground." Recall the famous quote often attributed to one of the Kennedy brothers: "When peaceful change is made impossible, violent change becomes inevitable."  Organization IS the method we must use to obtain the power needed to bring about change. Organized protest is has been rendered obsolete. (Not "our" fault, but the result of "their" lack of understanding of the dynamics of social change.) Real and effective protest must  therefore move to other realms - probably to that of affinity group "monkey-wrenching." This is exactly why the power elite is so concerned with social control: knowing what everyone is saying, planning and doing. They are essentially motived by fear and what they fear most is the unexpected, carried out by the lone actor or small insular groups. That then becomes THE powerful position (tactic) which the "protest movement" will be forced to assume IF it is to be successful: abandon organized protest events and switch to affinity group, hit-and-run monkey-wrenching actions.

8. In the long term we must figure out how to educate those in the law enforcement industry to understand that they are not "THE law" but in fact "SERVANTS OF the law", and that violating the law while pretending to, or attempting to, enforce it actually negates their status, putting them in a position parallel with the common criminal. The good news is that a significant percentage of people involved in the law enforcement  industry sincerely want to (re)gain a position of respect and legitimacy in society this shift in attitude would engender.
 

...YOUR THOUGHTS?

by mrk * (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 295 comments) on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 11:29:14 PM
 

It's late...

It's late; I had to get my site back up after it was hacked, and will respond to this in-depth tomorrow. On its face, it explains a lot of what many people don't understand, and I found it to be enlightening as well as informative. They are becoming more violent, and giving them fewer excuses to react is definitely helpful, but in the same breath, I am unable to be subservient to anyone.

I drive the speed limits and don't do anything that could get me pulled-over, however, if faced with violence, I, as well as many others, feel the need to protect ourselves and unfortunately, that often escalates the situation.

William Cormier 

by William Cormier (127 articles, 7 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 307 comments) on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 11:40:59 PM
 

It's Been A Long Time In The Making

Back in the late 60s when I was 19 I had a valuable lesson about law and law enforcement. I was arrested for possession but I didn’t posses anything. When I wouldn’t plead guilty to the crime I was charged with another crime that under the law I could not be charged with. That didn’t stop them from doing it, and when I didn’t pay the fine as quickly as they thought I should a warrant was issued for my arrest ‘dead or alive’. At one point I was fired at by a policeman. Had my parents not intervened I could have been killed over nothing. My point is that this trend is by no means new. Our law enforcement has been out of control for a very long time. Law means nothing to the police or the judges. For the most part law enforcement in America is nothing more than a war on poverty, lock all the poor up and extort money from the rest.

by arlen custer (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 247 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 7:33:25 AM
 

I would review the film for violations of police protocols.

I couldn't help but notice that the officer left the young man handcuffed and lying on the ground with his head and upper torso exposed to oncoming traffic. A car which swerved close to the police car without hitting it would have crushed the head of the handcuffed man. As bad of this was, the officer then walked away and left the recently tasered and handcuffed man unsupervised in this dangerous position. Not only could he have been run down in the position he was left in, but disoriented by tasering and restricted in ability to maintain balance due to the handcuffs, he could easily have stood up and stumbled into the lane of high speed traffic. I would suspect that there were several violations of police protocols recorded in this video.

In my state, it is not uncommon for highway patrol officers to position their vehicles so they actually encroach into the lane of traffic to ensure protection of the vehicle they have stopped, much less handcuffed and possibly disoriented individuals lying unprotected on the pavement. 

by Stephen Hart (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 23 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 7:37:53 PM