There are times I think I'm going nuts, and then there are times when I think I'm one of the few semi-sane ones about.
A few years ago I more or less stopped writing about current events since those that said they'd try to make things better for more or less the last 40 years, took over, and were more vicious thuggish and downright priggish than the last lot ever were.
In the western world, the so called first world we have over 60% underemployed. The measure here is one which includes actual unemployed and those in work that cannot and will never provide the wherewithal to live. So, in general these low paid jobs exist on a subsidy of some sort. And even then the wage drawn cannot provide for rent, food and other requirement that are a current requirement for active participation in society.
At the moment I follow the news in the USA and UK actively to see if the projection I've got will in fact play out or will things reset to a form of status quo. In otherwords, will Trump become POTUS. Will Corbyn become Prime Minister. Will the UK split up. Will the EU spall off Ireland Italy Spain Poland and all of the others that have tied themselves to the German Mark 15 years ago. Doing so with the expectation that Germany would come to their rescue, only to miss-read things so much that would make you wonder if the civil service and political establishments were awake at all.
They all seemed to picture the US where New York and the other wealthy States offered transfers to the other States that would be third world without them.
One of the things I just don't get about the US is the Concealed Carry Laws. I have absolutely no problem with the gun ownership and the Rights connected. But the CC laws seem to give police the reasonable argument that any and all interactions with the citizenry is a hostile one. And one likely to result in their deaths. I just don't get it. Why convert your police into a permanent occupation force in your own homeland. Why hold the Citizen as the enemy.
A few years ago I more or less stopped writing about current events since those that said they'd try to make things better for more or less the last 40 years, took over, and were more vicious thuggish and downright priggish than the last lot ever were.
In the western world, the so called first world we have over 60% underemployed. The measure here is one which includes actual unemployed and those in work that cannot and will never provide the wherewithal to live. So, in general these low paid jobs exist on a subsidy of some sort. And even then the wage drawn cannot provide for rent, food and other requirement that are a current requirement for active participation in society.
At the moment I follow the news in the USA and UK actively to see if the projection I've got will in fact play out or will things reset to a form of status quo. In otherwords, will Trump become POTUS. Will Corbyn become Prime Minister. Will the UK split up. Will the EU spall off Ireland Italy Spain Poland and all of the others that have tied themselves to the German Mark 15 years ago. Doing so with the expectation that Germany would come to their rescue, only to miss-read things so much that would make you wonder if the civil service and political establishments were awake at all.
They all seemed to picture the US where New York and the other wealthy States offered transfers to the other States that would be third world without them.
One of the things I just don't get about the US is the Concealed Carry Laws. I have absolutely no problem with the gun ownership and the Rights connected. But the CC laws seem to give police the reasonable argument that any and all interactions with the citizenry is a hostile one. And one likely to result in their deaths. I just don't get it. Why convert your police into a permanent occupation force in your own homeland. Why hold the Citizen as the enemy.
I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of CC laws vs. law enforcement or maybe I don't truly understand what you're saying. In my part of the country, CC classes are often taught by law enforcement and having a CC permit can be beneficial when dealing with officers. Then again, I'm in a rural area and not a big city. It might be different there.
ReplyDeleteIf a cop make a stop on a road, what does he/she do. Once the protocol was that the driver and passangers got out of the car and stood facing away at the back of the car. But that was changed for two reasons. One it left the cop in the car exposed if the people decided to open fire and, two, it was seen as being retreating, not projecting. But now it's relatively easy to armour a car so the patrol was safe inside.
DeleteBut my core point is that the cop now 'has' to actively assume the Stop in armed in places like Minnesota. And I'm not talking about a hunting rack, but side arms.
I guess I'm just saying let's disassociate this from CCL. I believe the large majority of CCL holders are average, law-abiding citizens. Chances are in a traffic stop, if the car is licensed to the driver, then their name would come up when the plate is run and if they had a CCL it would/should be indicated. And though CCL laws vary from state to state (and some states actually have "open carry"), a driver (if they have any sense in this day and age) should announce to the officer that they have a CCL (not all states require it be shown with the DL to the officer) and whether they are carrying at the time and where the weapon is located. They should keep their hands visible through out this exchange then ask the officer what they'd should do next (as in where their DL is located, do they want them to get it out, etc.) Beyond that, yes.... the cops just have to assume. At this point we don't know ALL the facts on the MN shooting. Yes, it appears that it was a major fail on the cop's part but as usual, we are only seeing and hearing clips and bits. It all gets down to that social media stuff Kimberly is talking about. Everyone films stuff on their phones and we never know if we are getting an entire story. There have been many times when we thought something was one way that later it turned out to be totally different. The media can be very manipulate. Bottom line - you couldn't pay me enough to be a cop in this day and age.
DeleteI hesitate to bring up race since by doing so I'll automatically be painted as "racist", especially given I'm a WASP in my 50s living in the southern US. The only thing worse would be if I were male. But trust me - racists and bigots come in all colors, religions (or lack thereof), ages, gender, and live in every corner of this world. I think we all have prejudiced faults and thoughts at one time or another and if person says they don't, they're kidding themselves (and remember racism is not just B&W). That said - I honestly don't think of myself as a racist. Isn't it sad that I feel I have to preface things I want to say by statements like that? Anyway.... I feel race relations have deteriorated in this country in recent years and I personally feel there are several things to blame, but I won't get into that. It would just be opinion. But on to statistics. Funny how they can be manipulated to serve one's purpose. I typed in a google search for "statistics on police shooting" and got numerous hits. The wiki link makes it clear that the data is incomplete and comes from many varied sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States Then I saw this link: http://www.dailywire.com/news/7264/5-statistics-you-need-know-about-cops-killing-aaron-bandler Now I know nothing about the Daily Wire or the researcher involved, but give me a little time and I'm sure I can find plenty of "data" to contradict her findings. I guess what I'm trying to say is people are going to believe what they want to. Yes, there is far too much anger and hate out there and I honestly don't know what to do. It sickens me and I feel totally depressed about the thought of either Trump OR Clinton in the White House. And I'm not sure why I even came back to comment again because it really does stress me out. At the risk of sounding totally naive and trite... I just wish we could all get along. If we truly followed that commandment to love one another, this world would be such a different place. I'm sick of all the judging, hating, hypocrisy, accusations, etc., etc.
Sorry for ranting here. I seldom do well at expressing myself or my opinions in a venue like this (invariably being misunderstood) so I'll try to refrain myself in the future. :)
I think it complicates things. How does a cop know friend from foe. Like in Dallas there was so many armed 'civilians' that the cops didn't know which way to face.
DeleteIt's a mad mad world. If you look at all the things that have happened in just the last week or two it's a lot to take in - I'm mad, sad, mortified, embarrassed, empathetic, etc. What is most frightening to me is the anger and hate that is being spewed and that it's being spewed and validated 24 hours a day. I don't even want to watch the news or look at at social media anymore because it's all AWFUL, and I think that is breeding awful. I don't want to talk about guns...I'm SICK of the debate and I'm SICK of the mass shootings, of ANYONE.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when you view the statistics not to assume the black community is being actively targeted.
DeleteYes, I know it was probably worse 10/20/30 years back, but then there wasn't the ubiquitous use of phone cameras to record the horror in the fullest.
Like it came out after Ferguson Riots that the population was being actively fleeced with municipal fines. So much so that a person could be fined three four times while walking to a shop. It was shocking what came out. AND nothing was being done at a State level.
I do think there is a lot of, would you say, evidence that would make the case for this being a REAL problem. The most maddening thing (beyond it being true) is how much of middle-upper class white America is denying it vehemently. I don't understand how one can do that. I know that I have no business, as a white girl from the suburbs, saying it's not happening. What the hell do I know about being an African American in this country to make any kind of judgement, to disagree that these concerns are concerns. And I also can't understand is how, seeing/learning about these incidents and questioning them is being anti-police, either. Just like any other job, people make mistakes and you've got some bad apples. They have an incredibly hard and, often, frightening job and are putting their lives in danger regularly. I have tons of respect for them as a group, but if someone has made an error (purposefully or not) they need to be held accountable. And, if needed, changes in their training and behaviors should be implemented. Being supported of the police and being outraged over the unnecessary killings of ANYONE shouldn't be/don't need to be mutually exclusive. It's possible to do both. That's what I'm finding hardest about this whole "issue".
DeleteAs I mentioned after Ferguson, there are police forces out there who used to have a reputation of being biased, racist even. Here in LA, OJ Simpson was found not guilty because of that bias, even though the evidence was so clear. And more recently Las Vegas had some difficult statistics with their minority residents. Both very large forces and both able to make changes that have helped them be less biased. And those changes have been relatively successful in more positive relationships with those communities. Why wouldn't that be something everyone would want. This blame game that we are playing right now, rather than just taking responsibility and holding everyone up to a high standard is so frustrating. Nothing will change with all the finger pointing and aggression, on either "side" of the issue.
I believe the conflict in Iraq hasn't helped for the training for that 'policing action' has been imported. And like the Patriot Act was intended for one type of suspicion has now become a norm where no possible application could be made, and for anyone seen as 'other'.
DeleteI'm not a gun guy. Don't own them, don't shoot them, and I'm not interested in them. I don't see any reason that anyone needs to own assault weapons. BUT there is waaaay more to all of this (the latest surge of violence) than one's ability to obtain guns. A lot of my fellow citizens don't seem to get that. Also -- and again, I don't own a gun so I'm not fully qualified to give an opinion here -- my gun-owner friends feel their possession of a gun, concealed or otherwise, levels the playing field if/when they are in a situation where they might need to defend themselves.I will be taking my chances, but I get that.
ReplyDeleteMy core point isn't to do with guns per se, but that the system has played out the laissez-faire about 15 years more than it should. We have returned to the pre 1890s where gigantic companies are in control, be they banks or computers.
DeleteThe West, or 1st world, is now a busted flush simply because governments have ceased to govern and have returned to control.
Or to put it another way. If the Administration was doing it's job people wouldn't need guns to defend themselves for the core reasons why people turn to crime would be removed, poverty and hopelessness.
We live in a crazy and dangerous world--but then it's always been that way. None of us can be sure of the future. I am pondering your concealed gun thoughts and think I agree with you. As a child, I remember people talking about wildlife officers having one of the most dangerous jobs as they had to confront armed hunters, but now it seems more and more people are armed. I own several guns, but haven't shot them in decades.
ReplyDeleteI think the CC adds something that's not useful. But the projected force that the cops have taken since the 90s hasn't helped in this either.
Delete"It is hard when you view the statistics not to assume the black community is being actively targeted."
ReplyDeleteI think it is statements like this that are amplified by the media are a large cause of racial tensions here. Coming from a scientific background, I immediately would ask what are the other factors that might be causing this. I would also compare any studies across racial groups. Once one does, you see that there really isn't any targeting and that essentially the media is blowing things up to have something to talk about.
I don't agree with President Obama often but he nailed it the other day in his speech when he said essentially we can't judge the entire black race from the Dallas shooting and we can't judge the entire white race from the South Carolina shooting. We do have a problem here in the United States and that is condemning people or entire races of people via social media before all the facts are even out. We have forgotten the most basic tenant of our judicial system that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_crime_in_the_United_States
http://www.dailywire.com/news/7264/5-statistics-you-need-know-about-cops-killing-aaron-bandler
The core of your argument Ed is that it wouldn't matter if it was the Germans that were at the bottom they would get exactly the same as the Blacks are getting now. But that doesn't change the institutional nature of the racism inherent in the system. This regardless how delightful the individual members are in themselves, they act within a process.
DeleteI'm saying the Germans wouldn't get the same treatment because they are less likely to be involved in crimes due to their social upbringing, not racism. Germans youth are more likely to come from parents with more money, education and probably two parents which isn't the case with blacks. There are many factors that cause people to carry guns and get into confrontations with the police besides race.
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm looking at a systems level I'm certain that were the Germans or any other identifiable minority in the same position they would be targeted in the same way. In fact before the Blacks in the northern cities, it was the Catholics generally but sp, the Irish and the Italians then the Porto Rican's and Dominicans.
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