Seeing that comment about it “Maybe a walking stick” after having just seen your article: https://boingboing.net/2017/09/21/be-a-dapper-zapper-with-the-za.html
Blargh.
America. STAHP! I know you’re doing your best, but seriously. Your police. Your healthcare. What’s next? Your firies?
Oh really? While it opposed true Socialism, it wasn’t free market capitalism either. The world isn’t black and white. Most of Europe currently isn’t fascist, and enjoys a mix of socialism and capitalism. History has shown either can be used as a tool of an authoritarian government.
Definition of fascism
1 often capitalized :a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 :a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control
Or wait, were you talking about capitalism, as your statement applies as well. But I digress.
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Yeah but think of all the times cops aren’t killing someone.
Like right now, for example, I don’t have a cop pointing a gun and yelling at me, so it’s all good, right?
Right?
/s
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I remember looking at police death statistics a while back. It’s not a particularly dangerous job, all told. (Nursing and social work are surprisingly dangerous, though.) It’s been getting safer over the years, even as the number of people killed by the police has increased.
Even with that being the case, the two biggest causes of death for police officers were car accidents (not including deaths during police pursuits, which were a separate category, but including things like commuting to work) and heart attacks.
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I think that the ‘Capitalism + Racism = Fascism’ statement is most lucidly illustrated by private prisons. That industry is an example of terminal stage capitalism made possible only through deliberate systemic racism condoned by the state and, through law enforcement, practiced as well.
But rather than the centralized, governmental menaces those of the last century might have imagined, this beast is fueled not by ideology but greed and (at best) total indifference to the suffering of others and perpetuated by fellow citizens in the name of commerce. It is fascism, American style.
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Somewhere (thankfully not here) someone is defending the indefensible. At this point a cop could shoot a baby holding a rattle because it didn’t respond to his orders and people would rally to the officer’s defense in droves.
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It’s about being trained to see yourself as a warrior at war with the public. It’s about being trained to escalate to lethal force at the first sign of armed noncompliance. It’s about being trained that lack of control justifies violence to take it irrespective of rights or risks. It’s about having one of the safer public service jobs in America while maintaining the thrilling fantasy of danger. It’s about being trained to expect the best sex of your life after you kill someone.
Thank you, Rob. Well said.
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It’s only a few hundred thousand bad apples.
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The saying goes:
“One bad apple ruins the bushel.”
A single cop murdering someone should reflect so badly on the whole force that the fuckwad would get fragged by their own mates.
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this one picture pretty much sums it up for me:
look at that background – police, crime stoppers, and a gun.
this is how they view themselves. worse: this is how america views policing. it should be an out right travesty that this is the background announcing the killing of a human being.
“the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” that idea is reflected in all of our news. it’s a staple of all of our entertainment. people believe this with a passion.
there was a point where i feel like i could have tried to justify some shootings because police do have a hard job. i’m so far past that point now.
the whole attitude of america has to change from a place where force is the only way to stop the criminals, the terrorists, the rogue nations. otherwise, we will always be bumping up against fascism, racism, and xenophobia.
there are other solutions. solutions with infinitely better results.
700+ people killed by police this year. what other democracy allows this?
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Do American police even try non-lethal take down with their guns?
Im not american so I dont know why but why in so many reported cases couldn’t they just shoot someone in the leg or something like that?
Like someone walking away from them and they shoot to kill?
Are they not trained in this?
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A man holding a walking stick was quietly standing on his own property.
What possible reason could there be to shoot him anywhere?
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No actually, they are not trained in this. The gun is basically used for lethal force only, and police are trained specifically not to aim for anything other than the center of the chest.
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Im sure even a warning shot would be enough in most case including this one.
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A man holding a walking stick was quietly standing on his own property.
What possible reason could there be to draw a gun, let alone fire a “warning” shot?
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A white, 84 year old WASP with hella cash getting shot by a police officer claiming she was a threat. That’s pretty much the line.
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That’s the attitude! You go tell them. Im sure they’ll listen to your rhetoric.
For one thing, the “warning shot” could hit something or someone else. I’m not saying there aren’t non-lethal options that don’t involve firearms, but you don’t point a gun at someone unless you mean it.
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I know which one id take.
Warning shot or always shoot to kill?
Which one do you think would cause less damage?
How would a warning shot work with a deaf person? What would they be supposed to respond to? I’m not even sure warning shots work anywhere outside of Hollywood for non-deaf people.
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