And here we see why the war on critical thinking has been waged.
In my naïveté, I always thought it was just to keep the little children from backtalking their parents and going to church.
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The problem is that Law Enforcement has forgot they’re civilians too.
Too busy preening in their superhero (superman, punisher, judge dredd, you name it) costumes and minding the blue lines, I suspect.
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I have seen some shit in Willits (and Covelo) that reminded me the ‘old west’ is alive and well.
When Robert Peel introduced the Metropolitan Police Act in 1829, one of the points was to not have an armed police force as people would be opposed to it. Ten years previously the Peterloo Massacre happened when the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry attacked a large gathering of people protesting against the Corn Laws and not having the vote, killing 15 people and injuring several hundred more.
Evidently the population of London saw a difference between truncheons and swords/guns.
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It is interesting – and unfortunate – how some types are always suspicious of science – but only when it goes against their preconceived ideas.
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By all I learned if you have to fudge the data or methods to fit the desired conclusion it ain’t actual science.
In this here case I could be mistaken due to the quote I referenced above.
Since you asked:
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I am not 100% sure Furgeson cops had actual M4s. The M4 is the military model that has full auto capabilities. The AR-15 is more or less identical, but only capable of semi-auto.
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Cops have to train and quality to carry rifles in their cars, and they have to have extra training for using something with full auto.
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You’re right that the Hollywood Shootout is one of the things that sparked cops carrying more rifles in their cars. Before that it was handguns and maybe a shot gun. That and the increased active shooter events. To be blunt, anyone knowingly going into a gun fight wants a rifle. That is why it is the main arm of the military, that is why SWAT uses it. Soft body armor will stop all handgun rounds up to a .44mag (the good stuff). But none of it will stop a rifle round. That requires ceramic or steel plate inserts.
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I haven’t SEEN .50calibers being used by cops other than the Barrett bolt action and semi auto rifles that are used by some SWAT teams. (IIRC they are very limited in use. And I know some California units had them, because Ronnie Barrett said they are shit out of luck if they need parts, as he will no longer service CA state agencies due to their laws.)
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Like I said, I haven’t seen the mounted .50 cals you mentioned, but that doesn’t mean someone out here doesn’t have them. The ONLY use I could honestly imagine is if one had armor piercing round to take out a killdozer - which has happened one time in the history of man and I don’t think is a scenario we need to really worry about.
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What would be the results? A very bad time. I mean that would be, I imagine, a spark like the Boston Massacre. The .50 cal BMG round is giant compared to the .223/5.56mm of the AR, and even dwarfs the typical sniper/hunter round of the .308/7.62mm. It would go through multiple people, and any regular building would be easily penetrated. I could see limited use for a SWAT sniper for the rifles, but as I said, I don’t see what the cops would use a mounted one for. Other than just a show of force.
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My personal theory is that violence is ingrained in the collective psyche of the US population as first go-to solution when faced with a problem. Probably based on the “rugged frontiersman” national narrative.
The US’s foreign policy can roughly be described as “When in doubt - shoot it.”. It doesn’t surprise that the same problem solving mechanism is used for domestic issues.
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Thanks for the reply!
I looked it up and there’s no easy way to determine if it was M4s or semi-auto AR15s. Some sties say one, others another. I assumed it was the full-auto M4 because I thought it came through the 1033 program.
And, yes, a .50BMG anti-materiel rifle is absolutely a reasonable part of police kit. If you need to stop a car dead in its tracks, a round of that to the engine block usually does the trick. A machine gun on the other hand…
Yeah. Pretty much what I thought. The thing that makes me quite, quite horrified is that the loadout these people are packing is completely useless for fighting terrorism or crime (except, some of it, in very specific circumstances) but is great at incredibly violent crowd control. The Ferguson cops were not carrying their guns at rest, but pointing them at the protesters I remember the pictures vividly. If they are 1033 acquisitions then all it takes is one nervous idiot letting loose a gout of full-auto into the crowd for the situation to go civil war in about a minute.
Jesus.
Oh, of course! Of course. But that accounts for why you’ve always had more police shootings. My own hypothesis was about why there’s so many lately.
Having been on the wrong side of that particular side of the American national character myself, I fervently agree.
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But we can all agree that more guns is probably the answer? For everything?
More guns? Yeah?
Good. That’s settled, then.
If only we could predict which of his 140-characters will be driving on any given day.
The Geneva conventions apply in war and occupation, not to the police. That’s why police can use tear gas banned in warfare.
Am British, can confirm that if you guys ever did the sensible thing and had any limits on firearms whatsoever that we’d be invading you by the end of the week.
Hope you like monarchy peaceniks!
/sarcasm
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And in case the slaves revolted. Again.
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Not to mention the unpacified natives.
Apparently there were a lot of “people” to convince that we had the rights around here.
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It’s now July 4th in my time zone so I’ll thank you to keep your lizard monarchy to yourself.
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“Gromph no agree. Give Gromph hammer: everything is skull.”
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Well, if the US had done their job properly we wouldn’t have one too.
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God Save the Queen…
