How about we mix a little police into that video with this vintage gem?
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People love to argue what is and isn’t fascism or despotism. That’s why this video exists
Where does your community stand?
Of course it can. When you teach children that police are dangerous and less stable than the average person you teach them to mistrust the police. When you teach them to automatically kowtow to police, you teach them that not everyone is equal, that if you have a gun and a badge you are above other people. In short, you turn your children in to scared little authoritarian toadies
I’d rather teach children to question authority and to teach them to help bring our nation back to sanity.
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The bill’s author, Texas state senator Royce West, says the curriculum’s purpose is to end "distrust for law enforcement."
If you really wanna endear the kiddos to law enforcement, show them the Police Squad show and Naked Gun trilogy. Let them see what really goes on, FFS!
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How can you miss the point so spectacularly?
The crimes here are the direction, speaking, acting and production values of the video.
I am baffled by the American system of law enforcement that is so authoritarian but yours is the country where everyone shoots the fuck out of each other apparently, so the cops are going to act that way. They aren’t being snowflakes; positing that idea is not only simplistic and churlish, it negates any useful message that is being sent - however inarticulate the messenger.
The subtext is: “our officers are trained to assume the worst so they are not going to tolerate any messing around. Be prepared for dealing with them. Be cooperative, not argumentative. Understand that they have to look out for many hazards, are dealing in a high stress environment, so impulsive behaviour on your part will get a strict response.”
It is a sad fact that the police are operating in a highly armed country, that’s why they behave this way but they aren’t being precious.
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Try living here sometime; you’d be really confused then.
The bottom line is that our systems are broken; ALL of them.
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“Fascist police state”, to me at least, implies some kind of coherent oppression with an ideological goal and central power behind it. Whereas, as far as I can tell, one of the key problems with the US police is that there are so damn many essentially autonomous police forces that there’s precious little you can do to force standards or accountability onto them.
In other words, it’s awful, but it seems more like a quasi-anarchy of police forces with individual police officers barely restrained by even their direct superiors, let alone the general public.
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And that’s the problem. While the media may portray the U.S. as some sort of wild west situation that simply isn’t the case. People aren’t running around shooting each other and the danger to police is wildly exaggerated. They have a fairly safe job when compared to someone like a garbage collector, farmer, or landscaper so assuming the worst is what upsets so many people. That our police are trained to expect the worst is just an example of how poorly trained they really are.
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Had to fix that for you, because there is a definite distinction between the treatment of whites and non-whites in our entire justice system.
I also have to add that the ratio of non-white to white police in this video is laughably propogandist in an attempt to promote an image of diversity that just doesn’t hold water at street level in Texas.
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I am going to go out on a limb here, and guess that you do not have kids. As far as interactions with the police go, I teach my kids to do the things that will get them home safely.
Being polite and nonthreatening is not “kowtowing”.
When a cop pulls you over, he likely does not what your situation is, and you do not know his. It might be that someone in a car like yours just shot up a school. So, when the officer approaches your car, that is the wrong time to escalate the tension by acting aggressively.
If you end up interacting with a cop who has authoritarian or fascist tendencies, The time to register your dissatisfaction is after the interaction.
I am polite to everyone. So are my kids. That is not some sort of acceptance that others are better than we are.
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i have a black daughter-in-law and two biracial grandchildren. the reality of the situation is that any person of color stopped by a police officer in the united states is well-advised to act as if they are in the presence of an easily frightened rabid dog until the officer has clearly and copiously demonstrated otherwise. the amount of time that has gone into preparing my grandsons for potential encounters with police, and indeed that almost all parents of black or biracial children have spent preparing their offspring for such encounters is enormous beyond belief and yet still unarmed and/or nonthreatening people of color continue to die. politeness is no guarantee of safety under the circumstances of being stopped by police while black, simple compliance is not a guarantee of safety under the circumstances of being stopped by police while black, sometimes even abject surrender is not a guarantee of safety under the circumstances of being stopped by police while black.
your blithe dismissal of the problem is noted.
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I personally think more in terms of grizzly bears or great white sharks, but other than that you are spot on; as a person of color, I tend to treat all LEO’s as an immediate potential ‘existential threat’ and tread as carefully as possible around them.
Indeed, it must be nice to be so very privileged…
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When cops see me they understand that I’m the guy they work for (e.g. white, male, cisgender, affluent enough to sue) and I’m still extra careful (which is a different thing from being superficially polite*). Part of that is because, due to a woman I was dating at the time, I attended enough cop parties to hear how they talk about civilians, especially PoC, amongst themselves.
[* I’ve been noticing lately here that a lot of right-wingers confuse or deliberately conflate superficial politesse with genuine kindness and consideration and also with respect. I’m assuming this is an outcome of the "strict father" parenting model linked by Lakoff to conservativism.]
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There are never guarantees. I certainly was not giving one.
I do think that if a kid is polite and keeps their hands in sight during a traffic stop, they will be better off than if they are confrontational or act erratically. If you can avoid any interaction with the cops, that would be optimal. But if you cannot avoid it, it is better to follow the rules.
They should also know what to say if they are arrested (I wish to speak to an attorney), or if the officer wants to search the car.
It would be nice if we lived in Mayberry, and did not have to worry about those things. But we are stuck in the real world.
Could not get past the Uncle Kanye at the start of the video to watch any more.
Without joking - I think you guys should hire ex UK (United Kingdom!) cops.
They take down armies of machine gun wielding maniacs with cups of tea.
They have unfortunately occasionally killed someone, but they are broadly safe.
Let’s remember how all this cop fear started: Blackwater started training them. scary scary people need taking down stat! Buy the next course to find out how.
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That’s where you’d be wrong kiddo. My daughter questions authority and has little patience for bullies.
No one said act aggressively. I just think that training our children to kowtow to a bully is the wrong direction.
I’m a contrarian and I’m only polite to those who are also polite. We clearly have different values. You seem to be the authoritarian type who just wants to be OK and is happy to let the police run around acting like armed thugs and I’m the sort who thinks we need to change the attitude of the police rather than the people from which their authority is derived. It takes all types after all.
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So, assuming your daughter drives, what do you advise her to do if pulled over by the cops?
Here is what I tell mine:
- Pull over in a safe area, and turn the engine off.
- Keep your hands on the steering wheel, so they will be visible to the approaching officer.
- Answer all questions the officer asks politely, and ending with sir or ma’am.
- Don’t volunteer information, but answer questions without evasion.
- If asked if the officer can search the vehicle, decline politely.
I am not an “authoritarian type”, and I have had my own issues with police overreach and my kids. I fought them then (through the court system), and I would do it again. But the time to do that is not when the officer is approaching your car and trying to determine if you are a threat.
That is different. So are you rude in your first encounter with a stranger? All I can think of is the "abuse section of the argument clinic. I am sure you are not abusive in those situations, but perhaps standoffish? Passive aggressive?
How about neutral? There is a wide gap between polite and standoffish or rudeness.
Provide your insurance and license. Answer no questions not directly related to the reason you are stopped and speak as little as possible. Do not give excuses or offer any information. Do not consent to a search. Get your ticket as as soon as you have your license back ask if you are free to go. Leave as soon as you are able.
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