31st March 2015, 11:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 31st March 2015, 11:46 PM by Sacred Jellybean.)
No, this is spot on. The duty of a cop is to serve and protect. If police and politicians acted in accordance to serving the public, we wouldn't have so many problems today.
It's not that I'm a cold-hearted "fuck da police" type. It's that a cop's literal duty is to put his life on the line to protect people. If a crazed gunman is on the loose, police are obligated to try to talk him down before shooting at him. If putting a bullet into the criminal's head is literally the only way to prevent him from killing other citizens and the police, that decision is obvious. What isn't obvious is knowing when you're able to de-escalate a situation without further violence. Killing a person, criminal or not, should be the very last resort.
How do we fix the cops vs. citizens problem? My question is, can we hire more cops to patrol neighborhoods, and also get into closer relationships with its citizens? It's inefficient for a cop to act the peace keeper if he doesn't even understand the peace he's keeping. I know there are all logistical problems here, and it's a rather vague idea to start with, but I think this is the core of the problem. If cops could more easily understand and empathize with a person, not only would they not be so quick to draw a pistol, but maybe the crazed gunmen will know them and be willing to talk.
We need cops who are intelligent, empathic, and can make quick decisions. Firearms training should come AFTER that has been established.
It's the reason Mike Brown was murdered. He was shot once and retreated from Darren Wilson. Wilson stepped out of his car and finished the job. A life was lost that night, we'll never get to hear testimony from Brown because he's gone, kaput. Lives have been ruined, communities are understandably restless. An even more compelling case is the Eric Garner one. I just don't understand people who cheer on the police and say "YEAH, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, YOU GOD DAMN THUGS". And in many cases, "thugs" is a racist dog-whistle for "black people". Black folks are seen as criminals before human beings.
"YOU JUST NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, NEVER RESIST ARREST, EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE", people say this shit unironically. Funny enough, if you follow up with a conversation about the Constitution, they typically lament that its rules aren't being followed closely enough. Well no shit, sherlock. If more voters put better thought into this, we wouldn't be in this mess!
It's like reading The Trial by Franz Kafka, then going onto your twitter and posting #LawyersLivesMatter.
It's not that I'm a cold-hearted "fuck da police" type. It's that a cop's literal duty is to put his life on the line to protect people. If a crazed gunman is on the loose, police are obligated to try to talk him down before shooting at him. If putting a bullet into the criminal's head is literally the only way to prevent him from killing other citizens and the police, that decision is obvious. What isn't obvious is knowing when you're able to de-escalate a situation without further violence. Killing a person, criminal or not, should be the very last resort.
How do we fix the cops vs. citizens problem? My question is, can we hire more cops to patrol neighborhoods, and also get into closer relationships with its citizens? It's inefficient for a cop to act the peace keeper if he doesn't even understand the peace he's keeping. I know there are all logistical problems here, and it's a rather vague idea to start with, but I think this is the core of the problem. If cops could more easily understand and empathize with a person, not only would they not be so quick to draw a pistol, but maybe the crazed gunmen will know them and be willing to talk.
We need cops who are intelligent, empathic, and can make quick decisions. Firearms training should come AFTER that has been established.
It's the reason Mike Brown was murdered. He was shot once and retreated from Darren Wilson. Wilson stepped out of his car and finished the job. A life was lost that night, we'll never get to hear testimony from Brown because he's gone, kaput. Lives have been ruined, communities are understandably restless. An even more compelling case is the Eric Garner one. I just don't understand people who cheer on the police and say "YEAH, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, YOU GOD DAMN THUGS". And in many cases, "thugs" is a racist dog-whistle for "black people". Black folks are seen as criminals before human beings.
"YOU JUST NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, NEVER RESIST ARREST, EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE", people say this shit unironically. Funny enough, if you follow up with a conversation about the Constitution, they typically lament that its rules aren't being followed closely enough. Well no shit, sherlock. If more voters put better thought into this, we wouldn't be in this mess!
It's like reading The Trial by Franz Kafka, then going onto your twitter and posting #LawyersLivesMatter.