Allow me to ask you, "If a fire-fighter were to set homes on fire, so that he/she could then respond to put them out, would he/she be considered a 'good' fire-fighter?" I think most reasonable people would say, "No!" OK, let us then proceed on the assumption that most people would say no. Now then, if his/her fellow fire-fighters are aware of this bad fire-fighters propensity for setting fires, in fact some may have even witnessed him/her doing it, and they either a) did nothing themselves to stop him/her or b) did not report him/her to the proper authorities to stop him/her, would they be considered "good" fire-fighters or bad?
Continuing; If a teacher, at any level, were abusing his/her students, either physically/sexually/verbally, would that teacher be considered a "good" teacher? If his/her fellow teachers knew of his/her abusive propensities and either a) did not step in and stop it or b) did not report that teacher to the proper authorities to stop him/her, would those teachers be considered "good" teachers?
Another; If a soldier in the armed forces were to knowingly, wantonly, with malice aforethought, shoot/stab/rape/kill innocent civilians, including women and children, would this soldier be considered a "good" soldier? If his/her fellow soldiers knew of his/her propensities, and , in fact, had even witnessed his/her actions and either a) did not step in to stop him/her or b) did not report him/her to the proper authorities to stop him/her, would they be considered "good" soldiers?
Last one; A police officer has a habit of using unnecessary and abusive force against civilians. I am not talking about proper use of force to protect oneself, I mean the kind of force that is used to "teach someone a lesson." Please don't act like you don't know what I mean (You do acknowledge/recognize that this stuff does happen, don't you?). Maybe this police officer has beaten handcuffed suspects or shot an unarmed suspect or two, knowing that it was not necessary, but feeling that he/she was justified, because of the stress he/she faces on the job. Suppose his/her fellow officers know of his/her propensities and maybe even have witnessed it happening. If those fellow officers either a) did not step in and stop his/her actions or b) did not report him/her to the proper authorities to stop him/her, are they still "good" cops?
In each instance above the people involved had a choice between "closing ranks" around a comrade, the "Us vs. Them mentality," or doing something to stop the abhorrent behavior. Which would you do? Would you just stand silently by, because you wouldn't want to "rock the boat?" Or would you step up and do the right thing, no matter the consequences? And please do not insult my intelligence, and that of other who read this, by assigning these questions to situations that have been recently in the news. These questions stand on their own and I expect you take them as they are asked.
I post a great deal on my FaceBook page and on this Blog about the Police State we find ourselves living in. This means that I am going to post stories and make commentary about bad cops, bad soldiers, bad anyone, who in fact acts badly. If that bothers you then I would recommend that you find another Blog or page to visit. You do have that choice. But, I will not stand silent and be called names and assigned what you believe to be my agenda, just because you are not willing to ask/face tough questions that challenge your own prejudices and preconceived notions.
I grew up in South Richmond and worked in a family owned business. Because of that business I came in contact with, worked with, and came to be friends with a great many Richmond Police Officers. I used to ride with them on their patrols, when I was a young, single lad. I had the opportunity to see them in action and to actually take part in much of that action by helping them. I can only attribute my experiences with those officers to being of a different generation than today's officers. I never witnessed any of the things from those men and women that we see in the news feeds today. The idea of a police state was not even on our radar screens. The officers I knew and worked with understood their roles and the oath they took to uphold the Constitution. I am confident that if there had been any "bad cops" among the people I knew that I would have had more than ample opportunity to witness it during my years of dealing with them. I did not.
Are there good cops out there today? I have to believe there are. I acknowledge that there is the possibility that there are many cops who have not abused their authority or who have not witnessed brother officers abusing their authority and thus have not been put in the position of having make "that decision" of what to do. I am not talking about those cops when I ask my questions or seek to make a point. On the other hand, there are many of you who simply will not take your red, white, and blue, star-spangled blinders off and admit that we have a problem in this country and that it is not just coming from "the left." Just as politicians will continue to abuse the Constitution, as long as you allow them to, bad cops will continue to be bad cops, as long as you turn a blind eye to their abuses.
I recently asked a question on my FaceBook page (Not my Blog or my "opinion" page, but my personal page) that had one "friend" calling me a "paranoid nutbag" and leaving my page. Fine, that's his prerogative. However, he never even attempted to answer my question. Not even a little bit. Tell me, how exactly am I paranoid? Have all the news stories, and I am not talking about the MSM, been false? How exactly am I a nutbag? Am I not supposed to ask such questions? Am I not to supposed to acknowledge that which is staring me right in the face?
Here is the question I asked, although reworded a bit, since I have unlimited space on my Blog. I'll preface it with a few observations of mine. Many of you reading this, many of my FaceBook friends, have been posting variations on a particular theme for the past six-years or more. With each new story about this politician or that administration seeking to enact more gun control, you post your comments and your memes about what you will do if they try to come for your guns. You know what I am talking about; You post a meme with the slogan "Molon Lobe," which is Greek for "come and take them." You talk about how "they" won't get your guns without a fight or how you are prepared to resist any such violations of your Second Amendment rights. You speak of resistance and standing your ground and fighting back against any such incursions on your rights. Am I right? You have done this haven't you? You have seen these posts/memes, right?
OK, so I asked "If/when the time comes and the government sends out its 'collection agents,' whom exactly do you think that will be?" Now don't go telling me that "Oh, that's not going to happen," because you know that it could (Ask anyone who lived in Louisiana after Katrina hit) and you know that you think that it could, because you have spoken about how you would respond. Were you being serious or just talking to impress? Had you considered what your statements really meant if you had to act on them? Have you before and will you now actually think it through and consider what your statements mean you will have to do if you plan to really resist? The people who will come for your guns are going to be police officers and/or your military. What will you do? Will they be good cops/good soldiers? "Just following orders, Sir." Will their badges and uniforms afford them special protection and consideration, even if they are following orders, which will strip you of your rights? What will you do?
Some of you are, at this very moment, pulling out your keyboard to type and tell me that "not every cop or not every soldier will obey those orders." Good, I agree and I hope you and I are right. But the point is that there are those who will and they will be wearing badges and they will be wearing uniforms and they will have little American flags sewn on them and they will be people who live in your city and have kids and wives and families just like you do. What will you do? You speak of the police state, over-reaching government, stripping you of your basic human rights, a return to constitutional governance, you point out the history of tyrannical governments from the past, you compare the current regime in the U.S. to Nazi Germany, you dare people to try and "take your rights," you talk of resistance to tyranny in any form, but you dare not ask some questions. Those questions that make you feel uncomfortable, questions that may cause you to think things through to their logical conclusion, things that you think may put you into a different political camp, and that scares many of you.
As for me, I have thought these things through. I do know what it means and I am not afraid to ask questions, tough questions, questions that may offend some people's sensibilities, but I do it, because at the end of the day I simply want the truth. I want to know. Even if the answers are, in fact, scary, I want to know. There is a problem in this country right now. It is not the police vs. black people, it is the police state vs. us. There are simply too many examples of abuses of our rights as American citizens, too many examples of excessive force by police throughout the country, too many examples of the use of SWAT teams for everything from serving warrants for unpaid traffic tickets to raiding dairy farms for selling unpasteurized milk. And in many of these cases, even though the efforts of the police are noticeably wrong and excessive, few, if any of them, are held accountable. Heck, even the Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that the old adage that "ignorance of the law is no excuse" does not apply to police officers. If you are a cop and you falsely arrest someone, because you "think" they broke a law, and you are subsequently proven to have been wrong, you suffer no ill-consequences for your actions. In the meantime you and I are still expected to adhere to the old adage. People, you don't need a law degree to know that there is something seriously wrong with that way of thinking. Folks, something is wrong. Some may say it is part of the "conditioning" of the American people to accept this as simply a "normal part of our lives" in today's America. I will not accept this. I will not make excuses for bad behavior just because the person committing the bad act is wearing a badge or a uniform. We have to open our eyes and acknowledge that even men/women that we heretofore have revered may, in fact, be contributing to the problems we face. Just as anyone from any field of endeavor can contribute, so, too, can those in uniform.
Again, I will continue to ask questions that I feel are important and may help to contribute to furthering my knowledge of the current status of life in these United States. I will continue to seek the truth, whatever it may be, even if it hurts some peoples feelings. And I will continue to stand strong for my liberty and yours, as not just an American, but as a human being, against anyone, no matter what kind of clothing they wear or what job description they have. WHAT WILL YOU DO?
