Discussion for article #226793
It is not the gear, per se, that is the problem. It is the officers using it.
4 Likes
You know that’s the same argument the NRA uses, that it’s not the weapon, it’s the people using it. You aren’t going to change the people, so take the fucking war zone weapons out of the equation!
12 Likes
Its all part of a much bigger issue, which is the militarization of our entire country. Just look at how many holidays we currently have dedicated to the military. And over the past 10 years or so, it gotten to the point that EVERY holiday is about the military. You cannot turn on a local news show during Thanksgiving or Christmas without a story about somebody coming home from duty for instance.
The problem is when a nation becomes some obsessed with its military might, then that starts to become the preferred solution to all problems…internationally AND domestically.
8 Likes
I would think there should be at least a nominal cost for all the military equipment the police are getting. I mean an MRAP ain’t cheap to build.
This is what it looked like on the ground in Ferguson, image from NYT story. Imagine, you’re holding a sign and you’re facing this…
9 Likes
The bullshit excuse we’re going to hear more of now is “reasonable fear of imminent threat” which is going to get killer cops acquitted.
5 Likes
There is something wrong with this program when one of our local American Legion Honor Guards who fire volleys at funerals for veterans can’t even get a few refurbished rifles from this program yet they can send all this big equipment to local police departments. The Honor Guard has been waiting for months while their rifles are falling apart.
4 Likes
I think part of that is because we only have about 1% of our adult population who actually serve in the military. Those who don’t think they have to go all out hyping up the military to make up for not serving their country.
It is certainly different than the protests we saw during Vietnam when the country was against the war because we had a draft with most young males called up to fight and die. Now we have people rushing up to veterans to thank them for their service “so they don’t have to.” In many cases it just sounds hollow.
4 Likes
Does this dog hunt?
Even if he hunts, he won’t tree.
kols
I don’t know where you live, but I and some colleagues have raised literally thousands of dollars over the years by appealing to local foundations and fraternal organizations over the years for a non-profit org.
You might even go for a small grant. It’s relatively easy to get $2-3,000 out of Target and WalMart, both of which have grant programs.
Run and ad in a gun magazine appealing for the donation of some old Garands.
3 Likes
and to continue your thought…and the leadership of those officers…whether civilian or corporate…
I read this in the Ann Arbor paper on Thursday. Gah.
1 Like
It doesn’t take a military or police genius to see the need for say, a small SWAT team in an urban area for those cases involving dangerous people barricaded in bldgs.
But, this Ferguson situation would be comic opera if it weren’t so serious.
What may happen is that if there’s no indictment or no conviction we could see another Rodney King riot and then the cops in Ferguson would have their justification ready-made.
2 Likes
don’t overlook that major sporting events are heavily militarized. flyovers, honor guards, etc etc. And get rid of the terrible dirge God Bless America in baseball games.
2 Likes
The militarization of the police is necessary as we move from a democracy to an oligarchy. Already money buys all of the big elections. It is getting so big money controls most state and local elections. Politics is little more than entertainment, covered by the entertainment wings of broadcasting companies. People just don’t feel they have any say any more.
I don’t see the militarization of police going away. The Koch brothers and their friends in their gated communities will insist that the peasants be controlled.
4 Likes
Maybe a start would be to stop making heroes of people who join the military.
Stop calling military duty honorable, something to be proud of.
We are, after all, the most powerful imperial power the world has ever seen. Our military is the most powerful destructive force the world has ever seen.
Maybe it’s time to stop saying that voluntarily letting yourself become a part of, ceding your personal moral authority to, and becoming a cog in the biggest death machine that has ever been created… is something to be proud of. Something honorable.
Let’s stop equating killing people with heroism.
Well this will go nowhere. The repubs will pull support now that Obama is on board. They have to be against everything he’s for after all.
2 Likes
Nor to maintain, as local PDs are finding out.