For my Libertarian friends

And unreliable anecdotal evidence subject to sampling biases and subjective memory.

Finnforest wrote: Fair enough Henry, though I didn't start the copper stuff today.   Since you're concerned about the camera thing, here's another take.....coppers who want cameras on their person to protect themselves from the bogus abuse charges that some will concoct in order to have revenge against the cops.  No more, the entire interaction will be filmed by the camera on the officer.  This will give great detail on the close up exchange not picked up on dashcam, and everyone will know if the cop is an abuser, or if the citizen was provoking.  If over 50% of the police are as evil as Pat's personal anecdote suggest, you'd think the police would be up in arms about having their behaviour watched.  Instead, they embrace it.   http://www.startribune.com/local/south/111325514.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUeDyic:E7PNDh_oaE3miUsZ

Yes because if there's incriminating film of an officer the departments will just turn the evidence over and beg that the officer be charged.

I'm sure cops will keep the film rolling as they blow through red lights doing 60 on a suburban road.

Finnforest wrote: You believe that more than 50% of all officers in the USA are corrupt/abusive?  Seriously?   No point in continuing the conversation then.

Yes I do. If you don't I find you naive.

People who work in an office take pens and paper from the supply room. People who work as cops have a much wider range of power and they use it in the same way.

How many times do cops get a parking ticket, speeding ticket, ticket for running a red light, a DUI? They don't. And no cop says anything about it.

Fair enough Henry, though I didn't start the copper stuff today.   Since you're concerned about the camera thing, here's another take.....coppers who want cameras on their person to protect themselves from the bogus abuse charges that some will concoct in order to have revenge against the cops.  No more, the entire interaction will be filmed by the camera on the officer.  This will give great detail on the close up exchange not picked up on dashcam, and everyone will know if the cop is an abuser, or if the citizen was provoking.  If over 50% of the police are as evil as Pat's personal anecdote suggest, you'd think the police would be up in arms about having their behaviour watched.  Instead, they embrace it.  

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/111325514.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUeDyic:E7PNDh_oaE3miUsZ


Edited by Finnforest - December 08 2010 at 17:23

And I'm surprised at you too Henry, usually your posts spurn hysterics and pass the sniff test.  Not this time.  

You believe that more than 50% of all officers in the USA are corrupt/abusive?  Seriously?

 

No point in continuing the conversation then. 

Stories/videos of police abuse tend to spread around media with a fervency that can make this kind of behaviour seem the norm, which gives us a highly flawed overall portrayal.  This is destructive as it clouds public perceptions, makes people distrust all police, and feeds the kind of attitudes/actions that hurt neighborhoods (but that’s a different thread).  

 

Some of the same guys in this thread who have rightfully reminded others not to judge/portray groups negatively based on the actions of a few, seem to have no problem doing this themselves when the group being discussed is police or soldiers.  Funny how that works.   

Henry Plainview wrote: DDoSing Mastercard or that bank is juvenile and stupid. You're just taking down the front end of the site, that doesn't actually cost them any money. And that is unequivocally a crime, so they're really not helping Wikileaks protestations of innocence. Of course, the people publicly arguing for DDoS attacks on Wikileaks were also committing a crime, but that's a separate issue!   The problem with corrupt cops is that it's true that the actual clear instances of police abuse and corruption are relatively rare, which is what the supporters always point to. But the entire police force always closes ranks to prevent any cop from being punished for anything, ever. Everything a law official says in that article makes me incredibly angry. You have a right to privacy during a court session? Go to hell, fascist.

I really don't think that's the case. While the truly evil corrupt acts, like running a kid over in your car and planting a "ham sandwich" on him, are relatively rare, I believe a wide number of cops partake in a number of more easily overlooked abuses like flipping sirens on to avoid red lights or not paying for items at convenience stores.

Growing up I literally never saw a cop stop at a red light. I wanted to be a cop as a child for this reason.

1) True. It's kinda childish and will not bring about any major change. I'm just happy that a bunch of people with time in their hands got to hack a major major corporation's website in relation to a freedom-of-speech issue. 

Good. I hope they continue.