03-04-2011, 10:20 PM
(03-04-2011, 10:17 PM)van64 Wrote:(03-04-2011, 09:39 PM)shitstorm Wrote: My personal philosophy, extrapolated to what I think govt should be, falls somewhere between the founding fathers and anarchy. Because of abuse of power and no consequences, I don't think I'd call a cop for anything - because I'm afraid that I'd get a dog hater and they would shoot one of my doggies. I'd rather be killed, myself. This happens A LOT. I'm also a real stickler about history and the Constitution. Better ten guilty go free than one innocent be convicted, etc, etc, etc. "Those who would give up liberty for security deserve neither" (various versions attributed to Franklin and Jefferson).We do need cops. I have worked with cops and with firefighters and I was once in the unpleasant situation of supervising (with other board members) a local police chief and a few cops. We do need them but we also need limits on what they are able to do and especially, we need limits on the repercussions of what happens when an innocent person gets caught up in one of LE's nightmares. When you have as much power concentrated in the hands of a cop as you have, there have to be limits with teeth to that power. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little.
So, now that I've expressed that, I also think there are some decent cops, though I will grant you, van, I don't hang with cops, so I cannot say that based upon anything other than the odds. Re:firefighters - I don't think any firefighter would shoot my dogs, and I admire anyone who has the balls to go into a burning building. Firefighters don't have a license to kill.
I've told Lady Cop this - I don't think we need cops. Detectives, yes. I'd prefer things were more old west, if you will. For all I know, if Johnny or Lisa had shot their intruders, they'd be in trouble for it. THAT, to me, is perverse.
LE is one of the very few careers and vocations where inaction and ineptitude go unpunished. In any other occupation, such practitioners would be sued for malpractice. In LE, there are no repercussions...or at least very few.
I completely agree, we do need cops. Although I have heard the argument against, do we really want to end up like Brazil, where someone can murder you in the street and the cops don't care? Fuck. Want to turn this country into Brazil?? Go on www.bestgore.com and check out what happens when the cops don't do shit.