WHY THE ATTACK ON LOCAL POLICE?

boblonsberry.com ^ | 05/07/15 | bob Lonsberry

[shortstop]

When you recognize what, you need to ask why.

It’s called situational assessment.

What’s going on, and why is it going on?

Like right now, in America, with the police.

What’s going on, and why is it going on?

What’s going on is that there is a concerted effort to defame and denounce local police. The president said this week that, across the country, men of color are treated differently, more harshly, by the police.

He offered no data, no balance, no facts.

Just the broadside indictment that all American cops are racists.

Protest after protest, often with veteran progressive activists in command, have denounced and condemned the police. It is asserted as an unassailable fact that the police are racist, over-armed and disrespectful of people and their rights.

None of it is backed up with facts, or anything other than a string of undocumented anecdotal accounts that sound like folklore.

Fingers point at Ferguson, where three investigations showed that the officer did nothing but defend himself against a violent attack. Fingers point at Baltimore where everything boils down to a prisoner not having his seatbelt on.

And speaking of Baltimore, it is a city with a 2-to-1 black majority, a black mayor and city council, a black police chief and a black prosecuting attorney, and a 43-percent black police force, and yesterday they announced that they were partnering with the Justice Department to root out anti-black practices.

All stemming from an incident in which three of the six officers charged are black.

The claim of racism has become so powerful that it is made and accepted as fact in the absence of evidence or logic.

That’s the what.

There is a concerted effort to damage public perception of local police, and to paint the profession of American law enforcement as a tool of anti-black racism.

So what’s the why?

Here’s my theory.

In an administration that is intensely focused on the accumulation of federal power, and under a president who promised a federal domestic security force to rival the Defense Department in both personnel and budget, I think the goal is to lay the foundation for turning traditional law enforcement over to federal police.

In each of the flare ups of late, the federal government has presented itself as the solution – even though it is clear the speeches and statements of senior federal officials fanned if not sparked the flames of conflict.

The federal government has presented itself as the only protection blacks and Latinos have against racist cops.

The federal government is doing everything it can to create the perception of a problem, and to simultaneously present itself as the solution to the problem.

To me, that smells like a power grab.

And the government can’t take to itself more power without taking from you more rights.

More specifically, increased policing powers in the hands of the federal government makes those police agencies less accountable to the people. It also increases the potential, in the worst of circumstances, of despotic or oppressive actions.

Local police departments, controlled by local chiefs and sheriffs – and the voters to whom they or their bosses have to answer – are not threats to civil rights, they are protectors of civil rights.

The federal government has never really explained its need for something approaching a half a billion handgun bullets that could only be used for domestic policing. Why is it that agencies like the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the Department of Agriculture, have heavily armed military-style SWAT teams?

And why is it that the president of the United States would work so hard to destroy public confidence in American law enforcement? Specifically, why would he do so much to assure the alienation of black Americans from the police?

The what is fact – Defaming the police and defining their entire profession as bigotry.

The why is theory – To turn enough Americans against the police to justify a power grab by the federal government.

And that’s no good.

And it’s all based on a lie.

Because as the president and the TV anchors talk about police and community relations, I don’t know what they’re talking about.

My community has great relations with the police. We respect them and they respect us.

And polls show that Americans trust the police more than they trust politicians. Personally, I trust my local cops more than I trust my national president.

What is being whipped up against the police is not logic or fact, it is prejudice and bigotry. And it is being whipped up for a reason.

And that’s what I think we ought to be worried about.

[shortstop]

The federal government has never really explained its need for something approaching a half a billion handgun bullets that could only be used for domestic policing. Why is it that agencies like the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the Department of Agriculture, have heavily armed military-style SWAT teams?

[cripplecreek]

People need to get to know their local cops. I stood out in the alley the other day and chatted with the Sheriff’s deputy for 20 minutes the other day.

Its a lot harder to abuse people you know and are otherwise friendly with.

[SMARTY]

The authority and standing of the local authorities has been irreparably compromised.

I don’t know what it will take to restore that.

Law abiding citizens are, for all intents and purposes, on their own.

Police are a soft target in this whole thing. First it was the schools, then churches and churchgoing Americans were targeted... it goes on and on.

This is how you dismantle your society ...the bloodless coup we all anticipated.

[Cubs Fan]

So the most violent demographic in America is the one that hates cops the most. This does not surprise me. What surprises me is their constant tanturms are taken seriously.

[IMR 4350]

In the last 24 years name one time a Clinton was running for president or planning on running for president that civil unrest based on “Police Misconduct” wasn’t planned or orchestrated.

[ryan71]

The president already told us why. We don’t listen. Our enemies tell us exactly what they are planning. The president wants a federal police force.

[apoliticalone]

I agree with posts 1 and 2. Unfortunately the cops are often too much about us vs them. Their reputations have been harmed by publicity of their over-reactions and concern about their safety instead of public safety.

We have about 50% too many police. We’d be better off putting the savings to paying down debt. Americans need to be encouraged to take care of themselves and not depend on a police force that will rarely ever be there when needed, except to collect evidence after the fact.

[null and void]

At no point in history has any government ever wanted its people to be defenseless for any good reason ~ nully's son

The biggest killer of mankind

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” Barack Hussein Obama, 7/2/2008

They don’t call it a Civil Defense force, that would imply we need (or perhaps that we deserve) defense. The official name is National Civilian Community Corps.

I think of it as the NatCCC, or more simply, as the NatCs...

[Leaning Right]

People need to get to know their local cops. I stood out in the alley the other day and chatted with the Sheriff’s deputy for 20 minutes the other day.

Good point. And that was something I'd do occasionally 20 years ago. I don't do it much nowadays though. The cops now are cold and abrupt, with a "Why are you talking to me attitude?". Sorry, that's not an exaggeration.

Of course, it might not be the cop's fault. Maybe I'm getting more unlikable as I get older!

[faithhopecharity]

Obama told us he wants a federal domestic military force at least as powerful large and well equipped as our regular military forces army navy marines and USAF etc. like Stasi, like hitler. Like Stalin. Like Mao. He told us very clearly and so now he’s trying to deliver on this -— if he gets away with this outrage, he will deliver on get one more promise - to stay in Washington and keep working to transform America. Hell hitler! Allah Achkbar!

[MrEdd]

The authority and standing of many local authorities was damaged most by a guy who has been dead for a while now. He was a real A*hole. You have probably heard of him. His name was Steve Jobs.

What he did was to put cameras and video recording capabilities into the phones of millions of people whether they wanted the option or not.

This subsequently lead to the collapse of the illusion that law enforcement only did bad things every now and then. YouTube brought about more law enforcement corruption cleanup in opening decade of the twenty first century than the combined efforts of all reformers in the twentieth century.

The race baitors and communist agitators have a firm foundation of actual bad behaviors to work with.

[cripplecreek]

Americans need to be encouraged to take care of themselves and not depend on a police force that will rarely ever be there when needed, except to collect evidence after the fact.

Americans who expect police to be there when crimes happen are morons. My township has 4 deputies assigned to my 2000 person township for the entire week.

[cripplecreek]

Frankly I find that the people who have most problems with police are assholes themselves.

[mrsmith]

The national media want a national police.

The effect of a national media controlling the public square is much more significant than anyone realizes.

[moehoward]

"Americans trust the police more than they trust politicians. Personally, I trust my local cops more than I trust my national president."

HEAR HEAR!!

[cripplecreek]

In Detroit they’re complaining about the lack of accountability from the feds after a federal agent killed a suspect last week.

Nobody knows about it because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

[Ray76]

> We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.

Who is “we” and what objectives have they set?

[Leaning Right]

Frankly I find that the people who have most problems with police...

That's mostly true. But the police are in a special category, sort of like airplane designers are. They had better get it right not just most of the time, but all of the time.

And that's actually not that hard to do. Be polite when talking to citizens, use force only when necessary, etc. Sure, there will be times when quick judgment calls will have to be made, and no one will be perfect then.

But in general, it's not too much to ask for cops to behave decently in everyday situations. And many do. But not enough.

[moehoward]

"Unfortunately the cops are often too much about us vs them."

I don't know if it's really "vs". Generally cops do tend to socialize with other cops. Not all that unusual for people in dangerous professions.

[Tugo]

Obama has been purging and crushing our US Military culture for years. Now he is turning all his FEDERAL resources to deconstruct local American communitiess and culture against themselves. Fear and mistrust are the community organizers tools of subversion.