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For myself I find myself supporting good cops (like in Dallas) yet I am not one of these people who thinks that all cops are always right and honest just beacuse they have a badge.

I grew up with two parents who were involved in drugs and I found out last night that my mother died of a probable drug overdose this past March. Law enforcement was a constant presence in my life until I moved away from my mother after I turned 18.

My childhood memories include no end of “random” traffic stops that involved deputies and police officers who knew us well. We had probably a dozen or more early morning wake-up calls by dozens of cops busting in the door at 3am to toss the house or apartment in search of drugs and not once...not even once...did I hear of or see a warrant.

My parents were totally wrong but it was abundantly clear to me that we were second class citizens who didn’t have any rights. That got even worse when my father was on parole and we had parole agents in the apartment at all hours of the day and they also would come to see me at school and search me to see if I was holding for my parents. That made school quite a fun time as the decent kids all avoided me.

I’ve been handcuffed so many times I lost count.

When my father went on a tear one time he assaulted me and when I called the police they treated me like a criminal. After he went to prison (where he has since died) we still had the parole agents showing up at all hours to rip the place apart and you know why?

Because they can.

It’s seven years that I put all that behind me but I’m still not going to automatically approve of what law enforcement does everywhere because I hear a lot of stories of abuse and I can relate from personal experience. I’m so used to law enforcement who abuse and lie that it’s been like PTSD for me to get used to the Park County, Wyoming sheriff’s department who have been absolutely wonderful people to me every time I encounter them.

With the thing in Waco I was one of the people who was suspicious of the police because 1) they arrested and charged way too many people and 2) they hid and are still hiding video evidence.

“If you didn’t do anything wrong you’ve got nothing to hide.”

Isn’t that what the cops always say?

Yet in North Carolina today there’s a new law that allows the police to keep their dash cam and body cam video forever secret from the public. Why do they want to hide their video if they’re doing nothing wrong?

And why, like in Baton Rouge, do they illegally seize video and video equipment without a warrant? What are they hiding?

I tell you, I wish I’d had video of all the times the cops messed with us when I was young because I’d be rich now.

So forgive me my point of view because it came from personal experience.

There is a lot of the “damn you for your own good” attitude floating around this country.

That’s understandable for worldly, secular peoples, but in a country that at least used to boast of being Christian, it’s a scandal. It’s almost like the worst of both worlds, or what C. S. Lewis called a well intentioned busybody. Enough Christian talk to raise the idea of do-gooding with the approval of one’s conscience; not enough of it to make it perfectly plain that nothing good can happen that hasn’t been laid on the Lord first.

I believe in the power of evangelism, done the right way.

I’m sorry you were treated like that and had a tough childhood. I, nor the guys/gals I worked with, would never have treated people like that and it is wrong. I don’t see and have not seen searches like that. However, if a parolee is on parole (in leiu of being in jail) and subject to search that is legal - especially if they are still using drugs because they are still committing crimes to support their drug habits (unless they are independently wealthy). If not on parole you don’t give up your rights and kids unfortunately get caught up in that when the parents can’t behave. I have never heard of a child being searched at school - that is pretty strange.

It would be just as inappropriate for you to judge me because of my occupation as it would be for me to judge you because of who your parents were or where you lived. That was my point. It’s like a fast food restaurant or chain restaurants - you can have a favorite, but every so often you eat at one somewhere that is awful or the service stinks, but that does not mean every restaurant in the chain is like that. That is how people work - most are okay, a few suck, and every so often even the okay ones have a bad day. This is true for everyone regardless of any category they may fit.

When we reach a point where people paint with broad brushes - especially when it furthers an agenda or political goal - we all lose.