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Posted on 06/11/2007 12:33:07 AM PDT by huac
"...A convicted felon turns cameras on the cops, putting a balance of power, he says, back in the hands of the people...BY KEVIN SITES..."I raise my fist because I want that justice; don't get my freedom, gonna have to take my freedom." — Sherman Austin, from his song "Raise the Fist"... Sherman Austin says his own run-ins with the police led him to start Cop Watch...Citizen video has left an indelible mark on Los Angeles...The disturbing video has been viewed more than 100,000 times on YouTube and Cop Watch LA's site...Ironically, Austin's tool of choice, the Internet, is the same one that landed him in jail several years ago. He was convicted of distributing information about explosives..."
(Excerpt) Read more at potw.news.yahoo.com ...
First, he did his part for The Cause (No Justice-No Peace/ Islamofascism Division) by making sure that those mean Marines weren’t allowed to just arbitrarily defend...shoot an armed…wounded terrori…guy in pajamas. Now Mr. Sites decides to attack…bring justice stateside, giving us the heart warming story of a thug…err, convicted felon…amateur photojournalist who hates the cops. Especially LAPD (because a lot of them were probably Marines at one point). Another Sites victory for The Cause (No Justice-No Peace/ Hate LAPD Division).
Man this guy, Sites, swaggers more than Paris Hilton. I’m laughing because his metrosexual sweater in the second video has coat hangar marks in the shoulders.
If Sherman Austin wants to do something that’s really important, why doesn’t he take his video camera out and record the crimes that the civilians are doing in his neighborhood and also a cellphone so he can call the police. Or maybe that and join up with the Guardian Angels. The thuggies’ stats for cruelty, death, and mayhem are a lot higher than any police organization. Nah, never mind. That would be snitchin’ and I’m sure Shermie’s got his standards and ain’t a snitch.
What an *interesting* concept...
Q: “Who is watching the Watchers?”
A: “CopWatch”
I am not certain what I think of this idea, but it has some very, very interesting implications.
*DieHard*
“...If Sherman Austin wants to do something that’s really important, why doesn’t he take his video camera out and record the crimes that the civilians are doing in his neighborhood and also a cellphone so he can call the police...”
Do you remember the people who volunteered to act as “Peace Shields” in Iraq. They would put themselves in “harm’s way” to make sure American’s wouldn’t drop bombs. They would stand up to their own country (confident in our moral scruples which prevent us fron wanton aggression) to defend a regime which put people in wood chippers for sport. The courage to “stand up” to the tyrannical Bush yet never getting around to actually standing up to true evil (which would have no compunctions of killing them).
I believe that it’s a great and necessary idea to monitor government. The mayor’s office in all cities should have a web cam and microphone. All cop cars should have video and audio logging. Any loss of privacy foisted on the public should also be visited on our “masters” in spades.
First video was of a guy who was resisting and tried to grab the cops gun.
> Or maybe that and join up with the Guardian Angels.
He is perhaps wasting his talents and passion doing what he is doing. I believe he is driven by a belief that he is doing the right thing. As you suggest I would encourage him to pursue his interests amongst our ranks as a member of the International Alliance of Guardian Angels, by joining his local Chapter.
Nobody can fault his sense of community responsibilty: it needs to be channeled into productive directions.
And it is probably also necessary to acknowledge that some of what he has to say is just possibly right and good and just and fair: just maybe there are some cops who need to be held to account for excessive behavior. But that will not be achieved by attacking The System: this will only serve to alienate him from the very powers that can help him achieve his objective.
He Dares to Care, this is honorable and admirable, and it is the first step on a long journey. I’d encourage him to take the next steps, and join a local Chapter of the Guardian Angels, as a recruit candidate. I believe he has much to offer.
*DieHard the Hunter*, or
“Chieftain” to my fellow Guardian Angels
Ping
Bada Ping!
Agreed, but I would add, they start their shift/day by peeing in a bottle. Blackbird.
Well, if the police aren’t doing anything wrong then they have nothing to fear. :^)
Just asking.
Mark
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
One thing that is not encouraging about this is that result they seek seems to be getting people out of jail.
I’d only support something like this if it came with the twin goals of only seeking to get innocent people out of jail together with getting bad cops prosecuted.
It should also be balanced by showing cops when they help people. And I bet they see a lot of street crimes, I wonder if they report them.
But then I’m not in charge.
Hmm Maybe we should do a conservative cop watch. Conservatives don’t like bad cops either but we can see the difficulty of the job cops do and the good things they do too.
We need a lot more transparency in government. Police and other governmental authorities are not royalty to be shielded from the tactics that they impose on the peasants. If non-police citizens require cameras to monitor our behavior, police citizens do as well.
Citizens who work in the police department are no better nor worse than other citizens — and are neither more nor less prone to committing crime. However, they are all too often much more likely to get a pass on their crimes from fellow police officers. This kind of transparency can help rectify that situation.
If so, then that person is likely bored to tears.
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