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How Ferguson made conservatives lose faith in the police
theweek ^

Posted on 08/20/2014 12:01:34 AM PDT by chessplayer

As we watch the turmoil in Ferguson — where protests and police crackdowns raged for a week in the wake of a police shooting of an unarmed black teenager — many Americans have been forced to reassess their views on the duty and tactics of the police. But we conservatives — with our dueling affinity for law-and-order institutions like the police and our libertarian-inspired opposition to abuses of government power — are perhaps the most torn.

Over at the Federalist, Hans Fiene notes, "For many conservatives, especially those of us living in nice, comfy suburbs, it's hard to apply the 'power corrupts' doctrine to law enforcement because we've never seen corrupted enforcers of the law." But now we're all seeing it.

In recent years, conservative opinion leaders have been more willing to question authority. They're more skeptical of the police and the military, and don't just accept everything these institutions do as being in service of their "protect and serve" purposes.

As Red State's Erick Erickson writes, "It is perfectly fine to think Mr. Brown was no saint, the rioters should be punished, and in addition to both of those, to think the police in Ferguson, Missouri, behaved badly too. Before rioting even began the police in Ferguson decided to behave like soldiers instead of police."

He's right. And the adoption of a "Warrior Cop" persona might be the symbolic turning point.

(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arson; criminals; donutwatch; looting; riots
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1 posted on 08/20/2014 12:01:34 AM PDT by chessplayer
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To: chessplayer

lol


2 posted on 08/20/2014 12:06:39 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: chessplayer

Baloney.


3 posted on 08/20/2014 12:07:39 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!!)
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To: chessplayer

arrrgh

militarization— the latest scapegoat for violent black criminal behavior

(previous scapegoats—racism, slavery, poverty, profiling etc.)

see tagline


4 posted on 08/20/2014 12:08:13 AM PDT by Cubs Fan (If you're on the same side of Ferguson as Al and Jesse, then you F-ed up somewhere. Rethink it dummy)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

To: chessplayer
I know this will get zotted, but...

Here's a Ferguson I could get behind...Hannah Ferguson


6 posted on 08/20/2014 12:12:21 AM PDT by Veggie Todd (The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. TJ)
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To: Veggie Todd
And for those who say she needs to eat a cheesburger...


7 posted on 08/20/2014 12:15:14 AM PDT by Veggie Todd (The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. TJ)
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To: F15Eagle
That was my thought.

Dog shootings, wrong address SWAT raids, backyard intrusions while "pursuing" a suspect that results in dog shootings...

And then on top of that the warrior cop.

I am not as tolerant of the warrior cop as others seem to be, especially those who dress up in desert camouflage fatigues in the middle of a downtown city street where the camo is out of place.

It's all about a mentality of invincibility that is misplaced.

First, an invincibility that comes from the disproportionate equipment.

And second, an invincibility that comes from the thought that they are protected from the consequences of their actions, no matter how damaging to the people and families that they harm.

-PJ

8 posted on 08/20/2014 12:15:33 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: chessplayer

Whut?


9 posted on 08/20/2014 12:19:23 AM PDT by Dallas59
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To: chessplayer

“Faith in the police”? as in the police being god?

Liberals never miss an opportunity to blaspheme.


10 posted on 08/20/2014 12:25:40 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: chessplayer

Utter nonsense. What I am tired of and find more troubling is the media desire to make police look bad.....just like they do anytime thugs and looters want to destroy neighborhoods


11 posted on 08/20/2014 12:39:09 AM PDT by Nifster
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To: chessplayer
I'm not aware of anything that Wilson did that was not appropriate for the situation he faced.

I do have an issue with the riot control later. One of the things I thought was inappropriate was the cop laying on top of one of the larger armored vehicles pointing his automatic weapon at the peaceful crowed in the middle of the day. He should not be pointing his weapon at people in that situation.

12 posted on 08/20/2014 12:42:43 AM PDT by DB
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To: chessplayer
We conservatives believe cops should arrest criminals and use force when needed.

We do not believe they should be shooting dogs or breaking into the wrong homes.

13 posted on 08/20/2014 12:55:17 AM PDT by fortheDeclaration (Pr 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation:but sin is a reproach to any people)
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To: chessplayer

nope.


14 posted on 08/20/2014 1:00:57 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
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To: chessplayer

In Wisconsin the law is that if police are involved in a shooting, the incident has to be investigated by another police department in a different jurisdiction. It stems from a case in Kenosha where a young man was handcuffed and shot in the temple by a cop. It was ruled a “justified” shooting by Kenosha police. They (the family)did some research and found that all of the police shootings in the country (over 400) were ruled “justified”. So, they made this law and I don’t think it goes far enough. They all belong to same union.


15 posted on 08/20/2014 1:06:52 AM PDT by virgil (The evil that men do lives after them)
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To: chessplayer
No Conservative has lost faith in the Police.

But - speaking personally - I have totally lost faith in the political coalition between Libertarians and Conservatives.

I am not anti-Police, I am not anti-NSA, I am not anti-Israel, and I am not pro-Amnesty.

And I will never support any candidate who is.

16 posted on 08/20/2014 1:29:06 AM PDT by zeestephen
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To: chessplayer

Barf alert


17 posted on 08/20/2014 1:38:13 AM PDT by samtheman
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To: chessplayer

Hey, they aren’t abusing power. It’s not like they broke into someone’s house and shot their Golden Retriever. The death of that thug is merely the “Yute” excuse to loot, maim, and kill. The cops are welcome to restore some semblance of order by tear gassing the whole city, if need be.


18 posted on 08/20/2014 2:14:59 AM PDT by Politicalkiddo ("Never do anything against conscience, even if the State demands it." -Albert Einstein)
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To: chessplayer

Shooting the family dog goes much farther to undermine my faith in the police than does taking out the trash in Ferguson, Missouri.


19 posted on 08/20/2014 2:24:03 AM PDT by cynwoody
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To: chessplayer

Most police have very little education. I don’t mean college, I mean having done enough reading to have a feel and understanding about what this country is about and what being an American really means.


20 posted on 08/20/2014 2:35:34 AM PDT by Octar
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