Posted on 05/07/2020 3:54:02 AM PDT by Kaslin
As conservatives, we pride ourselves on our unwavering support of the Thin Blue Line, on backing our cops against leftist slander, and yet stupid and evil people in law enforcement are putting that default thumbs-up from normal Americans at risk. It’s bad enough when we watch the ridiculous spectacle of Deputy Karren and Deputy Man-Karen yelling at some mom for committing felony play-dating, but then we see how the FBI has flat-out framed political enemies and it’s too much. If the LEO community does not police its own ranks and stamp out this nonsense, it might as well take all the goodwill it has earned over the years, douse it in cheap gasoline, and set it on fire.
A big chunk of society, mostly on the left, detests the police. It would be a really poor idea to convert the right to that point of view too. But that’s where these trends lead.
Here’s the thing – we normals respect our police not merely because they have badges and funny hats but because they take personal risks to protect us from those who would violate our rights. Usually, these violators are criminals. But the category of “People who violate our rights” also includes political hacks and bureaucratic petty fascists. And we reasonably expect to be protected from those creeps too.
“But we might get suspended or fired!” is the response. Well, yeah. That’s correct. And that’s immaterial.
We flat-out expect cops to run into gunfire to save lives, cowards like that Florida slug aside, just like we expect firemen to run into burning houses. If doing that stuff was easy and safe, they would not get respect and be honored. See, that’s the deal. They get pay and prestige, honor and respect, because they do things other people can’t or won’t for the good of the community. It’s like soldiers – the troops don’t get thanked for their service because their job is kick-back and safe.
So, we can surely expect them to pushback when some tool with sergeant’s stripes or chief stars tells them to oppress us.
For those LEOs who are confused:
When someone tells you to tackle people for misdemeanor failure to social distance, we expect you to say “No.”
When someone tells you to fly drones around scolding citizens, we expect you to say “No.”
When someone tells you to walk through a church parking lot taking down plate numbers, we expect you to say “No.”
When someone tells you to roll the SWAT team, with a complete with a Keystone Kop sniper up top, to confront the peril of a bunch of people protesting to reopen business, we expect you to say “No.”
When someone tells you to hassle Jews for praying, we expect you to say “No.”
We’ve seen all these things happen or be threatened since the bat stew virus infected the Bill of Rights, perhaps fatally. And these atrocities have to stop.
Yes, the officer(s) resisting bullSchiff commands may get disciplined or fired. Yes, doing the right thing sometimes has a cost. We will certainly support remedying such retaliation. But cops don’t get to do the wrong thing and still expect us to have their backs.
Many won’t play stupid games and they simply blow off dumb orders. I’ve witnessed police officers ignore all manner of Karen crimes, as they should. Bravo! We’ve seen a number of sheriffs stand up and refuse to enforce illegal and immoral orders from political hacks. Three cheers!
But then there are the Barney Fifes who, instead of saying “Hard pass” when ordered to dragging off some tattoo artist, comply instead. And that’s how we got a viral vid of two tubby constables hauling a guy to the pokey for trying to feed his family. Is that what LEOs signed up for? If so, we’re in trouble.
It’s a sad truth. Far too many of our LEOs are gutless drones who go along to get along, and it’s a disgrace.
And, to continue the theme of “disgrace,” we have yet to see one FBI agent throw his badge on the floor and walk out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in disgust at what the Bureau did about FISA and Flynn.
We support the police; the police need to police their own to ensure they support us.
Here’s the thing – in an era where Democrats are increasingly attempt to leverage the power of government against their political enemies, this kind of passive acquiescence to manifest injustices is a real threat to the viability of this nation as a free country. Can anyone really calculate the damage the FBI and DoJ’s schemes and crimes have done to their reputations? And now local law enforcement is trashing its own rep with stupid antics designed to bully normal citizens.
So what happens if a leftist leader starts telling cops to arrest religious minorities for not conforming? How about to arrest people for speaking freely or protesting? What happens when one tells to police to break into citizens’ homes looking for guns? What happens if the politicians tell them to shoot anyone who resists?
Can’t happen? Really? May 4th was the 50th anniversary of Kent State, where four students were shot dead by soldiers while protesting. Without relitigating the incident, the leftist reaction on the anniversary was fascinating. Especially amusing was the ever-flatulent, nuke-curious Rep. Eric Swalwell lamenting how government security forces used guns on American citizens even as he apparently forgot that his dream is to ensure that only government security forces have guns.
After what we have seen lately, through cowardice, stupidity, and outright corruption, who can still be sure that there are not a significant number of LEOs today who would claim they were “just following orders?”
Don’t be such a naive dope, Kurt. Even the mere existence of a “LEO community” is totally incompatible with freedom and liberty. The founders of this country would have been repulsed by the thought of living in a country with hundreds of thousands of “law enforcement officers.”
All good points - would only add the cowardly but very well-armed cops at Columbine - and we need to keep after the swine that framed LTG Flynn and pushed the false Russian collusion lie.
> When someone tells you to fly drones around scolding citizens, we expect you to say “No.” <
I’m far, far from being pro-police. But the author of this article is aiming at the wrong target. The orders he cites are silly, but they are at least marginally lawful. Police officers are not judges. They are expected to obey lawful orders.
The real culprits here are those politicians who are issuing the orders.
The author is going overboard on this one. Yeah, I understand that now - looking back - the Covid scare is declining and society is beginning to loosen up.
BUT if you are a cop (just like a soldier), and you decide to disobey orders to enforce the law, you’d better have a damn good reason. Because you might not just be fired, you yourself might be prosecuted. Furthermore, social distancing might be a misdemeanor, but what if the accused ignores you and keeps doing it? What if they refuse despite repeated warnings? All of a sudden it goes from cop trying to be a courteous to cop stuffing you in a squad car.
Let’s be frank. This whole Covid thing is new territory. Hopefully it will NOT become the new normal for handling emerging infectious diseases, but give the cops a break this first time around. 2020 is shaping up to make the 911 event of 2001 a tiptoe through the tulips.
Great article.
Fascism or Freedom? The People or the State? Life or Death? It’s a time for choosing, LEO’s.
So said the concentration camp guards....
A hint for you and everyone else - the police are not your friends and never were.
Read the Federalist Papers, where the people who helped author the Constitution talk about the dangers that “standing armies” pose to liberty.
They were specifically thinking of heavily armed “law enforcement”.
> So said the concentration camp guards.... <
Not a valid comparison. I am talking about lawful orders, as understood by a civilized society.
As I noted earlier, I am not pro-police. But they are getting a bad rap in this article. For example, suppose a mayor orders a crackdown on illegal gambling. That’s a lawful order. Do we really want cops to debate that? “I see gambling as a victimless crime,” says a sergeant. “So I’ll pass.”
That’s not the way it’s supposed to work when it comes to lawful orders.
The author is talking about silly - and probably counter-productive - orders. But they are lawful orders, as understood by a civilized society. Heap scorn on the politicians. That’s where the blame lies here.
We need to eliminate unelected federal, state and local law enforcement. Elected county sheriffs seem to be the only sane ones left.
“..Heap scorn on the politicians...”
The politician isn’t the guy standing there with the gun pointed at your face screaming “ON THE GROUND! DO IT!”.
Agreed, but the “I was only following orders!” defense didn’t hold up before, and it can’t be held up as a defense for inexcusable actions against a peaceful population now. There comes a point where you go over the line, and it appears that line has been crossed in many of these blue states, with LEO’s following blue politicians orders without question.
Dumb and corrupt cops have never had my support in the first place.
Exactly.
Stripping the people of their Constitutional Rights are not “lawful orders.” Period. Full stop.
> The politician isn’t the guy standing there with the gun pointed at your face screaming “ON THE GROUND! DO IT!”. <
That’s an important - and valid - point! And it’s one reason I am no longer pro-police. They have gone from being “peace officers” to being “law enforcement officers”. 90% of them have ego problems.
But that’s a separate issue from deciding whether or not to obey a lawful order. You can enforce a lawful order (virus-related or not) without being a bully, or a screaming like a madman. Unfortunately too many cops today feel they must go the screaming bully route.
Lon Tomohisa Horiuchi
They are unconstitutional orders and hence unlawful orders. In many cases, there is no law behind them whatsoever. It is tyranny.
We have heavily armed, paramilitary law enforcement in this country. Besides sheriffs and constables, they are not lead by elected officials. They are a fraternity that covers each others asses instead of doing the right thing. They lost the trust of minority communities ages ago, and now they are working on deplorables.
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