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?”
> We have a history of our civil rights slowing eroding since the Wilson administration. <
I agree with that 100%. The 2A in particular is under assault.
But I just don’t see the same situation here. The gun-grabbers want to destroy the 2A, now and forever. The EPA tyrants want to control the water on your own land, now and forever. Etc. That is evil.
But these governors and mayors - their quarantine laws might be silly, and counter-productive. But it don’t see them as wanting to control our freedom of movement, now and forever.
They are trying to fight a disease, however stupidly.
That doesn’t mean I’ll give them a pass. But does mean I’m not seeing them as doing evil here - it’s not the same as wanting to control our guns, property, and lives forever.
Lawsuits needed - Civil Rights cases - politicians and minions who carry out
violations. This is where we need a MLK type, regardless of personal foibles.
The operative word-particle in LEO is “force”.
> How about when I drove down the highway yesterday at about 78 mph when the speed limit was 70. I went thru a speed trap and nothing happened. That cop didn’t follow “a lawful order”. <
Interesting. But neither did that cop refuse a direct order. The author of this article wants cops to refuse what are (probably) lawful direct orders.
But I freely admit that no one - not the governor, not the cop, not the citizen - knows for sure just what a “lawful order” is during this quarantine. We can all agree that setting a speed limit is lawful. But what about closing all restaurants in a state for two months to fight a disease? Is that lawful?
I guess the Supreme Court will have to settle that one.
If you were driving at 80 mph, he would have stopped you
When someone tells you to ride up on your horse and harass little old ladies relaxing in their lawn chairs on the beach, we expect you to say "No."
“As conservatives, we pride ourselves on our unwavering support of the Thin Blue Line”
Why?
The examples listed by the author were not lawful orders. They were civil rights violations. LEOs need to understand the Constitution that they swore an oath to defend.
Anyone who believes that cops won’t follow unconstitutional orders is a fool. The vast majority of them will.
L
Today, the "enforcement" aspect of a police officer means: "Enforcing obedience to the law." That kind of sh!t has no place in a free society.
Historically, the "enforcement" aspect of a police officer meant: "Enforcing adjudication under the law." The role of the police officer wasn't to protect people or force them to obey the law. People knew how to behave themselves, and they were capable of protecting themselves. Instead, the role of the police officer was to protect the accused criminal from a posse of armed citizens -- so as to ensure that the accused criminal was afforded his right to a trial by jury under the U.S. Constitution.
The Cops in my town went into a church and made the people leave who just quietly praying.
The cops who did this knew every person in that church. One of the cops was in my wife’s Cub Scout troop. It didn’t matter. They treated their friends and neighbors as hardened criminals.
No cop writes laws. Cops do not vote on the passage of laws. Cops only enforce laws written by politicians who are elected by the people. So next time you yell at a cop enforcing a law you don't agree with, you may want to look in the mirror because you elected whoever passed that law.
If you've never been a cop you have no idea what kind of torture your supervisor can put you through for refusing an order.
It's funny that up until now we have regularly seen cop who are bad at their jobs harass minorities, yet I've never seen Kurt write such a column until people who look like him start getting harassed. Curious.
My point, obviously having been missed, is that the cop #1 knew that I had “broken” the law and #2 decided that it was a minor infraction or in the case of this Texas Salon Owner a stupid application of an executive order and decided to “look the other way”.
That’s what I think most people want from their LEOs, not a bunch of jack-booted thugs.
OK..... point taken
I think it's pretty darned obvious that the choice has already been made.
It’s real simple. If you’re a good cop, and you see bad cops doing bad things, and don’t stop them, YOU are a bad cop. If you think you’re a good cop and do bad things, I got news for you: YOU are a bad cop. You better stop that crap RFN!
Getting there,Yup.
Well,Yes!
Yup. Many of us remember that pitiful excuse for a human being. We also remember Barr's support of his actions.
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