...maybe we should just stop policing those places where the police aren't wanted. You know, until they beg ask to have policing back.
Off track musings...
There is an incredible amount of data out there regarding police killing citizens. About 1000 per year, on average. About 40% of those folks are White. About 20% are Black and nearly 20% are Hispanic. Then the "Other" and "Unknown" make up the balance.
They aren't killed simply because a cop wants to kill somebody. Well, not in most cases.
Anyway...
On average, 100 (I think the number is actually about 50. I'll look...) cops die on duty in the United States annually. Half of those are at the hands of felons, the other half are "deaths while on duty", which could be a car accident, a slip and fall, a heart attack. It may have something to do with the job and it may not. It is simply death while on the clock. And those numbers haven't changed a lot over the years.
Paranoia is a very common mental disorder. It is very treatable. ;)
We lost a State Trooper in a gun battle a couple of weeks ago. Sergeant James Smith. First Trooper to be killed at the hands of a felon in Iowa in something like 80 years.
I have read that up to 80% of the folks killed by a cop are unarmed at the time of their death. That doesn't mean that they weren't being a threat... it simply means that they didn't have a "weapon" in their possession when they were killed.
Disclaimer: I spent some time as an MP while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas in 1975 and 1976. I hated almost every minute of it. I came to understand a lot of things about people in that year and a half. Another story for another time.
I'm not against cops. I'm against bad cops. And in my experience people are far too willing to look the other way and give bad cops a pass. But that isn't what this is about. It's just the way my mind works. One thought leads to another then pretty soon you have mush...
Anyway, I think we need to start being honest with ourselves as a nation. We talk about cops killing Blacks. If you listen to the media and the voices on the street, the only people being killed by cops are Blacks, and the only reason they are being killed is simply because they are Black. Bullshit.
We have cultural issues in this country, lol. Non-assimilation issues. (That is kind of an attempt at humor. Not funny, I guess...)
And lets be honest about gun violence. Lets talk about what the numbers really mean, as a country, when broken down as far as they can be. #1 is suicides. (If a firearm wasn't available for the suicide the #2 choice would be poison {pills} and the #3 choice would be asphyxiation {a rope}). Suicide is a choice. A bad choice, but a choice just the same. And the #1 contributor to "gun violence". A misnomer, in my opinion. Suicide should be a class of it's own, regardless of method. I do realize that that fails to support the agenda of the Left...
Gang violence is #2. Funny how no one wants to talk about that.
Justified Homicide (self defense), domestic violence, and accidents...
I doubt we will ever have that conversation. And I doubt having that conversation would change many minds. Because, talking points.
But I think I'm getting off track. Just rambling... I've been installing new windows at my house. Tons of fun. LOL. Time to get back to work!
Stay safe.
Peace.
I would add that the vast majority of people who end up beaten (or worse) are the persons who decided resisting arrest was a wise choice. It isn't - submit quietly and your arrest will go much smoother, and will likely live to tell the tale.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me. I don't need the government fining me for doing 70 in a 65 when no one has been harmed. Or taxing me because my grass it too long. Or extorting money from me because my burn pile measures 12x12 instead of 10x10. Or stealing more money from me because I didn't pay the extortion money the government charges to register my vehicle or get a permit (permission) to travel. Burn it all to the ground. Hell--when someone broke into my house, I held them at gunpoint for the 15 minutes it took the police to arrive. The only reason I needed police was because they would crucify me if I actually grabbed the person and physically threw them off my property. Because the elite class thinks police are the only ones who should be allowed to do that. I'm over 40, and I haven't needed the police *once* in my life.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:46... While I agree with that, I struggle with it as well. I put myself in the position (in my mind) of being pulled over by the cops. I am not a criminal. I haven't done anything. I carry. For some reason the cop wants to cuff me to "keep us both safe". Fuck that. Why would I, a citizen who has done absolutely nothing wrong, submit to being "temporarily imprisoned for both our safety"? I can't see myself going along with that. "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about". Fuck that as well. Anyway, I get off track sometimes. Thanks for your comment! :)
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:47... We agree on a lot of things. :)
To have the conversation about gang violence we're going to have to have several discussions that politicians never want to have.
ReplyDeleteNot least of which are the subcultures which aren't American and don't think they need to adhere to the cultural norms of American society.
Notice, too, that most of this gang violence also occurs within the confines of their cultural enclaves? This is another reason nothing is done about it. It's "them" being "them" to each other, why should we care?
Well, I want this festering wound cured so that it will stop being used as a club to beat me.
McThag... It's really good to see your name pop up here. It's been awhile!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you totally. We should remove gang related gun deaths from the reporting process, along with suicides, so that we can gain a more accurate picture of "gun violence" in America. ;)
I've suggested before that we stop policing those "cultural enclaves" that do not want to be policed. At some point the people living in those non-American (and anti-American?) shitholes will tire of living in a war zone and will beg for policing to return. Or they will all kill each other. Either way, problem solved.
Cultural assimilation use to be a big part of coming to America. People wanted to be "Americans". Language, culture, being part of all of that. Somehow that has been lost. I suspect that it has something to do with the unfettered access of ner' do wells coming here with their bad habits.
Plus, the heavy lifting has already been done here.
Anyway, I'm rambling again. It's 65° here today. All of my windows are open and my cares are all gone...
Take care.