A Winter Interlude

[spartakos]

Been a while. I'm going to save the fancy speeches, since I'm probably not getting back into regular blogging...sorry. Be aware that I am around, lurking in the shadows of the internetz.

So what's new?

Comments

[maihgread]

Nice to see you around. I'm also a fan of your "douchebag" tag.

[eremos]

1. Cops are assholes not out of arrogance (although that is sometimes true) or sadism (also sometimes true) but out of fear. I don't think most people know what it's like to wake up every day, put on an outfit that makes you a target, and go out actively looking for trouble. Of course, not every police officer meets that particular description- but the real assholes, the ones that will frisk you for what appears to be no reason, and the ones that will seemingly violate your rights for even claiming to have a gun, do so because they fear for their safety, not because they get off on being a dick to you

[spartakos]

Re: 1.), yes, a lot of cops ARE assholes out of arrogance (which often comes with being granted the ability to shoot people without legal repercussion) and sometimes sadism (I actually think that one's relatively low as a motivator, but I do think the job attracts more bullies than it should). They also do it out of racism and other prejudices. And yes, they do it out of fear.

The problem is that the fear they have is not justifiable. It is a paranoia inculcated in them by their training and a society that raves about how the nation is a cesspool, despite the fact that crime rates have been dropping for years. It is a product of a law-enforcement culture that see their role as soldiers, not keepers of the peace and public servants. It is a mindset that encourages cops to see all citizens as potential criminals

[eremos]

Their fears might not be totally justified, but they are partially so. On an average day, you and I don't have to worry about being shot. For most of our lives, we are unlikely to even come face-to-face with a criminal. For some LEOs, they have to contend with those risks on a regular, if not daily, basis. Just a few weeks ago, an officer in my state was shot dead while sitting in his cruiser. Plenty of cops have been wounded or killed doing things as routine as traffic stops. Of course this happens much less frequently than movies, TV, and popular perception would have us believe- but certainly far more frequently than for the average civilian. Is the LEO community's perceived self-risk accurate to reality? Maybe, maybe not, but it is justified in being much elevated over the average citizen's

[eremos]

Realism always beats idealism, for the simple reason that realism is supported by truth and fact, and idealism is supported by nothing more substantial than hopes and wishes. Certainly there are people who are willing to give up their lives or livelihoods for ideals, but those are very similar to the people who blow themselves up for extreme causes, or commit crimes of hate because of their religion, or blindly charge into a fight without reason or logic. I don't have much in common with them. Our goals and objectives might be idealistic at times- but our methods must always be realistic. We cannot force ourselves to sacrifice with no perceivable benefit because "it's the right thing to do". While you are reveling in the "rightness" of your action, you're ignoring the "wrongness" of your result. If we are to be productive people, we must consider the result more important than the action. Exitus acta probat, always.