I am no friend of cops, as I think their main goal is to harass people over speeding. I don't appreciate them, just as Lt. Furseth said. Lt. Furseth thought he was providing value for his earnings, and now feels unappreciated. Time for him to shrug.

That is exactly what I thought of. Ellis Wyatt lighting his oil fields on fire and Dagny screaming, "NOOOOOO!"

Being poor is no crime, but being poor, lazy, and spoiled is the norm now, rather than the exception. When I was young, there was a stigma to being unemployed, let alone being homeless. That's not true anymore.

I think you did get my point, Zenphamy. The cop sounds like his efforts are no longer appreciated and is ready to shrug. Other than getting the appreciation of my family, my wife feels the same way.

Yes, I mean exactly what I say. Every honest, legal, ethical police officer that makes himself a part of a dishonest, illegal, and unethical police force and corrupt system is in my view, worse than those that go into the career to be a bully and control freak. At least the bully and control freak is honest with himself.

Indeed and excellent! +1

Oh Puh-leeze!! Today's Moms aren't the Moms
of my childhood; today's Churches aren't the
Churches of my childhood; today's movies
aren't the movies of my children; ad nauseam! For that matter, today's world isn't etc.etc.etc.

Indeed +1

How often do cops get a smack on the wrist for the kinds of things that you and I would serve time for? How many paid suspensions does it take before I cop comes to learn that beating the crap out of somebody will yield yet another paid vacation?

With all due respect, you can save your generalities and platitudes for someone that has their eyes closed. As for me, I am paying attention, and I see precious little from the police unless/until audio and/or video recordings prove their guilt beyond any possible doubt. Even then, the punishments cops often face amount to little more than a paid vacation.

Also, when it comes to bigotry, these cops that you would so blindly defend aren't exactly paragons of judging people by the content of their character, Hon.

Two things. Everytime I travel back to the US the presence of police up and down the interstate racing along at 85 mph without their lights on or the stops with in the 100 mile no man 's zone of the border get more prevalent. Have good friends who worked for years on seattle pokice force who confirm they are specifically trained to take the humanization out of situations in order to better perform their jobs. This icludes all officers undergoing training to perform body cavity searches. It is insane. No one stops me on the street and thanks me for my service or productivity. Are they saints before we know how they perform their jobs?

A law that limits freedom is no law unless there's a victim and damage. As to the Fox report, altruism one day a year is often used by those that oppress the other 364 days.

So long as no other cops will arrest or fight the bad ones, those actions ARE the actions of the entire force.

When was the last time?
When was the last time such an event made the news, hon?

They don't publicize such things but the internal affairs department doesn't sit on their hands.
You can see them any way you like, but unless you've seen the records of internal affairs and the efforts they make - you're reacting off of the news as if it is reality and ignoring the evidence that contradicts it.

Feel free. Any of us who have had an association with police know better.

There's nothing proud about bigotry.

Buddy, your profession has become "despised, hated, distructed, and mostly unwanted" for good reason.

That leaves you with two honorable choices: work to reform the profession (including refusing to stand behind bad cops and fighting them instead), or quit it and get an honorable job.

But you don't have the guts to do either. So be it. You are declaring war on us the people, and we will act accordingly.

You miss the point or mean exactly what you say:
Either you are bigoted toward every honest, legal, ethical police officer on the basis of the behavior of a few dishonest, unethical corrupt officers;
OR
You misunderstood what I said.

Your words, not mine, will reveal which.

So j, are you equating the cop's attitude and work with that of you wife's? I'm not sure I get the point of your comment.

j; I didn't quite read it that way.

mckenzie; you're right. I'm bigoted towards anyone whose profession is to assume that they have authority over me until they've earned it from me, who think their job is to 'control' me with violence and punishment and intimidation, who take a simple person to person contact and turn it into a death, who are taught to and proven to lie on the stand in court, who want to wear military camos and boots on the job, who give themselves military titles, and who don't treat us as the 'individuals' that you want us to treat them as.

They're not officers--they're cops. Their job is to capture and bring before the court someone that violates my natural individual rights, with a proper 4th Amendment warrant in hand when they arrest him.

yes! he is gutting the military and reducing their top
brass to political yes-men and yes-women. . this is
sickening. -- j

Zen, I disagree. . the vast majority of law enforcement
people are good and take their difficult role as target,
gun-toter and freedom-limiter (by law) quite well.

please cut them some slack. -- john

p.s. did you see the fox report yesterday about the
police who worked these little miracles by stopping
someone, learning in conversation about a Christmas
wish which they could not afford, and then within 10
minutes' time, granting them that wish through the
collusion of a shadow team listening in, at the toy
store or department store?

Herb; There are certainly 'good' people who decide to become cops as well as 'bad' people who also become cops. But the job of cops was never meant to be that of tax collector and revenue source for our communities and states, and make no mistake--that is what they've become. If the people they were barging in on with flash bangs and automatic rifles in the wee morning hours were murderers, active terrorists, or even armed robbers, we might not be so upset. But that's not the case.

We're having to deal with these people who're taught from the first day that they're better than the rest of us and that they're at war with us, and their jobs are to control us with intimidation, weapons of war, and tactics more suited for a war zone than for the neighborhoods we live in. They're given essentially carte blanche to stop any of us at any time for any reason, and then to pursue a 'criminal' investigation of us. They're taught that they're members of an elite brotherhood who will always have their back, right or wrong. Their basic training even includes 'don't hesitate' targets which originated in the military to reduce the numbers of men that didn't fire their rifles on the front line.

It's not about the 'good' cop being painted with the same brush as the bad cop--it's about the role of a cop in our neighborhood.

My incident was with a state trooper not too many years ago. It ended with him trying to find anything he could to write me up for, and failed. I think it was the bumper stickers that made him stop me at all. He even had a toothpick in his mouth which he had to talk around. I suppressed my reaction to that rather well I thought. He finally let me go without any citation for anything. Still have a few chuckles over that one.

Reminds me of the attitude of the folks who came into the welfare office where I worked prior to retiring. Attitude of entitlement. Same as the Medicaid patients your wife has to deal with. And, never enough nor quick enough.

I first received a copy of this from a family member in law enforcement. His comment was only that the "custodes" (see Juvenal via Plato) whom he knows and respects don't take off their duty when they take off their uniform. I honestly do not understand why (and for virtually none of them is it "power") anyone pursues so thankless a calling, but no society, Randian or otherwise, can survive without reasonable laws, and unbiased law enforcement.

Damn, don't hold back so much the next time you comment. But you do have it right.