Police: Heroes or Villains?

[Kerwa]

Here in the UK the police are racist and sexist, though most police officers are not like that, it does happen and you hear it on the news, more than half of the people in the UK do not trust our police.

Nah, with the UK rozzers it’s the weedy coppers that are the worst. It’s like.. what’s the point. It’s just insulting sending out some tiny dude, like they aren’t taking you seriously.

Coppers should be at least 6’2 and play rugby.

[Floofybit]

Maybe, just maybe, because I'm safe and actually follow the law

Privileged. The word you're looking for is privileged, not safe.

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

[Floofybit]

Maybe, just maybe, because I'm safe and actually follow the law

Following the law is dangerous.

I see know way where it is there to hurt you

[American Legionaries]

Privileged. The word you're looking for is privileged, not safe.

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

Yes, but why would someone make that choice?

[Floofybit]

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

Yes, but why would someone make that choice?

So you don't get arrested, so you're safe lol

[American Legionaries]

Yes, but why would someone make that choice?

So you don't get arrested, so you're safe lol

It's impossible for me to follow the law and be safe. Because the law specifically mandates I must be inadequately armed, which is unsafe.

[Floofybit]

So you don't get arrested, so you're safe lol

It's impossible for me to follow the law and be safe. Because the law specifically mandates I must be inadequately armed, which is unsafe.

If everyone gets free guns, a lot of people will be subject to gun deaths

[Ayytaly]

It's impossible for me to follow the law and be safe. Because the law specifically mandates I must be inadequately armed, which is unsafe.

If everyone gets free guns, a lot of people will be subject to gun deaths

This isn't libertarianism where excuses are made to get away with what one could perceive as henious crimes. Many here just want firearms because we're sick of politicians softening any form of harsh penalties towards criminals, thus allowing recidivism to grow in cities where citizens can't have a gun for self-protection.

[American Legionaries]

It's impossible for me to follow the law and be safe. Because the law specifically mandates I must be inadequately armed, which is unsafe.

If everyone gets free guns, a lot of people will be subject to gun deaths

Maybe, but if we enforce gun bans, a lot of people will be the subject of gun bans.

[Sordhau]

Privileged. The word you're looking for is privileged, not safe.

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

Why do you assume that every interaction with a police officer must involve someone committing a crime?

[Floofybit]

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

Why do you assume that every interaction with a police officer must involve someone committing a crime?

Am I wrong to assume that?

[Floofybit]

If everyone gets free guns, a lot of people will be subject to gun deaths

Maybe, but if we enforce gun bans, a lot of people will be the subject of gun bans.

If we enforce gun bans, the gun bans will be enforced. Great point

[Sordhau]

Why do you assume that every interaction with a police officer must involve someone committing a crime?

Am I wrong to assume that?

Yes? Do you think cops only magically appear when a crime is done and outside of that specific scenario they must exist in some ethereal plane awaiting summons like a demon or something?

[Floofybit]

Am I wrong to assume that?

Yes? Do you think cops only magically appear when a crime is done and outside of that specific scenario they must exist in some ethereal plane awaiting summons like a demon or something?

I get that they're always around. That's so when crime happens, they can jump into action

[American Legionaries]

Maybe, but if we enforce gun bans, a lot of people will be the subject of gun bans.

If we enforce gun bans, the gun bans will be enforced. Great point

Only a villain would ever do such a thing, so back to square one.

[Ulajhan]

Yes? Do you think cops only magically appear when a crime is done and outside of that specific scenario they must exist in some ethereal plane awaiting summons like a demon or something?

I get that they're always around. That's so when crime happens, they can jump into action

Just like they jumped into action in Uvalde right?

[Sordhau]

Yes? Do you think cops only magically appear when a crime is done and outside of that specific scenario they must exist in some ethereal plane awaiting summons like a demon or something?

I get that they're always around. That's so when crime happens, they can jump into action

Which is exceedingly rare, especially in small communities, which is why they develop things like ticket quotas, speed traps, and other predatory practices.

[Necroghastia]

Privileged. The word you're looking for is privileged, not safe.

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

And you are privileged to be left alone.
I see someone's never been racially profiled before.

[Ifreann]

Man, I did crime right in front of the police and didn't get arrested, just went on my merry way.

Like what?

Public alcohol consumption. At the start of summer, people in Dublin flock to the canals to drink cans of beer in the sun. This is illegal, it is against the law to drink alcohol in public except at appropriately licensed venues, and the side of the canal is not such a place. But the police don't try to arrest anyone doing this or confiscate our alcohol, because there are a dozen of them and a hundred of us, and the people doing this are often pretty middle class and respectable and the cops would fear the backlash of getting heavy handed with us.

We were all allowed to break the law, in full view of the police, with no consequences. It happens every summer.

[Alcala-Cordel]

Why do you assume that every interaction with a police officer must involve someone committing a crime?

Am I wrong to assume that?

Yeah, you really are.

[Shazbotdom]

It's impossible for me to follow the law and be safe. Because the law specifically mandates I must be inadequately armed, which is unsafe.

If everyone gets free guns, a lot of people will be subject to gun deaths

is that why most gun deaths occur in area's with the strictest gun law? I mean, look at the firearm murder epicenters in the country. Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, etc.

Some of the safest area's? Very few if no gun laws on the books.

[Thermodolia]

Privileged. The word you're looking for is privileged, not safe.

It's not a privilege to follow the law. You can chose to follow the law no matter what

So what about the mother who shoplifts food to feed her family because they don’t have enough money to pay for food?
Do they just go hungry?

This is a real situation by the way that millions face daily.

Or what about the person who breaks the law to free people who are held in captivity yes the trespassed but they freed a bunch of people who otherwise would have been sold into sex slavery.

Or what about the people who steal medical drugs to care for their dying child and for which they can’t afford to obtain medical care?

[Thermodolia]

Like what?

Public alcohol consumption. At the start of summer, people in Dublin flock to the canals to drink cans of beer in the sun. This is illegal, it is against the law to drink alcohol in public except at appropriately licensed venues, and the side of the canal is not such a place. But the police don't try to arrest anyone doing this or confiscate our alcohol, because there are a dozen of them and a hundred of us, and the people doing this are often pretty middle class and respectable and the cops would fear the backlash of getting heavy handed with us.

We were all allowed to break the law, in full view of the police, with no consequences. It happens every summer.

Let’s not forget the thousands of times people have speed in vehicles in front of cops and the cops don’t do shit

[Forever Indomitable]

Yup, this is exactly the narrow minded post I expected. Let's get started:


Yup, and I value it for all others, too. I would hate to see the passion and edge of humanity bred out of existence. I will resist this by trying to work on the group nearest to me because our situation is most dire.


Because we have a deficiency, not a surplus. If the situation was the opposite, so would be my attitude.


I don't have a community or a country. I judge people based on my direct relationship with them. I'm not a nationalist and people have to earn my loyalty. It's not a free commodity. I try to be a good neighbor and that's all I owe.


Everyone values good looks .


Sorry, I've already thoroughly dismantled all this ignorant "pseudoscience" talk in another thread. Once again, you're wrong because you are a mere reductionist with a wealth of bigotry, so I will plainly spell it out for you:

I don't want black and white; I want the rainbow. I don't want 2 dimensions; I want 3. I want the entirety of the spectrum of life to be represented. I want everyone to have a place in this world. I want the knowledge and perspective that can only come when one divorces dualism. I have an autotelic desire to see as much as possible and to see the dynamism of the human soul made manifest. That is what I really want, to see the twilight, sunrise, day, dusk and night of humanity. People like you only want the white. You would throw away all the other colors for your own hedonistic comfort.

And so you are fundamentally more selfish than I. My idea affords everyone a place and value; yours only makes room for those who would never challenge you. It is the philosophy of cowardice. You don't care about using violence to sculpt your ideal world because you delude yourself into thinking it's for a common good, but it's not. It's just the desire of your inner self to maximize your comfort. Our desires are subjective, but my character and abilities stand above yours and so my struggle is against the mediocrity you perpetuate.

What a wonderfully eloquent justification for hurting innocent people.

This conversation has reached its natural endpoint, so I'll offer only the following advice. I worked in law enforcement before going back to school. In a few months, I will start a new job - also in law enforcement. I have heard a wealth of justifications from people who thought they were so special that they were entitled to victimize others. And in the end, people with that attitude - your attitude - tend to end up in prison.

Here's why. The only thing that causes you to obey the law is that you fear the consequences. You admitted as much yourself. But sooner or later, you will find an opportunity to break the law, and you will decide that there is zero chance that you will be caught. When that day comes, you'll go ahead and break it, because the fear of punishment won't be there to stop you. It might have already happened. It might not happen for decades. I've seen folks who first offended when they were in their forties or fifties, because it took that long for them to find what looked like a golden opportunity for crime.

But nobody's judgment is infallible - not even yours. And us blinkered, binary, mediocre types - all of us with such inferior character and abilities - we are better at our jobs than you suppose. So like most folks who thought they could get away with it, you will eventually be proven wrong.

The point is this: the police are absolutely the villains of your particular life story. Because someday, they are very likely to be the ones who put you in a cage.

Until then, keep congratulating yourself on your own cleverness, and see if it changes the way this story ends.

What an absolutely dog shit post devoid of any actual thought or value that doesn't remotely address anything I said. I'm not surprised you're in law enforcement.

[Atlantic Federalist Republic]

I'm feeling very good to see that the topic has not been closed, unlike my last one, I'm glad they're talking about the subject (I hope so)