How much value you put on your dignity, on freedom, on human and constitutional rights? Do you agree with this statement: There can't be a greater offense against a human being than someone putting their hands on them in aggression, regardless of who the aggressor is.
Let's push the envelope on that concept, for argument's sake... Let's said you're at your local City Council meeting during a public hearing and some policy of the myriad of policies designed to strip people off of their rights being systematically implemented across the entire country is being discussed, and your emotions get the better of you and you become disruptive and say something like "That is total bullshit! The community is not going to accept it; we are going to stand against it."
Now, let's say that the outburst makes some people in the room very uncomfortable. And you continue your "tirade" and utter a few other chosen words in anger... As you are finishing getting whatever you wanted to say off your chest, there comes the deputy or security personnel.
As they approach you, others in the room (many in fact) are actually hoping and waiting for you to be grabbed by your arms, manhandled, and removed from the room.
Those dynamics right there, I argue, are the reason the increasingly fascist police forces around the country seem to be able to abuse people with total impunity. It is because of the petty tyrants, system apologists, authoritarians among us that fascism is finding its footing.
Here's my point, again... Before any person sees it necessary to put their hands on another human being in aggression, first of all, there would have to be an extraordinary situation/reason such as an imminent physical threat, and second of all, all possible options (imaginable) should have been exhausted.
And this should apply to any person acting as possible aggressor, including--and especially--the police.
In other words, any person who puts their hands on you to restrain you or to search you, acting under the color of law, without clear probable cause, should not get the approval of one single citizen. That act instead should be viewed as a major, major affront to human dignity, a grave violation of your constitutional rights, and something that't not going to be tolerated in any way shape or form.
The minute someone puts their hands on another person, under the color law, without proper justification, el pueblo should react with a collective gasp, in disapproval!
Also, within the context of the situation we find ourselves in today, where a tiny group of truly immoral sociopathic and sadistic wealthy individuals have basically captured the levers of (political) power through a system of legalized bribery, and are systematically exploiting and subjugating the citizenry, using a for profit corporate-controlled surveillance/intelligence apparatus and an increasingly brutal, militarized police forces, it is extremely important that we change the narrative of police forces as "heroes" to what they are actually becoming: increasingly fascistic corporate goons.
Now, before I proceed, let me make a distinction here (mainly for my system apologists' readers)... Am I saying that all police officers are corporate goons? No. Am I saying that there are no cops protecting and serving their communities across the country? No.
What I'm saying is that insofar as the Corporate State cements its increasingly fascistic control (for the purpose of exploitation in the name of corporate profits) on the population, the rich fucks who are doing it are going to use the surveillance apparatus and the militarized police forces to do it. As a reminder, think about how DHS coordinated with states' and cities' government officials to brutally suppress the Occupy Wall Street movement.
And speaking of the Occupy Wall Street movement, here's I saw it back in 2011, when I wrote the following diary: "Take your hands off me"
We should all, collectively conceptualize the notion that there is no graver offense when it comes to human interaction, than the act of putting your hands on another human being, in aggression.
No one has the right to commit assault and battery against another human being, especially if there is no immediate danger of grave bodily harm, or in self-defense. And especially, when it comes to police forces, if they find it necessary to use force because of an extreme situation, they must not use unnecessary and excessive force.
Within this context, the surveillance state and the increasingly militarized police forces around the country are tools of oppression, and I argue that we should start viewing them as such.
As many readers know by now, today another outrage was committed by the corporate state: NYT: Court Blocks Stop-and-Frisk Changes for New York Police
When I read about the euphemistically-called practice of "stop-and-frisk" I can't get my head around the idea of me walking, minding my own goddamned business, not doing anything illegal, and having some thuggish cop stop me and put his hands on me, and search my pockets, my briefcase/backpack/bag.
But again, what's even worst than that is that there is a huge number of average folks who actually applaud the practice; the petty tyrants among us.
When I read the comments of people who support the practice, I see that they argue that it is good because it has helped lower violent crime rates, and that since most killings happen in minority communities, it ultimately benefit minority men who are protected from being shot.
What an utter bullshit! First of all, insofar as there is social dysfunction in many communities of color (I don't like to use that term, but it will do for now), the root causes are related to a systematic imposition of poverty and neglect at the behest of the ruling elite. Defunding of the social safety net, defunding of education and public housing, institutionalized racism and discrimination. All these things engender dysfunction, including crime.
So the solution for these fascists is, instead of relenting in their systemic oppression and increasing the flow of resources (housing, public education, jobs), they use these communities as experimental grounds for the imposition of a police state.
And they have the gall, the chutzpah, to say that it is good for them!
Within this context is that I fully understand those who once in a while say "Fuck the police."
And within this context is that I argue that it is time to stop the adulation of authority, of the police, of what has become a two-tired in-justice system. It's time to rise up and fight back (in peaceful resistance) against the imposition of the police state.