Yes, I understand; it's going to be hard for some people to wrap their heads around the title of of this diary, and around its content. Cognitively, I'm leapfrogging a bit over the vast gulf between what is typically a general understanding by the population that they may be living in a police state and the actual imposition of it. Hell, some people are just now becoming aware of ALEC, the Koch Brothers, and Pete Peterson.
But just like at some point we have to learn that there is no Santa Claus (and worst, that he actually does not come down the chimney on Christmas eve), one day it will be necessary for people to understand that we already lost the last remnants of democracy, and that we are in the middle of an imposition of a corporatist police state.
Please, for those "good citizens" who are going to exhibit the typical knee-jerk reaction to this type of criticism of the police, like "How dare you impugn police officers; they put their lives on the line every day; most of them are decent, law abiding, and take their oath to protect and serve very seriously," I ask you to first read this diary carefully before you react in such a fashion.
It all starts at the top. Equal justice under the law does not exist in this country. In reality, the concept has always been kind of a farce, but it has never been this grotesque, this in-your-face.
We have a two-tiered justice system. One overtly lenient and convenient for the top 1 percent, and one increasingly punishing and draconian for the rest of us.
This is why during the last several years we've seen massive war crimes committed by our leaders (with total impunity), massive looting and pillaging by Wall Street and war profiteers, all done with total impunity.
This is why income inequality and poverty are increasing at a faster and faster rate, mainly caused by the imposition of policies specifically design for that outcome, by a system of government on the take, who answers to their corporatist cartels paymasters.
This is why you are being subjected to mind-numbing corporate propaganda 24/7, mainly designed to manipulate you, and to keep you from realizing the true nature of what's going on...
And this is why this criminal ruling elite has carefully built a total-information-awareness police state, and it has chipped away at our constitutional protections.
This fascistic infrastructure is already in place, and now of course, it will be deployed for the benefit of the criminal Junta that has taken over the country.
As the war on the middle class, and the workers continues unabated, this situation is going to create crushing pressure on the population, starting at the lower rungs.
Inevitably, this pressure is going to manifest itself in many ways, including all kinds of violent acts, like suicides, robberies, mass shootings, kidnappings, etc.
But if you pay close attention, you will notice that the victims of this violence are usually average folks. The rich and powerful are already taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from the mayhem they are causing. Their kids don't go to war; they don't suffer the consequences of violence in the ghetto; they don't get car-jacked; their properties don't get burglarized, by and large.
It is within this context that the ruling elite is flooding the country with guns. Think about it; you create the conditions that bring about crushing pressure on a population, and then give them guns...
This works perfectly for the criminal ruling elite. The pressure they cause becomes so great, that it starts affecting some people more than others; it creates all kinds of dysfunction, psychological afflictions, stress, etc., and it is only logical (to be expected) that some people will use the guns to kill their families and themselves, or go on shooting rampages.
The people that planned this situation, anticipating the stages we would go through, put together the current surveillance police state.
That's why you also see the fast militarization of police forces...
When random acts of violence occur (which again, given the conditions, are to be expected), then the police state comes alive, parading thousands of security personnel in full military gear, armored vehicles, automatic weapons, etc.
Purportedly, they are doing it to "protect you," taking advantage of your fear (which is whipped up by their propaganda arm, the corporate media).
With every act of random violence, and the accompanied (disproportionate) militarized police response, the fascist police state entrenches itself even more.
In the meantime, the real terrorizing, the real crime (at a massive, massive level) is being committed by the criminal ruling elite. But because they are doing it piecemeal, slowly, deliberately, the populace can't grasp the depths of the depravity and predation behind it.
It is within this context that police forces around the country routinely kill and torture innocent people, with total impunity. And it is within this context that police officers lie routinely, and stand in fascist formation behind the thin blue line.
Does that mean that all police officers are torturers, and killers of innocent people? That would be an absurd assertion, of course. One thing doesn't negate the other.
This is a fact, provable, unavoidable, clear as day: Across this country (some) police officers routinely kill and torture innocent people, with total impunity.
It is also true that police officers serve honorably... But this diary is not about the good police officers. That's not where the problem is.
How did this situation came about? As more and more people realize the true nature of our system of government, and start to understand the real consequences of having a cabal of corporatist cartels running things, the possibility for uprising in peaceful protests will increase, as people take to the streets to demand redress.
By having set up all the infrastructure, both physical and legal, for a repressive police state, the criminal ruling elite can then use the police (and security forces) as basically corporate goons to protect them from an awakened (and angry) populace.
So ask yourself one simple question... Next time you see or hear about ten police officers beating a man to death in front of an entire neighborhood, as the man clamors for help, do you think there is any more clear example of killing and torturing by the police?
