Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
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The BLS has been measuring the unemployment rate the same way since 1940.
> Yes. And still the US had less CO2 production, less plastic waste, and more sustainable lifestyle.
You're taking a by-product of 1970s car exhausts as if it's a permanent given.
The was more of almost every type of type of non C02 industrial pollutant. There was acid rain, and we were punching a hole in the ozone with refrigerants. Pesticides in use then were far more toxic to people and wildlife. Asbestos was everywhere, and lead was in everything.
We could certainly consume fewer disposable things, but the tradeoff is that being poor today affords people a far higher material standard of living than in 1960 by literally any metric.
> Yes. And still the US had less CO2 production
This is almost entirely solvable over the next few decades.
> 2022 really doesn't want to start an argument about extinguished species with the 1960s.
You could and you'd find that numerous large charismatic species on the verge of extinction by the mid 70s have recovered in much of the world. The US has become so rich that we're re-wilding and re-introducing displaced species. The rest of the world could follow.
> Far better, more progressive, and forward looking political upheaval than in the last 10 years...
We started a drug war and the expansion of the carceral state in the late 60s[1]. MLK, JFK, RFK, and Malcom X were all assassinated so I wouldn't call that progressive upheaval. And the progressive upheaval caused by the likes of The Weather Underground or the SLA is hardly impressive.
> Those are historical incidents
Everyone living under the constant threat of nuclear holocaust was kind of a wer blanket.
> The 60s was the era that got rid of the last of Jim Crow laws.
By the end, and replaced it with a drug war.
In the 60s crime was higher, material wealth was less plentiful, more people lived in poverty, life expectancy was shorter, and most people in society had few options. Localized environmental pollution was worse. Cars were far less safe, and mortality by all causes was higher.
> Not the experience of most who lived through them and herald them as a great age
Nostalgia does that to people, but basically all objective measures of life quality were worse.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
Just look at any major police scandal in the past decade. There's almost always an attempt at a cover up, and always a ton of officers that knew about it and did nothing. No matter what the crime or infraction is, police protect their own and circle up in the face of even the most benign criticism. There's a great book called I Got a Monster [1] that details Baltimore's infamous gun task force, and it's shocking how many people knew what they were up to for years. People who look the other way aren't good apples. For a bit of history, Radley Balko's Rise of the Warrior Cop [2] does a great job detailing the growth of us vs. them thinking among police nationally.
> It can be VERY hard to do the right thing, especially when it means it's the last thing you get to do (before you lose your job).
Police are almost NEVER fired. The number one goal of police unions is to prevent any firing for any reason ever, and they are very successful at that.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Got-Monster-Americas-Corrupt-Police/d...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
Police funding is now more often used to to acquire military weapons/hardware.
"Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" is a highly recommended study of this problem.
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces by Radley Balko may be interesting reading for you.
I think that's why the USA is a police state instead of totalitarian utopia in that metaphor.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/30/does-military-equipment-lead-police-officers-to-be-more-violent-we-did-the-research/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.515653ac2481
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/police-militarization-fails-to-protect-officers-and-targets-black-communities-study-finds
And here, it may seem strange but is actually logical that the thinking of real cops who don't shoot it out everyday seems to be driven by the images of TV cops who do.
This book is relevant here.
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
Radley Balko is a writer who's covered the issue thoroughly: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
I just think it's pretty clear by now that the primary driving factor for police criminality becoming a political issue is that very many members of the socio-economic underclass now have internet-connected video cameras on them at all times.
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
If they're regulated, next time they drag someone off a plane, they'll say "We were just following the handbook and were in accordance with federal regulations. Take it up with the FAA"
So no, no need to regulate the industry.
Also, the body you want to regulate them (the government) routinely does much, much worse to people.[0]
[0] https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
> No cop is going to look at me and go, "What a beautiful woman! Let's give her a pass!"
lol, it is amusing (and telling) that you believe attractiveness is the only the only factor.
>The fact is, most people who have a problem with cops when they are doing their jobs (or just existing) are fucking entitled idiots.
I have a problem with cops because I am ethically opposed to the Use of Violence in the enforcement of 99% of the laws on the books
Things like the War on Drugs where police murder people because they happen to have unapproved plant material in their possession. I am a life long Libertarian, I believe in personal liberty, and the Philosophy of Liberty.
I have followed, researched and studied police abuse and the Militarization of police for nearly 17 years
There is a SYSTEMIC problem in policing, it is not "a few bad apples" it is a SYSTEMIC issue, the comes as a direct result of the War on Drugs, and "Tough on Crime" bullshit coupled with Federal programs that give Law Enforcement tools of war to be used on the Streets on US Cities.
The Modern Police force today is nearly indistinguishable from a Paramilitary Organization.
Good for you that your Damsel in Distress routine has allowed you to get assistance from a Warrior Cop with out being Victimized, Shall I start posting links to all the abuse victims that were not as lucky?
Do you want to talk to the parents of the Infant that had his face blown off by a cop that literally tossed an explosive device in the infants crib? Was that just a "bad apple", the police dept did not think so because he is still on the job with no punishment at all
I am sure that baby was violating some law the warranted that violence to be visited upon him
I invite you to Read
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
or visit /r/BadCopNo_Donut
https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/1610394577 it's a really great read.
Radley Balko's book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop ", explains how the USA got to this awful situation, where pseudo-military special police teams are used all the time in situations completely different from those - like armed hostage-takers and body-armoured bank robbers - that were used to justify the creation of SWAT teams.
Indeed, the way to bust a drug dealer is to wait until he goes to the supermarket and clobber him as he gets out of his car, not to barge into his house, where he keeps all his guns, a-shoutin' and a-shootin' and pretending you're soldiers.