The State of the Police: Part 2

In part one of this series, I started off talking about the long road we've taken where recent situations like the death of Eric Garner have become more and more prevalent. One of the major factors playing into instances like this is the "Rise of the Warrior Cop", the title of Radley Balko's best-selling book, where cops are becoming increasingly militarized in their efforts to double down on the failed War and Drugs. The outcome of this has been multiple generations of blacks and minorities being unfairly targeted and affected, a factor likely at play in the anger witnessed at protests resulting from the Mike Brown and Eric Garner decisions. In this part I'll discuss the role the War on Terror and our wars abroad have had in the militarization of our police here at home.

America as a Battlefield
Ever since 9/11, we have seen a massive growth in federal, state, and local law enforcement operations. After the failure to prevent 9/11, George W. Bush saw fit to create an overarching Department of Homeland Security that would supposedly streamline intelligence bureaus so that the interdepartmental communications failures leading up to those tragic events could be avoided in the future.

While this sounded heroic and noble at the time, what this has created is a national security apparatus that has put into irreversible motion the Big Brother state that George Orwell so presciently wrote about in his book 1984. It became the first step in a series of steps that might be akin to the "boiling frogs" analogy. This is the one where, if you put a frog in boiling water, of course it will jump out. But if you put a frog in cold water and gradually increase the heat, it will stay in the pot and not even realize that it's slowly becoming cooked to death. As we keep taking steps away from liberty and towards authoritarianism, our fate might soon reach the same outcome as the proverbial frog in boiling water.

If the creation of the DHS was the first big log in the fire, the next big increase in the water temperature would be the creation of the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration, another federal expansion brought to us by the Bush administration in the wake of 9/11. This is the department that now treats everyone as guilty until proven innocent, is allowed to physically molest your person, has been accused of hundreds of instances of theft, and generally makes airline travel miserable for everyone but still has yet to foil a single terrorist plot since its inception. While the TSA has mainly been confined to airport travel, since 2005 it has been expanded via the VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) program that allows the TSA to operate at sports stadiums, rodeos, music festivals, and other transportation hubs like bus depots and subway stations.

 The TSA and DHS are prime examples of what happens when you begin to paint America itself as a battlefield. While the politicians want you to believe that all the wars are being fought overseas, their rhetoric and their policies have predictably spilled over into domestic programs. Why is this? Because when people are fearful, they will happily trade in their liberties for promises of security. When they do this, it emboldens and enriches those tasked with providing our security, namely the federal, state, and local governments and they yet again ratchet up the heat on unsuspecting Americans who think the confines of the pot will keep them safe from any danger.

We are now commonly seeing local law enforcement agencies using federal grants from the DHS to purchase leftover battle equipment from our foreign wars to use here at home. Also, returning veterans from our wars abroad are now being recruited when their duty is over to serve on the police force. Why do tiny towns with populations of 50,000 or less people need military style mine resistant tanks to enforce the law? Why do the cops of Main Street, USA need full body armor, especially when the data shows that it's never been safer to be a cop?  What happens when you take people from one literal battlefield and transport them to a metaphorical one instead?

Combine this with the disturbing news article from several months back about the company providing law enforcement agencies with a line of "No More Hesitation" targets utilizing lifelike images of pregnant women, children, and elderly people for officers to use for target practice. The explicit purpose of the targets was to desensitize and accustom law enforcement officers to use deadly force to subdue non-traditional, threatening entities that might otherwise cause them to hesitate to shoot. This, of course, begs the question, who is the real enemy now? Have our politicians succeeded in transforming America into a battlefield and conditioning us, through privacy violating institutions like the TSA, to meekly submit to authority for our own safety's sake?

Putting It All Together
But how does this relate to the events in Ferguson? Well as I highlighted in my previous article, a heavy portion of this over-militarization of the police is going towards the enforcement of the War on Drugs with the SWAT style no-knock, flash grenade raids supplanting the traditional knock, we have a warrant to search your place, less violent and confrontational approach used once upon a time. All these tools and resources going to expand the War on Drugs further continues the cycle started awhile ago of the racial disparities that are readily apparent in the enforcement and application of the drug war. This has resulted in a long simmering anger in the black community of feeling unfairly targeted and punished by police for crimes committed equally as much by whites.

The simmer came to a boil after the non-indictment of Darren Wilson in the shooting of Mike Brown. While many people agree with the non-indictment and don't believe there should have been any protest or discontent associated with it, I made the point that perhaps these protests transcend just one case and are indicative of the latent feelings of a community as a whole sick of constantly being victimized while the victimizers are never brought to justice.

Enter the riot police. Of course looting shouldn't happen and it was the wrong response for those who were disenchanted with the Mike Brown verdict, but it was expected and so the riot police was called in. The role of law and law enforcement should be to protect persons and property. Instead, they seemed to be more playing the role of antagonizers than protectors. Their liberal use of tear gas at the Ferguson protests was directed more towards peaceful bystanders and on journalists than it was on any looters. It was also confirmed, after much speculation, that the no-fly zone enacted over the Ferguson airspace was indeed meant solely to keep news helicopters from flying around and not for the purported safety reasons they claimed. While nobody was condoning the tactics used by the looters in Ferguson, many people, including Senator Rand Paul, were equally as concerned about the militaristic and heavy-handed response from the police in trying to quell the violence.

Of course, when you arm your local police force to look like a standing army, what sort of affect do you think that has on the psyche of the police force? When you provide police agencies with targets designed to look like everyday Americans, what do you think that does to the psyche of a police officer? When potential violence is about to descend on an area, in light of all this hypermilitaristic outfitting and preparation, who do you think these police officers think the enemy is? It appears to be all of us, because in the post-9/11 era, America has indeed become the battlefield and we ordinary citizens have indeed been labelled the enemy. They are not here to serve and protect us but to keep us from getting in the way of carrying out the agenda set forth by the true people they serve and protect: their political masters.

While much of the narrative that has played out in Ferguson and the Eric Garner cases has focused on the black/white narrative, and to be sure there is certainly a great deal of that at play, what is getting missed in the meantime is that this does transcend race relations in that our police forces are directing their violence increasingly towards people of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities. This is not so much about black vs. white as it is them vs. us and tyranny vs. freedom. We are all in danger when we allow our local police officers to take on the dual role of standing army, a predicament we were warned about by our Founding Fathers.

There is a small beacon of light in all of this. While the National Guard was busy protecting the police headquarters in Ferguson and the riot police were busy teargassing journalists and innocent bystanders, there were some other brave souls who stood up for the people and businesses of Ferguson against the would-be looters: the Oathkeepers.

In the third and final part in this series about the state of the police, we'll look at the role the Oathkeepers played in Ferguson and explore other alternatives to the government goon squad, also known as the police force, and see whether there is a role for private security in the future to possibly provide competition to the government monopoly system currently in place.  

 

Life Got You Down? Blame Government

Are you happy? Are you satisfied with your job, making good money, have a loving family that you spend loads of time with, you're in perfect health, have no debt, got a good education, plenty of money in the retirement account, own a nice home that you're able to update semi-regularly, take vacations annually, and all the rest? I mean, that's the American dream, isn't it? The one we've been taught is achievable in America and nowhere else because of our grand, unrelenting commitment to freedom and individuality. Or are some or all of those areas lacking in your life?

I was thinking about it earlier and I'm quite certain that most of the discontent we experience in our lives can easily be found with its roots in government. There are some out there who think corporations are the world's greatest evil, but do corporations have as much influence over your day-to-day life as government does? Can corporations hold a gun to your head and make you pay for goods and services you don't want? Can corporations be absolutely inefficient, fail in their mandates and missions, lose money year after year, steal from you, fine you for not buying their products, violate your civil liberties and still count on you giving them your business? No, of course not. They have to earn your business. Government just points a gun at you and forces you to do business with them and on their terms only. That's not to say that there aren't bad corporations out there with evil business models, but once again that's because of government enabled cronyism. While businesses and corporations can cause minor hiccups in our day-to-day lives (ohmgygawd, I just spent 30 minutes on hold with Verizon #hearthisassholes), it's the ever-present leviathan of government hanging over our heads, like an eternally cloudy sky that you don't even notice anymore (but once you're "awake" you  notice it all the time), that causes us the most misery.

For example, are you or a family member sick or suffering from chronic pain and you can't get your hands on the drugs you need to treat it? That would be government's fault. Government is keeping marijuana, medicinal and otherwise, illegal and off market in many states. The FDA is the one holding up approval on potentially life-saving drugs, drugs that terminally ill patients are more than willing to risk their already dying lives to take in the hope that it might give them a few more precious months or, God-willing, years on this earth. The market is trying to bring life-saving drugs to the people who desire it at affordable prices. The only reason you can't have them is because of government laws, red tape, and regulations. Food and drug safety and efficacy can be proved by various private, competing entities and get safe drugs to market much faster than the several years-long process it takes for the FDA to complete its studies.

Moving on, what about your quality of life and finances? Are you happy in your job, following your dreams and passions? No? Why not start your own business? Maybe start small and work out of your home? Oh, because your local government regulations prevent home businesses? Hmm, well how about you become a professional of some sort? Oh, you don't have the right government licensing for your floral shop or interior design degree? Understandable. I can see why we need the government to protect us from the dangers of unlicensed florists and interior designers. Or from the horrors of a bad haircut. The stuff of nightmares really. Well why not go back to school to pursue that degree you've always wanted? Too expensive? Was that Amazon's fault, or Ebay's? Hmm, don't think so. When government will hand out or subsidize student loans for everyone with a pulse, it increases demand. The only way to satisfy demand and create equilibrium in the market is to raise prices. Rising prices means it's less affordable, so we need more student loans. Oh vicious circle! And many in government insist that we must make it our goal that every child in America receive a college degree. Because there's no better way to render something completely valueless than by making sure everyone has one. But if you still think that going into debt to get that online degree from Phoenix University that every Tom, Dick, and Harry is now trying to get will finally give you the leg up you've been looking for, be my guest. However, if it doesn't work, you know who to blame <whisper> government.

Have you taken your annual vacation this year? Full two weeks? No debt? Trying to figure out what exactly it is you're saving all that money for anyway? No? Walmart charging you too high of prices again so you can't save money? Or could it be something else.... You see, our government thinks it can control money. They think that they can solve all of our economic woes by printing money or otherwise manipulating the currency. You'll hear our politicians claim that inflation is a good thing. Government will tell you that rising prices makes everyone wealthier because, you know, I never feel richer than when I pay $4 for a gallon of gas that only cost $3 last year. Your home is worth more, but with that food prices keep rising, gas prices keep rising, the cost to heat and cool your home keep rising, but the price of iPads is falling so there's that. I hear they're quite tasty when baked and feed a family of four quite easily.

 Despite the constantly rising prices that you've been told make everyone wealthier, you can never quite figure out what happens to your paycheck each month. And while your home might be valued at $250k, you can't manage to sell it because who's able to save $50k for a nice, respectable 20% down payment? Nobody! But that's okay. Government to the rescue again! They'll subsidize agencies like Fannie and Freddie to give you a loan for as little as 3% down, no savings needed! What could possibly go wrong? Without government, who would force banks and other entities to give out loans to people to buy overpriced homes they can't afford? Wait, don't tell me...Walmart. Amiright?

Not only is your paycheck being eaten away by the insidious hidden tax known as inflation, it's also being eaten away by the never-ending string of overt taxes we're subject to. Sales tax, income tax, payroll tax, property tax, hotel tax, rental car tax, airfare tax, death tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, corporate tax, the not buying a product you don't want tax (aka Obamacare), excise tax, gasoline tax, utility taxes, telephone usage tax, cigarette tax, luxury tax, gift tax, gambling tax, lotto winning tax, IRA early withdrawal tax, vehicle sales tax, and on and on and on. Really, though, they're doing you a favor. The government steals this money from you and makes it harder to make ends meet each month because if they didn't you would probably spend it irresponsibly. It's much better that they spend it irresponsibly for you.

"But," you may say, "I'm willing to pay those taxes because I get important government goods and services in return." Like pothole free roads. And pleasant, stress-free visits to the DMV. And an easily navigable and affordable justice system that works for the little guy. And over 700 military bases all over the world. I'm sure if the government weren't stealing your money from you every two weeks you would willingly donate that money to the military bases in Germany and Japan that are so imperative to our safety. You can never be too safe, after all. Which is why I thank the Lord every time I go to the airport and get groped down, nude scanned, or irradiated that my money was taken from me forcibly to pay for my safe travels. Granted, they've never caught a single terrorist no matter how much money I give them but I'm sure it will pay off one day. Given how greedy corporations are, I know American Airlines and Southwest have zero interest in keeping their flights and passengers safe and therefore would not be willing to provide adequate security measures for their passengers; it would eat into their bottom line after all. Terrorists would just keep hijacking their planes and Jetblue would be all like "That's cool. Any publicity is good publicity, right?"

Don't even get me started on companies like Apple. How dare Apple invade countries like China and give those Chinese workers jobs they would never have had otherwise so that Americans can buy highly innovative and desirable products that have literally changed human life at reasonable prices!? If Apple were more like government, they would have invaded China with the Apple Army they keep on retainer, destroyed Chinese cities to build their factories (for which the Chinese should be grateful), used their Army to take out all competition, and then hired a bunch of union workers to charge $20/hr to work no more than 8 hours a day so that in 10 years time they could sell you a phone the size of your shoe for $5000 and then balked at you if you weren't grateful to them because if it weren't for them you wouldn't have a portable phone at all dontchyaknow?

I could do this all day, but stop for a moment and just think about it. Who controls the money? Government. Who controls interest rates on money? The Federal Reserve. Who determines the type of currency we use? Government. Who prints the money that causes inflation? The Federal Reserve. Who forcibly takes money away from us to pay for things we don't want (and maybe a few things we do)? Government. Who controls your education? Government. Who controls your food? Government. Who controls your healthcare? Government. Who controls your retirement? Government. Let's not even think about this in the left/right paradigm. These things are true no matter which party is in power and have been for half a century now or more. It's time to wake up. It's time to open your eyes. It's time to see what's really going on here. It's time to join the revolution. As Katniss Everdeen was told in book 2 of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as she was battling for her life against her competitors in the Capital-controlled games, "Remember who the real enemy is." I promise you it's not Walmart.