The police want us to live in fear of them; we are their enemy.

[MindPilot]

Law enforcement has demonstrated that in superlative fashion over the past couple weeks, but the “you must live in fear of us” meme has been pushed in much subtler and middle-class friendly ways for quite some time.

This kind of coalesced in my mind last night when I saw an anti-drunk-driving PSA on my TV. It didn’t tell me that drunk driving is really risky, and generally results in death and destruction. No, that is not the reason I should be sober when I drive, so I don’t commit vehicular murder and mayhem. Nothing at all that reasonable.

The real reason I should get a cab home is because I need to be afraid of the police. NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, WE ARE WATCHING. WE WILL FIND YOU AND YOU WILL GO TO JAIL.!!! The add screams while showing me picture of cops blending into the surroundings, just lying in wait.

The California Highway Patrol has their fear-driven “click it or ticket” campaign. They don’t tell people “wear a seat belt so you don’t take trip through the windshield when you crash”, which is the reason I, and I suspect every other driver with more than one-and-a-half brains cells, straps in. No it is YOU DO IT BECAUSE THE POLICE TELL YOU TO DO IT!!! We are your overlords
.
I’m tired of living under police rule, I’m tired of being a criminal who just hasn’t been caught yet, and I’m tired of every day seeing yet another incident of some LEO killing or injuring someone because officer safety or something.

If there are any lurking cops here, your job wouldn’t be so dangerous (it’s not really, but let’s pretend for a moment it is) if you quit acting like you are some superior life form and your job is to oppress and control the civilian population.

WE ARE NOT THE ENEMY!


And this comes from an old middle-class white guy.

[iandhr]

1. Though I am no fan of the the horrific actions of the police of late...

…

I have no problem with Click it or ticket. Or Drunk driving=jail time.

[MindPilot]

2. Nice job of completely missing the point.

Thanks.

[marew]

3. +1 n/t

[Jenoch]

8. I understand the point you wish to make,

but I do not think your theory that all cops wish the public to be in fear of them is universal everywhere in the U.S. While I have observed the 'Click It or Ticket' campaign, I believe the fear is supposed to be paying the fine, not to fear the cops. I do not have fear of law enforcement. Of course, I'm a suburban white guy.

[MindPilot]

9. You'll get there, don't worry.

[1NiceShark]

12. click it ticket is fairly benign

dui has turned into a witch hunt! granted the u.s laws are in line with the rest of the civilized world... but guess what? much less public transport here. if they are going to enforce it like they do now, may as well ban selling it in restaurants & bars because as soon as you have one, you are legally "drunk". I doubt the stricter laws have eliminated or reduced the catastrophic things that happen because of dui. what IS happening is otherwise law abiding citizens are being tormented & shamed unnecessarily. I drink & drink a lot. I guess I'm biased. I also pay a lot of taxes on my sins that the Puritans don't pay. Anyway that's my rant.

[MindPilot]

14. Agreed...my personal peeve is the checkpoints.

Although "click it or ticket" is fairly benign, it is still emblematic of the whole "comply or else" mentality. You don't do this because it may save you from injury or death, do it or you will be punished.

We have become far too much of a fear-driven, punitive society.

[Stonepounder]

15. The big difference between us and the rest of the civilized world re DUI

is that the rest of the civilized world societally considers DUI to be a really bid deal and totally not socially acceptable. When my wife lived in Great Britain a number of years ago, a second offence resulted in licence revocation (ie. you never got to legally drive again).

Here, we laugh it off, as do the courts. Several years ago my wife worked in a law firm. One of the women she worked with stopped of at the bar every single night on her way home. She got 4 DUI's in a single year, and got every one of them pleaded down, paid a fine, never did a day of jail time, and kept right on getting drunk and driving home every night.

I'll take anything at all that helps keep drunk drivers (and people talking on cell phones while driving) off the road.

[MindPilot]

16. zero-tolerance bullshit

We treat the guy who is on his way home from dinner after two drinks exactly the same as the guy who blows 2.5 over the limit and has 6 convictions and 18 crashes.

Ever notice whenever there is a bad crash involving a drunk driver, it is usually someone with real high BAC and a string of convictions?

[1NiceShark]

19. Exactly

Laws will never dissuade "those" people from drinking a fifth & pills & driving!

[1NiceShark]

17. I agree. There is TOTALLY

zero excuse in those countries to drink & drive because of public transport. In much of this country there remains terrible public transit options. I don't know where true impairment actually occurs, but take it from an old party animal, the current trend for legal impairment is a joke. Don't get me wrong, I may still have a couple happy hour beers, but that's it (and drive)! You wouldn't believe how intoxicated I have been (many years ago) and let go because they at least had some discretion. I wouldn't do that on a bet anymore! Penalties are pretty stiff if you aren't "connected"

[Stonepounder]

22. I'm sorry, but I'm in the zero-tolerance group.

If you can't find a 'designated driver', afford a taxi, don't have public transportation available, or don't have anyone to call, then don't F*ing drive after drinking! I really don't give a damn if you cream yourself, but its the innocent folk you take with you. And don't you dare blame it on lack of public transportation. If we wanted public transportation and were willing to pay for it, we would have it. But just about everywhere you go, any time there is a ballot proposition to fund public transportation people scream to the high heavens about the cost and do everything they can to kill it.

Just don't drink and drive. The life you save may be mine!

[1NiceShark]

33. Excuse me?

Cream myself? Uh, ok. You are certainly in the majority with you view. I'm just saying they are a bit over the top. Or are they? in my opinion yes... but you know what, millions do it every day (drink & drive). Really unless you hit a road block, or you hit someone, or get hit, it doesn't get caught. I would agree that the tougher laws have created more awareness among responsible citizens. The irresponsible among us will never change! I'm generally about as liberal as they get, but on this I'm a "libertarian" 😜 I realize my position is very politically incorrect. I just think they are lowering "legal" impairment to ridiculous levels IF you continue to sell liquor by the drink in Restaurants, bars, golf courses, etc. Just don't do it, or don't get caught because it continues to happen every single day in America. Put my alcohol taxes toward public transit. I'm all for it!

[1NiceShark]

34. To clarify

I live in a walkable community partially because of this "witch hunt", among other reasons. I, as a rule, do not drink & drive. Certainly not after dark. I take taxis or have a designated driver. I get the point it is illegal. Still hard to practice avoidance as a 20, 30, 40 something. Or in my reality it was.

[iandhr]

35. the legal limit is .08 in most places

One beer should put you at .04 if I rember health class correctly

[A HERETIC I AM]

36. Depends on the size of the person.

A 300 lb man or woman is not going to blow .04 after one beer.

A 125 lb man or woman, may.

Edit to add: FWIW, I hold a CDL. My limit is .04 nationwide no matter what.

[hifiguy]

4. I have been noticing this for years.

It is pure propaganda, not public service announcements.

[TeeYiYi]

5. "I’m tired of being a criminal who just hasn’t been caught yet"

That says it all. That's how I feel with the increased, militarized police presence in our for-profit prison society.

TYY

[ybbor]

27. This^^^

"But you have nothing to fear if you aren't doing anything wrong"


Oh yeah forgot the really important word at the end of that sentence, ... YET.

[rock]

6. Correct

They do not look on their job as cooperative but adversarial.

[SunSeeker]

7. K & R

[jtuck004]

10. And INSIST we pay them, too much, for decreasing value. n/t

[zeemike]

11. They have adopted the philosophy of Machiavelli.

"It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both."

[Enthusiast]

21. The nation ideal has become Machiavellian + Ayn Rand. The perfect recipe for disaster.

[zeemike]

37. And the perfect match up of philosophies.

Economic and political power go together like ham and cheese.

[1NiceShark]

13. Hear,hear

Completely agree! Sadly most middle class white folks will not.

[kentuck]

18. And some people are more compliant than others...

Some consider it a "freedom" question. They do not like to submit to such intrusions.

There is a fear that if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. And they probably will...?

[Enthusiast]

20. I'm with you, MindPilot!

Old white guy, some class, not much. [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[therehegoes]

23. Another middle class white guy that cops screwed and tampered with evidence in Texas

I'm the owner of the copyright so here's the basics and the link

http://friscopaul.blogspot.com/2014/08/reasonable-doubt-in-paul-bailey-case.html

REASONABLE DOUBT IN PAUL BAILEY CASE ENHANCED BY Ex-Cop SCOTT GREER'S MALFEASANCE
BUT PAUL BAILEY STILL HAS TO WAIT FOR JUSTICE



In a criminal trial, the burden of proof is on the government. Defendants do not have to prove their innocence UNLESS THE DEFENDANT HAD INCOMPETENT COLLUSIVE ATTORNEYS AND THE DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE PROOF OF TAMPERING UNTIL AFTER THE TRIAL!

The standard of proof in a criminal trial is proof "beyond a reasonable doubt," which means the evidence must be so strong that there is no reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime. That is now in question due to Scott Greer's latest issues appearing in news recently. Reasonable doubt has clearly been proven now that a rational investigation has taken place and multiple experts have pointed out problems they have with the evidence used against Mr. Bailey AND THE SERIOUS MISTAKES/COLLUSION OF HIS COURT APPOINTED PUBLIC PRETENDERS.

In recent weeks, we've seen the media circus surrounding Scott Greer's sexual misconduct (formerly of Frisco PD and recently investigated by the Texas Rangers) and the Frisco PD's "audit" of Greer's activity in the last 2 years (that was convenient since they are clearly aware of Paul Bailey's case which was over two years ago- they didn't want to open that can of worms!) We're including the link about his recent malfeasance.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20140709-frisco-detectives-sexual-misconduct-may-jeopardize-trials.ece

In Paul Bailey's Collin County Case, the Judge recently appointed an attorney without his knowledge (who has never contacted him despite his requests) so they wouldn't have to bench warrant him back to Collin County, but in the photo below, you can see the docket says this Attorney couldn't reveal evidence to client. (photo of docket is below) The law says they are supposed to provide the reason they are sealing evidence, but they've not even told him via letter that he has an attorney! We can only assume that this is an indication that Collin County has an open and ongoing investigation into whoever tampered with the evidence, and whether the other officers also perjured themselves. Whatever the reason, things are still odd and irregular in Collin County!

[Trust Buster]

24. I'm grateful for law enforcement for w/o them, America would be a war zone.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. In case you hadn't noticed,

parts of America are a war zone because of the police.

[Joanie Baloney]

31. GMTA

Sorry, I posted before I saw yours.

[WinkyDink]

29. Hmmmm. You mean like Ferguson, MO?

[Joanie Baloney]

30. Uh...

I think some cities are war zones BECAUSE of the law enforcement there. Yes, if you're white and middle/upper class, they tend to protect you. But don't be fooled. The cops are not your friends.

-JB

[Flatulo]

25. My thoughts exactly, of late. nt

[WinkyDink]

26. Yes, this is, I believe, what budding cops are taught.

[Boom Sound 416]

32. You think Capt. Johnson agrees with you?