Progressing Backwards

Is racism bad? Yes. On both sides of the aisle. It runs both toward and from several ethnicities. Personally, I’d like to see people of all skin colors and ethnic backgrounds get along and just acknowledge each other as people without any describers other than gender or hair color or other innocuous stuff. Except then there’d end up being animosity based on THAT.  Because that’s how humans work. We are a warring and excessive animal. 

The George Floyd situation? Clearly wrong and those men deserve to be punished. Absolutely. The man who exercised unnecessary force and violence as well as those who had a responsibility to ensure he didn’t act that way. When you wear a badge you’re held to a higher standard and you ARE you brother’s keeper. It is your responsibility to keep your brothers in check. Not just the citizenry but those with badges as well. 

I fully agree with peaceable protest for justice. Absolutely. PEACEABLE protest. Not looting, rioting and being violent. That’s not how to push for justice; it’s how you show your base nature of being a lowlife or a thug. Those using these protests as a cover or excuse for their criminal acts show precisely WHY we need the police they’re protesting against. 

True to our human nature, though, these protests have gone to extremes. The reaction to this instance of unnecessary violence and abuse by police has been carried too far. It’s like humans look for a cause, find the line, then just proceed to cross that line. The response by the police to George Floyd was excessive, so the response to it is excessive too. Human nature. 

And part of this excess is crying for defunding and/or dismantling police. Out of 60 million interactions between police and citizens a year, we have one case like this every 4-5 years. So, basically, 1 case out of roughly 1.3 BILLION interactions. But the protests say black people are being targeted. Except the numbers don’t support this. Who cares about facts when you can respond with emotion? Emotion clouds reason and logic so basing policy and affecting change based on emotion is a terrible idea. So I’m sure that’s what’ll end up happening. Right up until they later realize how terrible that decision was. 

Disband the police? Then what? Are we promoting vigilantism? Surely no one thinks crime is just gonna stop if you get rid of the police. Surely no one is dumb enough to think that any excessive violence or racism by people will just disappear if you dismantle the police.  Are these “progressive” people really pushing for us to return to the Wild Wild West? Why is progressive supposed to mean “moving forward” or “forward thinking” but it’s a name adopted by the most SHORT SIGHTED members of society? It’s like they enjoy the hypocrisy of their oxymoronic behavior so much they adopted a name that suited said hypocrisy. 

Look, I’m all for progress but maybe we should do something that’s actually progressive instead of regressive.  I’m all for checks and balances. I’m all for righting wrongs. However, I’m not down with the hypocrisy of blaming the entirety of one group for the actions of the few. That’s prejudicial by definition and close minded by practice. 

Protesting all over the place to end prejudice while exercising prejudicial behavior doesn’t make you any better than those you’re protesting against.  Committing criminal acts while pushing to disband police makes you part of the problem, not the solution. Try changing YOUR behavior before insisting everyone else change theirs. 

Are there police that abuse power and have no business having a badge? Yes. Unfortunately, though it’s not just law enforcement where this problem occurs, they get the most media attention because of the deaths that result. Not that every death that’s been protested is solely the fault of the constabulary involved. This one? Definitely was senseless, needless and the fault of those law enforcement officers involved. It was way over the top, just as the response has been. 

Here’s the problem with those pushing to disband law enforcement... right now you’ve got an organized group upon which you could focus your anger and disapproval. What happens if you succeed and we have no law enforcement? Let’s look first just at one aspect.... things would move in one of two directions. 

First, let’s say it just leads to martial law. You think having the government make our decisions for us and enforcing them with an iron fist is going to be a better solution? That’s laughable. 

Secondly, let’s say the police get disbanded and there is no martial law. So then we’ve got lawlessness and vigilantism and now you don’t have an organized group to voice your displeasure to. Don’t like what’s going on? Then shit will just get more violent in response and everything escalates. Sure hope you’re not one of those liberals who doesn’t believe in gun ownership when your “solution” backfires on you and the people who protect you are all fired and told not to protect you anymore. 

Remember, wars are the result of two or more parties of opposing opinions reacting in the extreme. Keep taking protests and shit to extremes and demanding extreme “solutions” and see if peaceful “getting along” is the natural outcome. 

Finally, and think hard about this..... demand the firing of the roughly 20,000 people who are trying to enforce law in the other 328 million (and ever increasing) people in the U.S. alone and put them on welfare and unemployment. Hell, keep decreasing the number of people paying taxes and increasing the number of those without jobs.  Now who’s supporting the rest of the country? Apparently you’re not familiar with the formulas that lead to economic collapse. Now imagine that collapse with no one to put their life on the line for you.  Welcome to the prequel for a Mad Max type of society.