Not All Cops Are Trigger-Happy Rednecks

[gonzomax]

If the majority of police officers were so altruistic, they should be willing to do the job for a minimum wage. Nobody is forcing them to take such a challenging job.

One could say the same thing about doctors, lawyers, firefighters, and pretty much anyone else who does a job they like because they like helping other people.

Are you suggesting that all those people go in that field because they want to help people? If only that were true.

 

[gonzomax]

Who on this board ever said cops have the right to "assault , rob or murder anyone they please"?

I said "in this country", not on this board. This board is pretty centrist; while America is nigh-fascist in its worship of cops and soldiers.

If we have any "worship" for soldiers, policemen and firemen, its because they by and large are decent people doing a yeoman's job for low pay and are providing necessary services/protection/etcetera. True, there are many many crazies and morons on a power trip in all of these areas, and I wish we did a better job of screening them out and getting rid of them, but these people are appreciated for the job(s) they do because its not a job just anyone can do or would be willing to do so.

On the surface, all are noble professions all things considered. And relatively thankless, despite your assertion of worship and flag-waving.

And we aren't anywhere close to being a fascist country. That notion is just absurd.

I think they make pretty good money. They also get strong benefits and retirement. The ones with talent get promoted and can make a lot of money. TV does a good job of making people believe cops spend their lives in shootouts. It is not as dangerous as people think. In the next community from mine a cop got killed in the line of duty. he was the first one ever. The township has been around a long time. It has a population of 66,000 and is connected to a couple of cities.

 

[Lord Ashtar]

Did I say "all"?

No, but the response would indicate the vast majority went for more altruistic reasons over money. I doubt that.

And your response indicates that my original point sailed right over your head.

 

[Lord Ashtar]

If the majority of police officers were so altruistic, they should be willing to do the job for a minimum wage. Nobody is forcing them to take such a challenging job.

One could say the same thing about doctors, lawyers, firefighters, and pretty much anyone else who does a job they like because they like helping other people.

Are you suggesting that all those people go in that field because they want to help people? If only that were true.

Did I say "all"?

 

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

Who on this board ever said cops have the right to "assault , rob or murder anyone they please"?

I said "in this country", not on this board. This board is pretty centrist; while America is nigh-fascist in its worship of cops and soldiers.

If we have any "worship" for soldiers, policemen and firemen, its because they by and large are decent people doing a yeoman's job for low pay and are providing necessary services/protection/etcetera. True, there are many many crazies and morons on a power trip in all of these areas, and I wish we did a better job of screening them out and getting rid of them, but these people are appreciated for the job(s) they do because its not a job just anyone can do or would be willing to do so.

On the surface, all are noble professions all things considered. And relatively thankless, despite your assertion of worship and flag-waving.

And we aren't anywhere close to being a fascist country. That notion is just absurd.

I think they make pretty good money. They also get strong benefits and retirement. The ones with talent get promoted and can make a lot of money. TV does a good job of making people believe cops spend their lives in shootouts. It is not as dangerous as people think. In the next community from mine a cop got killed in the line of duty. he was the first one ever. The township has been around a long time. It has a population of 66,000 and is connected to a couple of cities.

The money is OK for a lower middle class living for most cops. YMMV depending on where the jurisdiction is. Some inner-cities pay cops shit while they make a good living being a security guard for a gated community. It just depends.

I don't know anyone that would call a cop's pay "pretty good money", though. Unless you're the Chief of Police or something...then you approach six-figure territory.

Its decent in most places, but like the role of soldiers, teachers. firemen, etc I think its still underpaid.

 

[kushiel]

I'm with the OP.

I'm also smack-dab in one of the demographics least likely to have contact with the police. Young white female driving a 4-door family sedan who doesn't smoke pot, have illegal weapons or do anything that would grab the attention of a police officer.

It's hard for me to have sympathy towards people who do something they know will get them in trouble (like carrying marijuana on their person) and then bitch when they get caught.

 

[Todderbob]

Who on this board ever said cops have the right to "assault , rob or murder anyone they please"?

I said "in this country", not on this board. This board is pretty centrist; while America is nigh-fascist in its worship of cops and soldiers.

If we have any "worship" for soldiers, policemen and firemen, its because they by and large are decent people doing a yeoman's job for low pay and are providing necessary services/protection/etcetera. True, there are many many crazies and morons on a power trip in all of these areas, and I wish we did a better job of screening them out and getting rid of them, but these people are appreciated for the job(s) they do because its not a job just anyone can do or would be willing to do so.

On the surface, all are noble professions all things considered. And relatively thankless, despite your assertion of worship and flag-waving.

And we aren't anywhere close to being a fascist country. That notion is just absurd.

I think they make pretty good money. They also get strong benefits and retirement. The ones with talent get promoted and can make a lot of money. TV does a good job of making people believe cops spend their lives in shootouts. It is not as dangerous as people think. In the next community from mine a cop got killed in the line of duty. he was the first one ever. The township has been around a long time. It has a population of 66,000 and is connected to a couple of cities.

Yeah... cops don't make "pretty good money."

They make okay money. They make enough to eat, and to live, but the cops who I know need to work 2nd jobs to make ends meet in the areas they live, and/or their wives work full time jobs if they're married.

A lot of cops work security for events, like School football games, or Pro Hockey games (or any sports arena). And while you say "That's a benefit of being a cop," I say "it's more work that they need to do to make ends meet, beyond the normal 40." Yes, it pays more -- but being a half decent CPA makes at least as much or more than a cop, doesn't have physicals, shooting proficiencies, angry people (okay, some angry people) trying tell you that you're "just out to get 'em, cause they a minority" (what, if the other side can say all cops suck, I can say all people who are pulled by cops suck too... wait, you only like broad generalizations when they agree with you, Gonzo? Oh damn... nevermind...), etc, etc, etc.

 

[gonzomax]

Did I say "all"?

No, but the response would indicate the vast majority went for more altruistic reasons over money. I doubt that.

And your response indicates that my original point sailed right over your head.

No it did not. Actually saying they do a job they like because they like helping other people makes no sense.

 

[Kinthalis]

I'm with the OP.

I'm also smack-dab in one of the demographics least likely to have contact with the police. Young white female driving a 4-door family sedan who doesn't smoke pot, have illegal weapons or do anything that would grab the attention of a police officer.

It's hard for me to have sympathy towards people who do something they know will get them in trouble (like carrying marijuana on their person) and then bitch when they get caught.

Why don't you get a fucking clue. No one here is saying we should sympathize with criminals. The whole point is that sometimes it's the COPS who act like criminals.

Those who view them as bastions of all that is good and right tend to turn a blind eye to their abuse of power.

I do believe that some on the other side of the fence do the opposite and think of them all as untrustworthy.

The truth lies in the middle as is usually the case.

 

[mhendo]

It's hard for me to have sympathy towards people who do something they know will get them in trouble (like carrying marijuana on their person) and then bitch when they get caught.

Yeah, because that's what this thread is all about: people who bitch about getting caught doing something illegal.

 

[3trew]

I'd love it if 99.9% of the cops were good cops, because the .01% who were bad would screw up in front of the good ones, be reported to internal affairs, and be out of the picture.

And yet, somehow, it seems like the bad cops don't screw up in front of the good ones, they only seem to screw up in front of video cameras. Not all video cameras, because the dash cams often malfunction, and the CCTV is notoriously bad for going out whenever something exciting happens, and the witnesses phone cameras seem to wind up wiped or lost if they get near enough for the police to confiscate, but some video cameras.

They tend to be video cameras that show up after all of the reports from the good cops are in, detailing that hail of bottles from the demonstrators (Ian Tomlinson), or the belligerent and combative lunging of the deceased (Robert Dziekanski), or the way cats can affect a traffic accident

 

[Hal Briston]

It would be helpful if the OP could link to the post of the person who claimed that "All Cops Are Trigger-Happy Rednecks", because I can't find it.

Yeah, the OP should get it right -- it's "inbred redneck dickless assholes".

 

[3trew]

The CCTV mention above should have included a reference to Jean Charles De Menezies.

I'm sure that this is all just a coincidence, though, and that there is nothing wrong with the culture of police departments that might cause them to cover for one another.

 

[Kinthalis]

You're an imbecile. But we know this already Hal Briston, you don't need to keep proving it to us.

You see, the rest of us -with normal working brains- understood his question to be "who claimed that ALL cops are...".

The post you so kindly provided as evidence of your idiocy, is about the SPECIFIC cops who are tazing the hell out of the 57 year old woman.

You're welcome.

 

[AClockworkMelon]

I am not against the police. I am afraid of the police. -Alfred Hitchcock

I searched for that quote on Google and I found only three hits. All three of those hits were from you, on the SDMB, claiming that Hitchcock said that.

Here and here.

What Hitchcock really said was "I'm not against the police, I'm just afraid of them."!

 

[alindallas]

I don't hate cops. I just feel better when they're not around.

 

[gonzomax]

If the majority of police officers were so altruistic, they should be willing to do the job for a minimum wage. Nobody is forcing them to take such a challenging job.

One could say the same thing about doctors, lawyers, firefighters, and pretty much anyone else who does a job they like because they like helping other people.

Are you suggesting that all those people go in that field because they want to help people? If only that were true.

Did I say "all"?

No, but the response would indicate the vast majority went for more altruistic reasons over money. I doubt that.

 

[Babale]

You're an imbecile. But we know this already Hal Briston, you don't need to keep proving it to us.

You see, the rest of us -with normal working brains- understood his question to be "who claimed that ALL cops are...".

The post you so kindly provided as evidence of your idiocy, is about the SPECIFIC cops who are tazing the hell out of the 57 year old woman.

You're welcome.

Please, before you accuse random people of being imbeciles, make sure they actually are. Since you say so, I have no doubt that Hal really is an imbecile, but he is right and you are wrong.

The quoted post is saying that "Inbred redneck dickless assholes" is synomonous with "Cops". So yes, it's saying that ALL cops are inbred redneck dickless assholes, just like all things that are small are also little.

 

[Hal Briston]

You're an imbecile. But we know this already Hal Briston, you don't need to keep proving it to us.

Sorry, but I have another imbecilic question. Can you please explain the definition of "redundant", as used by MTCicero in the previously linked post, to show how he wasn't referring to all cops?

 

[spooje]

Why view them as all good or as bad? They're human beings. There are good ones and bad ones. It's like saying that we shouldn't complain about politicians because only a few are bad. I don't see what's wrong about calling attention to the corrupt ones. It doesn't mean they're all horrible.

Except that I'm not saying "don't complain about the bad cops because there are so few of them" but "don't label all cops as evil because some are regretfully bad, a problem that should be fixed".

I agree that we should not label all cops one way or another. But 'regretfully bad' as a descriptor doesn't quite cut it in some instances. And the 'problem should be fixed' will not happen unless the public raises hell and scares them.

There are police officers out there who are criminals. Not 'acting like criminals' but are, in fact, criminals with badges. I live in Los Angeles, amid some of the worst police corruption cases in the country. We have actually had police officers who were convicted of moonlighted as hit-men (at least 3 that I can find right now in a quick search. I thought it was just an LAPD thing. sadly, the internet has proven me wrong) We have had LAPD officers convicted of dealing drugs and robbing banks. And one instance of an LAPD officer killing another LAPD officer in a case of road rage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Commission

I would offer much more vocal support of L.A.'s Finest if it weren't for their despicable habit of protecting the corrupt cops in their ranks.

Someone here posted that they had no reason to be afraid of the cops. There are some cops that everyone needs to be afraid of.