December 21, 2014,
Blame Big Government, not the Police
The Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, made an astute observation in the death of Eric Garner when he explained to a reporter that Big Government and bad policies triggered the incident in New York that killed the young black man, not racism.
Ambitious legislators trying to look tough on crime have to pass laws to validate their positions, which force police officers to uphold bad laws and suffer the consequences of being the enforces to power hungry politicians. The cause and effect of lousy legislation is the establishment of a new class of criminal and the results resonates in the impoverished neighborhoods that are more prone to having violators of these new offenses. The process situates police enforcement in an unnatural adversarial position against average citizens, who turnaround and wrongly blame the police and not the power-wielding politicians whose actions caused the problem. In-turn, law officers begin to build animosity and resentment towards those that they have growing authority over, which is the attitude seen and experienced by the public.
Ironically, both the police and the people equally share the same disposition, because cops do not like enforcing dumb laws no more than most people like obeying them. Without any culpability, the clueless electorate reelects the same politicians to office, which perpetuates the endless cycle of a growing intrusive government.
Lawmakers should be aware that anytime they pass a law a police officer may have to use deadly force and kill some individual to enforce that law.
Is a death penalty worth the enforcement of a seat-belt violation?
In my town of Bandon OR, the city councilors rescinded an ordinance that had been on the books for years, which made it illegal for homeowners to park their vehicles in their own driveway. Imagine one of Bandon’s easygoing small-town cops having to use deadly force against an angry citizen who was ardently opposed to obeying a silly ordinance---all to appease the ridicules whims of local policy makers. It is just one of many potentially violent scenarios. The argument is the policy, not the perpetrator, is to blame for dangerously escalating the situation.
Every day the police have to use deadly force to confront people who commit nonviolent crimes. Nowhere is that more evident than with the War on Drugs and nowhere does that happen more than in the neighborhoods where minorities live and those incidents advances the perception of a racist system. In Bandon, the ordinances are complaint driven, so unless someone notifies the city, the city officials do not enforce the code. That is not the case with aggressive, proactive laws like drug offenses where there is less police discretion compounding the perception of bias adding to the mistrust.
It is time to stop blaming cops for the misdeeds and overreach of the political elite. There is no excuse for a bad cop, but most of the men and women in Blue are decent humans trying to do a difficult job made more difficult with every new piece of legislation. Their protection allows us the comfort to wallow in liberty. Otherwise, we would be using the Second Amendment against “Mob Rule.”
Americans have to ask themselves how much authority they will allow the government to exert for the purpose of public tranquility. Absent an answer, we may have to get used to watching riots and lootings disguised as protests for the advancement of civil rights until the voting public has enough trust in each other to elect representatives that will not hinder a free society with mandated misery. Start by connecting with politicians before they pass bad laws.
Rob Taylor is the founder of the website, www.CoosCountyWatchdog.com, which is a network of individual government watchdogs.
Blame Big Government, not the Police
The Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, made an astute observation in the death of Eric Garner when he explained to a reporter that Big Government and bad policies triggered the incident in New York that killed the young black man, not racism.
Ambitious legislators trying to look tough on crime have to pass laws to validate their positions, which force police officers to uphold bad laws and suffer the consequences of being the enforces to power hungry politicians. The cause and effect of lousy legislation is the establishment of a new class of criminal and the results resonates in the impoverished neighborhoods that are more prone to having violators of these new offenses. The process situates police enforcement in an unnatural adversarial position against average citizens, who turnaround and wrongly blame the police and not the power-wielding politicians whose actions caused the problem. In-turn, law officers begin to build animosity and resentment towards those that they have growing authority over, which is the attitude seen and experienced by the public.
Ironically, both the police and the people equally share the same disposition, because cops do not like enforcing dumb laws no more than most people like obeying them. Without any culpability, the clueless electorate reelects the same politicians to office, which perpetuates the endless cycle of a growing intrusive government.
Lawmakers should be aware that anytime they pass a law a police officer may have to use deadly force and kill some individual to enforce that law.
Is a death penalty worth the enforcement of a seat-belt violation?
In my town of Bandon OR, the city councilors rescinded an ordinance that had been on the books for years, which made it illegal for homeowners to park their vehicles in their own driveway. Imagine one of Bandon’s easygoing small-town cops having to use deadly force against an angry citizen who was ardently opposed to obeying a silly ordinance---all to appease the ridicules whims of local policy makers. It is just one of many potentially violent scenarios. The argument is the policy, not the perpetrator, is to blame for dangerously escalating the situation.
Every day the police have to use deadly force to confront people who commit nonviolent crimes. Nowhere is that more evident than with the War on Drugs and nowhere does that happen more than in the neighborhoods where minorities live and those incidents advances the perception of a racist system. In Bandon, the ordinances are complaint driven, so unless someone notifies the city, the city officials do not enforce the code. That is not the case with aggressive, proactive laws like drug offenses where there is less police discretion compounding the perception of bias adding to the mistrust.
It is time to stop blaming cops for the misdeeds and overreach of the political elite. There is no excuse for a bad cop, but most of the men and women in Blue are decent humans trying to do a difficult job made more difficult with every new piece of legislation. Their protection allows us the comfort to wallow in liberty. Otherwise, we would be using the Second Amendment against “Mob Rule.”
Americans have to ask themselves how much authority they will allow the government to exert for the purpose of public tranquility. Absent an answer, we may have to get used to watching riots and lootings disguised as protests for the advancement of civil rights until the voting public has enough trust in each other to elect representatives that will not hinder a free society with mandated misery. Start by connecting with politicians before they pass bad laws.
Rob Taylor is the founder of the website, www.CoosCountyWatchdog.com, which is a network of individual government watchdogs.
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GROUP IN NEED OF DONATIONS
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The Better Candidates for the Port of Bandon
Public Meetings on Agenda 21
Support SB478
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Keep the Lights ON in Bandon
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