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New Police Strategy in New York – Sexual Assault Against Peaceful Protestors
Interesting police tactic... provoke protestors into attacking them or defending each other, so that the police will have "reason" to use force and arrest them.
.
I think that having a police force is generally necessary. And I think there are probably a lot of good police officers doing good work in many places, which one doesn't hear much about. But the more I hear, read, and experience, the more I feel that police and law-enforcement are at best, of not much use, and at worst, dangerous thugs to be avoided.
(That's not very different from my default view of humans, actually. It's not until I get to know people that I start thinking they may be nice, interesting, etc. But even then,... different topic.)
I grew up with the viewpoint that police are a force of good, there to fight crime and help people. That if you were the victim of a crime or a witness, that you should report it, and that the police would then proceed to take care of the problem (to the best of their ability).
Now, I'm finding myself agreeing with the viewpoint of Lisbeth Salander in the Dragon Tattoo books - that one may as well take matters into one's own hands rather than relying on the police to protect you.
If you're the victim of a crime, sure, the police may come to take a report. And they may go through some motions of looking into the problem. But is anything good going to come of it? Probably not. In the unlikely event that the perpetrator of the crime is identified, caught, convicted and incarcerated, they'll eventually get out of prison and most likely still be a potential future threat to you and other people. One may as well stock up on self-defense weapons, locks, surveillance cameras and alarms - in fact (::nudging self::), one should do that to begin with, not after the fact.
If you're not the victim of a crime, the only interactions you're likely to have with the police are ones where from the police's viewpoint, you're the suspect of a crime or an adversary in some way. In that scenario, the police are even more dangerous than regular criminals, because legally, it seems that you're not even allowed to physically defend yourself from the police. Criminals can't legally lock you in jail like police can.
.
Gah. I already avoid watching the news, to avoid getting into more of a funk than I already am. I need, really NEED to stop myself from reading web pages like that too. I have this urge to "know about things" that are going on in the world. But there's no POINT for me in being aware of bad things going on in the world. It doesn't improve my life in any way. I NEED to stick my head in the sand, even though doing that doesn't make life feel any better. Reading about bad things going on in the world just wastes my time and makes me feel worse.
Even writing entries like these just wastes my time and doesn't improve my life in any way.
Every f*ing thing about life just wastes my time.
Time which has no better use anyway, than to be wasted.
But I should at least try to avoid those activities that make my mind hurt more than otherwise.
Interesting police tactic... provoke protestors into attacking them or defending each other, so that the police will have "reason" to use force and arrest them.
.
I think that having a police force is generally necessary. And I think there are probably a lot of good police officers doing good work in many places, which one doesn't hear much about. But the more I hear, read, and experience, the more I feel that police and law-enforcement are at best, of not much use, and at worst, dangerous thugs to be avoided.
(That's not very different from my default view of humans, actually. It's not until I get to know people that I start thinking they may be nice, interesting, etc. But even then,... different topic.)
I grew up with the viewpoint that police are a force of good, there to fight crime and help people. That if you were the victim of a crime or a witness, that you should report it, and that the police would then proceed to take care of the problem (to the best of their ability).
Now, I'm finding myself agreeing with the viewpoint of Lisbeth Salander in the Dragon Tattoo books - that one may as well take matters into one's own hands rather than relying on the police to protect you.
If you're the victim of a crime, sure, the police may come to take a report. And they may go through some motions of looking into the problem. But is anything good going to come of it? Probably not. In the unlikely event that the perpetrator of the crime is identified, caught, convicted and incarcerated, they'll eventually get out of prison and most likely still be a potential future threat to you and other people. One may as well stock up on self-defense weapons, locks, surveillance cameras and alarms - in fact (::nudging self::), one should do that to begin with, not after the fact.
If you're not the victim of a crime, the only interactions you're likely to have with the police are ones where from the police's viewpoint, you're the suspect of a crime or an adversary in some way. In that scenario, the police are even more dangerous than regular criminals, because legally, it seems that you're not even allowed to physically defend yourself from the police. Criminals can't legally lock you in jail like police can.
.
Gah. I already avoid watching the news, to avoid getting into more of a funk than I already am. I need, really NEED to stop myself from reading web pages like that too. I have this urge to "know about things" that are going on in the world. But there's no POINT for me in being aware of bad things going on in the world. It doesn't improve my life in any way. I NEED to stick my head in the sand, even though doing that doesn't make life feel any better. Reading about bad things going on in the world just wastes my time and makes me feel worse.
Even writing entries like these just wastes my time and doesn't improve my life in any way.
Every f*ing thing about life just wastes my time.
Time which has no better use anyway, than to be wasted.
But I should at least try to avoid those activities that make my mind hurt more than otherwise.