Tag Archives: police

Robot Police Assassin Kills Dallas Suspect

Posted on July 12, 2016 | Leave a comment

This is Robocop from the eponymous film franchise. In real life we skipped over the whole gun-toting A.I. robot phase and went straight to the bomb-delivery drone stage.

When the perpetrator of the 2016 Dallas shootings holed up in a garage and refused to come out, police sent in a robot carrying a pound of C-4 explosive.  The explosive was then used to kill rather than apprehend the shooter.

For the first time in history, a U.S. citizen has been killed by a remotely controlled bomb.

Remote-controlled bombs are inexact weapons.  Things seem to have gone reasonably well in the Dallas case, but what about next time?  When our government sends drones into a foreign nations to kill suspected terrorists, innocent civilians are often killed, aren’t they?

Are we comfortable with collateral damage on U.S. soil?

But even if we are (which I really hope we aren’t) there are still important questions.  If explosives are acceptable, should police also be allowed to carry hand grenades?  What about rocket-propelled grenades?  Bazookas?  Where does this end?  Should they be allowed to use mortars?  Howitzers?

Who will be training our police to use these weapons?   If the answer is our military, are we comfortable with creating an even closer association between our military and police forces?  Should the federal government be actively militarizing local police departments via the 1033 Program?  (For signing that legislation Pres. Clinton, thanks for nothing.)

Despite the problems it causes (read the ACLU report here), our police forces are accelerating their transformation into military forces.  First it was camo uniforms and helmets.  Now it’s assault rifles, Humvees, and explosives.

Please take a look at this simple graph before you flip out and say “But Mitch, what about terrorism?  What about all the active shooters?  How are our police supposed to fight the ever-increasing level of violence and crime?”

Crime Stats

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Crime is down.  Violence is down.  Our biggest enemy is paranoia.  And if we don’t do something about it soon, it’s going to be impossible to tell a cop from a marine.

What does it do to the hearts and minds of citizens, especially our children, to live amid this level of militarization?  Is that what we want?  To raise our kids in a country that looks like it’s ruled by a paramilitary junta?

ag2

 

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Brass Knuckles, Poor Folks, and Contradictions

Posted on August 22, 2014 | Leave a comment

NY Metro Police-issue brass knuckles, circa 1864 (courtesy of Hock Hochheim’s blog)

I’ve talked about brass knuckles before, and my fascination with them.  I realize that this is a contradiction, coming from a person who considers himself a very spiritual person, a mystic in fact, and that the mere mention of knuckle dusters confuses and upsets some of you.  Well, it shouldn’t.

Brass knuckles carried by Abraham Lincolns’ bodyguards (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Brass knuckles were far more prevalent and respectable in days gone by.  The knuckles above were issued to NY Police, the ones at the right were carried by Lincoln’s protection detail, and my set (see below) are replicas of ones used to fight Nazis.

They are illegal to carry, so unfortunately I can’t walk around with them in my pocket.  Why are they illegal?  Why have brass knuckles become stigmatized as the weapon of low-lifes and criminals?  How in the world can guns be legal but brass knuckles illegal?  Which is like saying, “You can shoot people but you can’t bash their face in.  And that isn’t nice.”

My brass knuckles (these are a replica of ones used by British Special Forces to smash Nazis in World War II).

My brass knuckles (replica of those used by British Special Forces to smash Nazis in World War II).

I think it might have something to do with the fact that they’re cheap.  As we know, the deck is always stacked against the poor.  In order to get a permit to conceal carry a gun, you have to be able to afford a gun, a gun safety class and the fees.  You can’t have a criminal record, you must be able to read and write well enough to navigate the paperwork and red tape, and you have to get off work to go to before the judge.  Poor folks — who have less money and are disproportionally arrested — are less likely to be able to afford or get approved for concealed carry.

Or maybe knuckles of brass and steel are illegal because they got surpassed in the arms race.  When the cops and the military got better weapons and didn’t need them any longer, it became obvious that we should stigmatize and ban them.  I guess switchblades are the exception — did you know that they are still legal for law enforcement to own and carry?  Why is that do you think?  Because people in uniform are somehow magically more trustworthy than the average citizen?

Yes, I am a spiritual man.  But I also believe in the underdog, detest bullies, and think that all people are equal regardless of race, creed, or income.  But most importantly, I believe that peaceful people, spiritual people, folks who care about nature, the environment, their neighbors, and minding their own business, should not be an endangered species.  That’s why I practice and teach martial arts.

I don’t like guns.  But I do like brass knuckles.

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Oregon Woman’s Rape Sparks Debate

Posted on May 29, 2013 | 1 comment

Maybe you’ve heard about the Oregon woman who was raped after she called the police as the attacker was trying to enter her home — only to be told the cops are only open Monday through Friday.  Budget cuts apparently caused the problem.

The case has sparked some debate.   Reddit is blowing up.  And then there is this annoying blob of mustard on the shirt-front of the internet by Amanda Marcotte entitled, “Enough Airy-Fairy Liberal Nonsense About Police.  If You Don’t Want to Get Raped, Hire a Private Security Firm.”  I’m going to go out on a limb and say Ms. Marcotte would be singing a different tune if this was her daughter, sister, or mother.  Or herself.

As a self-defense expert, I think it’s great for people to learn to defend themselves.  But the facts are that some people just can’t.  Either they lack the dedication, the physicality, or the inclination.  My fifteen year-old daughter is whip-thin, and no matter how much I teach her, she’d have tough time with a large, evil man.  There are tiny people, handicapped people, old people — what about them?  Is it “airy-fairy liberal nonsense” to expect a little help for them from the police?

The victim paid her taxes.  Certain things come with taxes — like basic policing, defense against enemies foreign and domestic, you know, little stuff like that.  This is the basics here.  We’re not debating health care, or immigration, or “entitlements.”  We’re talking about basic services.  Where did her tax money go, exactly?

Can we please just park the conservative B.S. and take a ride on the common sense train?  Can’t we just stop blaming the victim and agree that she paid her taxes and there should have been a police officer able to respond?

Every member of her county should refuse to pay any further taxes until there are adequate emergency services — police, EMS, and fire.  And if there’s a problem with that, I’m sure there would be lawyers and an outraged public willing to come to their legal defense.

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