And We Were All Overreacting Over BLM?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
468

I stick to my statement. Plenty of people identify as democrat, Republican, independent etc. What percentage of the populace identify with BLM/Antifa?

Narratives pushed my Hollywood/the media aren’t representative of reality. Hollywood, celebrity culture etc tends to lean further left and/or represents an alternate political spectrum as compared to reality. The same can be said about College/university. Granted a degree of influence does spill over towards contemporary sociocultural norms… but probably not to the point wherein every other joe is going to start screaming “defund the police”.

469

This bears repeating. I absolutely agree. The problem is bigger budget numbers never seem to go primarily to fixing these kinds of issues. It always seems to get wasted.

It’s like how decreased military spending with the goal of making things more efficient never seems to hit the contractors or high level waste, only the grunts.

At least this is the sense I keep getting. Is this accurate as far as training goes in your experience marine or not?

Also @idaho if you’re so inclined.

Edit–I assume SWAT has more training than beat officers so this was directed at normal rather than tactical areas.

470

Ok friend, you’ve said something similar several times and I just have to point out that you’re relying too much on literature. Keep in mind I’m a researcher by trade and saying this.

There are just some things scientific literature is not going to address, or even be equipped to address. I’m not saying I agree with Marine that the politicians actut have low IQ, I know he’s blowing off steam and frustrated.

But there are A LOT of things that science literature can’t or won’t cover.

I think you’re making his point for him lol. This is exactly the kind of thing he’s ranting about.

One of the times I am thankful I live in the Midwest. We still have to deal with it in universities but it’s nowhere near as prevalent or bad as it is on the coasts. Mostly normal people.

471

This is an accurate summation of “regular officer tactical training” in my experience:

*I’ve been involved in institutional training all of my adult life. Very little, if any of that training could be categorized as anything beyond familiarization. On average standards range between 60-70% depending on the skill.

( this is on the low end based on the past year, I have been training major departments and feds. 70 to 80 is average)

The public asks of ordinary people who aren’t held to any physical fitness standards past the academy to own or master physical skills after spending an hour or two annually familiarizing themselves with it. This is an unreasonable expectation. It is scientifically, physiologically, and psychologically impossible for any human being to do so. By any metric worth measuring.

( the feds and most major departments have some type of “annual” PT test. In my experience, they are a joke.) Only SWAT is held to rigorous standards.

It is also illogical and naive for anyone subjected to those circumstances to believe they might be the exception to the rule. Testing is conducted in controlled environments with reasonable stress with minimal training and practice. The reality is on the ground those skills are tested with unreasonable duress in uncontrolled environments on-demand

without practice.

TRUTH.

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472

That’s kind of what I figured based on my limited knowledge, only worse. Just a couple hours a year for familiarization? Damn.

473

It is accurate. Poorly implemented ideas only fielded to appease shrieking loons is never a good idea. You see the results when poorly trained officers acting without malice fuck up or escalate a situation. But hey we implemented iMpLiCiT bIaS training.

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474

If it doesn’t apply to you take no offense. I just have had the unfortunate opportunity to not only experience the fallout, violence and utter failures of leftist policies but to also have to be blamed for them as well. We have lunatics that believe police are the number 1 issue facing black Americans. Its utter insanity and were stuck cleaning up the mess these loons produce.

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475

Written by a colleague from the Midwest:

Police never get the credit that other professions get.

Cowards are all around us. From chiefs to sheriffs to politicians, no one has our back.

Now, the little we have, we are told they are going to defund us or even abolish us. Citizens with a political agenda will reign over us and all you have to do is wake up and put on a uniform to be a racist.

This weekend I received death threats for just doing my job. It would have been outrageous a decade ago and made national news.

Now, it’s just a Monday.

There will be more threats, more accusations of racism and more lies told about us.

I used to talk cops out of leaving the job. Now I’m encouraging them.

It’s over America. You finally did it.

You aren’t going to have to abolish the police, we won’t be around for it.

And while I know, most Americans still appreciate us, it’s not enough and the risk is too high.

But those of you that were silent while the slow turning of the knives in our backs happened by thugs and cowards, this is on you.

Your belief in hashtags and memes over the truth has and will create an environment in your community that you will never expect.

If you think Minneapolis will turn into Mogadishu and that is far from you, it’s coming.

And when it does, remember what your complicity did.

This is the America that you made.

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476

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Oof… These pathetic p.o.s. are irretrievably stupid and craven. Lol at “murdered.”

477

A little emotive but I understand the sentiment and agree. You can only shit on us, attack us (literally and figuratively) scapegoat us, lie about interactions, label us racists (fucking cowards) and continue to pay us crumbs and expect miracles for so long until these worthless c#cksuckers get what they THINK they want. It’s gonna get worse before it gets any better.

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478

Haven’t read all of this thread, but l do see restraint on the part of two guys that basically face death virtually every shift for decades, in the pursuit of safety / decency for the rest of us.

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479

Where are the police actually being defunded? I know in Seattle, the official budget came out and SPDs budget is being cut 20%, but the majority is just departments (like 911 dispatch) being moved out from under SPDs umbrella, so the budget is really only being cut something like 5-6%… And that was coming regardless due to low tax revenue from the 2020 pandemic.

In your experience, how willing are you and your fellow LEOs willing to seriously look at new progressive ideas around policing and work to implement versions them? To me, it seems that the LEO community is generally knee jerk rebuffing any and all policy/ideas that come from progressives and is generally unwilling to consider changes, while progressives are treating it like a negotiation where you list your best-case scenario as demands and that language and stance is offputting to the LEO community. Seems like the times they are a’changing…

480

Maybe the attitude toward LEOs that is causing many to quit/retire/check out will alternatively attract a different type of person toward law enforcement. When you change the rules in a sport, the old guard may suffer, but a new breed of player will excel that wouldnt have under the old rules. But, when you change the rules for LEO, you also have to change the expectations for what they can and should accomplish.

481

Your experience is based on what, exactly ?

We welcome legitimate “progressive” measures but that’s rarely what these laughably moronic ideas are. We get bullshit like “inherent / implicit bias” training or body cams (most welcome them) that are guaranteed to malfunction like most of our junk equipment. And let’s not pretend body cam footage will actually assuage these cretins. It’ll only invite claims of doctoring or genius ideas like shooting extremities or other fantasy land bullshit. We also know politicians will sacrifice us for cheap political points despite the vast majority of shootings being objectively justified as evidenced by body cams. Ironically, it will backfire on these dumb shits and then they’ll claim it’s racist. Watch.

What police can do is better educate the public on SCOTUS law like Tennessee vs Garner, which states you absolutely CAN shoot a fleeing felon in the back under very particular circumstances. Like any relationship it takes effective communication and compromise. Neither of which the left seems capable of. They only offer their usual pablum, hysterics and lunacy.

482

Trust me buddy… Plenty of us want some of these dinosaurs gone. They were products of a bygone era and need to move on.

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483

Currently, police CAN do a lot of things legally. The question society is asking, is should they? Is there a better way to do things. Are actions taken by the police (even if legal) truly neccessary to protect the public, or do they lead to worse outcomes than actions taken with lesser force/aggression.

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484

This will likely happen. The push towards Barney and away from Andy has been happening for decades, but the goal now is to move beyond that to levels of enforcement that Barney never dreamed. Useful idiots are begging for changes that will turn out worse for them.

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485

If you ever watched the show, Barney was 10x more likely to fire his gun as he was a hothead, and emotionally weak. The push currently is towards a calm, cool, collected Sheriff Andy Taylor who understood that dominating every situation isnt the best way to handle things. The push is to get rid of the deputy Fife’s.

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486

Rarely is a reply so perfect.

487

Have you ever looked at the BLM organization? It’s marxist as hell. It’s more marxism than anything regarding actual black lives. The whole movement is extremist. Useful idiots may not know much about it, but the people rioting and looting damn sure do. And they are clear on their objectives and they are accomplishing their objectives. These riots are not random. They are well coordinated events that invite the useful idiots to give them cover.
The violent ones are the clear headed ones. BLM is a terrorist organization. Look at their body count since their inception. That is the type of body count that one could easily relate to terrorism. “Do what we say, raise your fist, or we will hurt you” ← This is not the mark of a peaceful organization. Don’t take my word for it, feel free to fact check it. But check out all the damage and deaths on account of BLM since even before Trump. This is not an innocent group with a few insurgents. This is the norm. Violence has been a BLM trademark even before George Floyd.
I have no issue with calling out the organization. Innocent people have paid with their lives for their tripe and it’s all a load of crap.