Specialized
Member
A few random observations, in no particular order:
1. One common thread in Special Agent Weasel's posts seems to be that he and other LEO's could be more polite, except that some of us "rock-dwellers" have gone and ruined it for everyone, so now LEO's must be paranoid/suspicious/etc and must think the worst of all of us to protect themselves from the lowest common denominator.
2. Another of Special Agent Weasel's common themes is that if we'll just trust him and the other LEO's and do whatever they say, unquestioningly and willfully, they won't be forced to use against us a system which, judging by the contents of his numerous and voluminous posts, will always result in some sort of physical or legal pain to us, with more certainty than even the most crooked and lopsided casino game.
3. A third theme from the "trust the LEO" camp appears to be that it is incumbent upon the citizenry to not only obey the laws of their city, state, and country, but also demonstrate this compliance -- without question, on the spot, and by any means requested of them -- simply upon as little as the "suspicion" (some might say "paranoia" or "fishing instincts") of a LEO, because failure to do so must mean that in the law's eyes they have something to hide.
4. Some of Special Agent Weasel's missives appear to say, "C'mon, y'all, just give in and do what we say, okay? We don't want to have to physically and/or legally ruin your life, and if you continue to resist, that's what we're gonna have to do! All's I'm trying to do is keep you out of jail!"
Well, I happen to think that there's room for an alternate view here.
I have a few ideas that I'd like to throw out, with the hope that Special Agent Weasel and other LEO's might better understand where the citizenry (in my opinion; I certainly can't say I speak for everybody else) might take exception to their view of the world. To wit:
As to point 1 above: I hate to break it to you, but you people -- LEO's -- are dwelling on (or under) the same rocks the rest of us inhabit. There is just as significant a percentage of LEO's (probably more, given the God-complex issues) that are "bad" as there are citizens that are that way. Dealing with this fact is probably the second-most daunting challenge for any LEO. I not only believe this fact, I know it from working with and training cops/agents/ninjas over the years and observing their antics. You ain't any different than the rest of us, Hoss.
To Point 2: This sort of "forced aquiescence" by government is exactly why this country was born in the first place. It still defines the struggle that determines where the fulcrum sits under the civil liberties/societal order continuum at any given time. While there is ample reason to be careful in the performance of your job duties, if a LEO cannot resist the temptation to practice the court-sanctioned legal judo you've been recounting, this "we-hold-all-the-cards-so-just-give-in" mentality, he/she shouldn't be a LEO, in my opinion.
To Point 3: The constitution was written to obsolete this very argument, and has unfortunately been weakened considerably by the logical gymnastics applied to the body of law in the form of case precedent, which has unfortunately led to the subversion of the constitution's original intent. If I'm complying with the law, and minding my own business, it's none of your bucking fusiness what I'm doing, or why, or where I've been doing it, or where I'm going to do it. Period. End of argument.
To Point 4: We probably can't do a thing about this modus operandi. It's that same logic a guy applies when he tells his wife it's her fault he had to beat her up. I have to tell you this, though -- the reason people don't trust LEO's implicitly when they're stopped is that there are representatively more instances of "bad cops" in the general cop population than there are "bad citizens" in the general citizenry out there, and we never know which one we're going to get when we roll down the window. You ain't the only one that's peering into a box of chocolates! Sometimes LEO's get a tentative or "nutted up" response that you don't trust from a stopped citizen because of this apprehension, not because they're up to no good. Unfounded suspicion on an LEO's part is NOT a basis for the legal and punitive actions you describe, no matter how inevitable it may or may not be.
Thoughts?
1. One common thread in Special Agent Weasel's posts seems to be that he and other LEO's could be more polite, except that some of us "rock-dwellers" have gone and ruined it for everyone, so now LEO's must be paranoid/suspicious/etc and must think the worst of all of us to protect themselves from the lowest common denominator.
2. Another of Special Agent Weasel's common themes is that if we'll just trust him and the other LEO's and do whatever they say, unquestioningly and willfully, they won't be forced to use against us a system which, judging by the contents of his numerous and voluminous posts, will always result in some sort of physical or legal pain to us, with more certainty than even the most crooked and lopsided casino game.
3. A third theme from the "trust the LEO" camp appears to be that it is incumbent upon the citizenry to not only obey the laws of their city, state, and country, but also demonstrate this compliance -- without question, on the spot, and by any means requested of them -- simply upon as little as the "suspicion" (some might say "paranoia" or "fishing instincts") of a LEO, because failure to do so must mean that in the law's eyes they have something to hide.
4. Some of Special Agent Weasel's missives appear to say, "C'mon, y'all, just give in and do what we say, okay? We don't want to have to physically and/or legally ruin your life, and if you continue to resist, that's what we're gonna have to do! All's I'm trying to do is keep you out of jail!"
Well, I happen to think that there's room for an alternate view here.
I have a few ideas that I'd like to throw out, with the hope that Special Agent Weasel and other LEO's might better understand where the citizenry (in my opinion; I certainly can't say I speak for everybody else) might take exception to their view of the world. To wit:
As to point 1 above: I hate to break it to you, but you people -- LEO's -- are dwelling on (or under) the same rocks the rest of us inhabit. There is just as significant a percentage of LEO's (probably more, given the God-complex issues) that are "bad" as there are citizens that are that way. Dealing with this fact is probably the second-most daunting challenge for any LEO. I not only believe this fact, I know it from working with and training cops/agents/ninjas over the years and observing their antics. You ain't any different than the rest of us, Hoss.
To Point 2: This sort of "forced aquiescence" by government is exactly why this country was born in the first place. It still defines the struggle that determines where the fulcrum sits under the civil liberties/societal order continuum at any given time. While there is ample reason to be careful in the performance of your job duties, if a LEO cannot resist the temptation to practice the court-sanctioned legal judo you've been recounting, this "we-hold-all-the-cards-so-just-give-in" mentality, he/she shouldn't be a LEO, in my opinion.
To Point 3: The constitution was written to obsolete this very argument, and has unfortunately been weakened considerably by the logical gymnastics applied to the body of law in the form of case precedent, which has unfortunately led to the subversion of the constitution's original intent. If I'm complying with the law, and minding my own business, it's none of your bucking fusiness what I'm doing, or why, or where I've been doing it, or where I'm going to do it. Period. End of argument.
To Point 4: We probably can't do a thing about this modus operandi. It's that same logic a guy applies when he tells his wife it's her fault he had to beat her up. I have to tell you this, though -- the reason people don't trust LEO's implicitly when they're stopped is that there are representatively more instances of "bad cops" in the general cop population than there are "bad citizens" in the general citizenry out there, and we never know which one we're going to get when we roll down the window. You ain't the only one that's peering into a box of chocolates! Sometimes LEO's get a tentative or "nutted up" response that you don't trust from a stopped citizen because of this apprehension, not because they're up to no good. Unfounded suspicion on an LEO's part is NOT a basis for the legal and punitive actions you describe, no matter how inevitable it may or may not be.
Thoughts?
