Tasering the Country Into Submission, We Are a Police State

[Echo In Light]

Tasering the Country Into Submission, We Are a Police State
by Anthony Wade

Day by day our civil liberties are eroded in a purposeful campaign to turn this country into a police state. They start with pretending that seat belt laws are designed for safety, when it really just gives the police another reason to pull you over. Same goes for cell phone laws. Then they place cameras at red lights to generate revenue without applying any resources. We all sit silent. I have heard the flawed logic that says, “Well, I don’t break the law, so why would it bother me?” The issue is not whether you feel you break the law, it is the power you concede to others to interpret if THEY feel you are breaking the law. Perhaps the most egregious violations of our civil liberties happen every day when the very people we pay to protect us, instead are killing us. The new weapon of choice is the Taser. Designed to pump electricity into a human being, the Taser has been used inappropriately, and has resulted in the deaths of innocents across this country for far too long now. It is time to remove this weapon from the arsenal of police officers who do not deserve to wear the badges they have.

I say innocents because even though the police have forgotten; this country is based upon the concept that we are INNOCENT until proven guilty. Thus ANY person killed while being arrested was killed while innocent and their death ensures they will be buried innocent as well. Perhaps the flaw at the heart of this problem is that the police seem to operate on the opposite premise. They presume that everyone is a perp (perpetrator), until proven innocent. They no longer work to protect the citizenry, but rather to ensure they are alive at the end of the day, regardless of whether we are or not. Obviously, this is not meant as a broad brush stroke as generalizations are dangerous. I am sure there are plenty of decent honest police professionals but their insistence to silence in the face of what their peers do makes them complicit. It is time to put a human face on the death toll and the spin.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__080119_tasering_the_country.htm

[HeraldSquare212]

1. Bloomberg wants to take DNA samples from everyone who is arrested, for anything

Not convicted, and not violent felonies - anything.

[Echo In Light]

2. Wisconsin Police Fingerprinting On Traffic Stops

Wisconsin Police Fingerprinting On Traffic Stops
Sarah Thomsen
WBAY-TV
December 23, 2007

If you’re ticketed by Green Bay police, you’ll get more than a fine. You’ll get fingerprinted, too. It’s a new way police are cracking down on crime.

If you’re caught speeding or playing your music too loud, or other crimes for which you might receive a citation, Green Bay police officers will ask for your drivers license and your finger. You’ll be fingerprinted right there on the spot. The fingerprint appears right next to the amount of the fine.

Police say it’s meant to protect you — in case the person they’re citing isn’t who they claim to be. But not everyone is sold on that explanation.

More:
http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1391

[TheUniverse]

5. This next generation, this country will go completely down the shithole.

Unfortunately, I am young and will live to see it.

[Echo In Light]

6. It's absurd. Everything could be different, be better for all, if people cared/were informed

[angrycarpenter]

3. Many police were schoolyard bullies

Not only do they bully the populace but their fellow officers as well. Screen these people out and things will get better. These are the people who make policy as to how the law will be enforced. Should the person who held your head in the toilet in 6th grade ever be in a position of responsibility regarding your freedom?

[Echo In Light]

4. Authoritarian personality disorder

http://familyrightsassociation.com/social_work/authoritarian_personality.htm

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_50_year_study_says_conservatives_0711.html

http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2005-10-27.6168871533

http://www.gossamer-wings.com/soc/Notes/race/tsld007.htm

[angrycarpenter]

7. Thank-you for those links.

I never knew that any one had a word for them other than "hateful, ass-kissing, greedheads".

[Echo In Light]

8. Those with a "potentially fascistic" disposition

And it should be noted that many authoritarians likewise have the psychological requirement of being subjected to rule-crazy, belligerent leaders. It's the might = right thing. I suspect that explains a good deal about Bush/Cheney's die hard cadre.

[ladjf]

9. Apparently Americans are either lacking in intelligence,

courage or both. Otherwise they would rise up and put a stop to this fascists crap.

[Echo In Light]

13. I too believe the rational free thinkers could easily overcome authoritarian blind faithers

We outnumber them. Drastically. Hence the enormous 24/7 cable "news" propaganda effort to control mass opinion.

[bbgrunt]

10. k & r

[paparush]

11. Seat Belt Saved My Life, and those of many others.

And I wish there was MORE enforcement of cellphone while driving laws.

Shut Up and Drive.

The Life you Take Might be MINE!

[starroute]

12. That doesn't invalidate the basic argument

The case of seat belts is a tricky one. Yes, they do save lives. But making them mandatory opens up uncomfortable possibilities, especially when cops then become able to ticket you for not wearing them. I'm not sure where I'd draw the line there. Same thing with motorcycle helmets and a host of similar safety issues.

But the situation with tasers is clear-cut and unequivocal. They got brought into general use with the argument that tasing people is better than shooting them -- and now they're being used to zap (and potentially kill) people that a cop would never dream of shooting. The net result is to make people terrified of resisting authority -- and that is a bad idea no matter what you believe about seat belt laws.

[Echo In Light]

14. I don't believe such laws are passed with safety over revenue in mind

In propaganda, yes. In actuality, no. Such intrusive measures specifically open the door further for authoritarians to snoop into to and profit from, again, in more ways than one. Never give them the benefit of the doubt.

[paparush]

15. Ever Read the Darwin Awards..?

Some people are just too stupid to live without some baseline of acceptable behavior (ie - buckling a seatbelt and keeping your eyes on the road)

Respect for authority is healthy.

Fear of authority is food for revolution.

/i just made that up
//i think its pretty good