When I was stationed in [the former West] Germany in the 80s one of the guys in my platoon was an avid & considerate traveler. He never claimed to be Canadian but
he had a Canadian flag patch on his traveling pack
I apologize in advance for the long reply. In my defense A) I am retired; and B) I had two cups of coffee this morning.
TL;DR: I don't know for sure what's happening in the picture. I do know that police forces are agents of the State. I will suggest below that police forces are not structured for (and have no significant interest in) protecting or serving the public.
Yes, but we’re sat here commenting on a picture of police protecting corporate property during a protest, so we are dealing exclusively with “what we might want”
Seems to me that the picture is of "what actually happens". Or happened at that moment.
Everyone piling on complaining that police shouldn’t be doing that,
I didn't say anything about what the police in the pic were doing.
no one has any idea what a competent and well trained police force would be doing instead.
what a competent and well trained NYPD would be doing instead:
the NYPD's official mottto is Faithful Unto Death. Doesn't shed much light on what they should be doing.
the NYPD Street Crime unit's motto was We Own The Night . That seems a little sketchy to me. Like a statement of power rather than an indication of what they should be doing.
the NYPD's old cruiser slogan was Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect . Indicates how they aspired to behave but not what they should have been doing.
the NYPD's new slogan cruiser slogan is Fighting Crime, Protecting The Public . Now we have something to work with, a clear statement of what they think they should be doing.
So. Are the officers in the pic fighting crime and/or protecting the public? It's not clear to me that they are but I'm willing to listen to other interpretations.
what a competent and well trained police force would be doing instead:
Normatively, I might say
intervening in criminal behavior they observe
responding to reports of active criminal behavior
investigating reports of past criminal behavior they did not witness
first response (along with firefighters and EMTs) to emergency situations
Descriptively,
catching slaves and returning them to their owners, historically speaking. Radley Balko does a good job laying this out.
uttering the magic words like "I suspect this was involved in a crime" and seizing [cars, houses, cash, whatever]. Bonus points for using seized assets to buy frozen margarita machines.
manipulating suspects (Reid technique) and lying to them (Frazier v. Cupp). It's illegal for suspects to lie, though. Laws for thee but not for me.
Basically citizens are forced to pay for a police force under penalty of fine or imprisonment, but the police don't have to do anything for the citizen. And the police can steal the citizen's stuff with effective impunity. Don't get me started on Q.A. or the incestuous relationships PDs have with DAs (the latter having absolute rather than just qualified immunity).
Yes. It's rare for a US citizen to be in a different political party or religious denomination than their parents. <- not happening by accident
Also, most people I try to have good faith discussions with speak solely in soundbites they heard in their favorite news ecosystem. No critical thought occurring at all.
So you don’t want the police to protect homeless people, for example?
What we might want and what actually happens are different things. In philosophical terms it's the difference between the normative and the descriptive.
Example: for the several years I was unhoused police harassed me regularly (despite being careful of to break no laws or inconvenience any Normals) and offered help exactly zero times. Admitted it's anecdotal but I don't think it's an outlier case.
Questions with my BOFH answers when I'm annoyed. And I'm often annoyed.
Q. I downloaded [whatever]. Where is it?
A. Wherever you told that dialog box to put it. I wasn't there.
Q. What's "any key"?
A. It's any key on the keyboard. Pick at random, or pick your favorite letter if you have one. [note: this isn't exactly true but I've never seen anyone pick CapsLock or some other key that might not result in continuance.]
Q. Why isn't my computer working?
A. It's not turned on.
Q. Why can't I run a microwave, air conditioner, and blowdryer off a walmart marine battery in my campervan?
A. It's a unit of measurement, so a millimeter is exactly 1mm. You can see them as small hashmarks on most rulers. One inch is roughly 25mm, if that helps. (narrator voice: "It didn't help.")
Q. What time is it?
A. [/me, the 8-12 substitute teacher, turns to look at the classroom's wall clock. I point to it.] The clock is right.
Q. What does it say?
A. Well, you might remember that [/me visualizing the sweet nothingness of death or at least a tequila & NyQuil blackout] the short hand shows the hour and the long hand shows minutes.
Q. [dead teen eyes staring at clock, jaw slackening, brain melting] So.... what does it say?
“The specter of armed officers at polling places threatens the freedom of this upcoming election,” according to the complaint.
The specter of armed officers at polling places should make citizens re-familiarize with grand-dad's deer rifle that's been stored in the hall closet. This is not a drill.
What’s the best way to break up a dog fight at the dog park?
I don't know the best way but I'll say what I did earlier this year when a ~150lb cane corso attacked another person's a younger dog of the same breed (~120lbs, neither of them were mine). By the time I got over to them they were locked onto each other's faces and jerking their heads back and forth. The owners were useless in preventing damage -- blood was already smeared over the dogs. I applied a short blast of POM pepper spray at the combined dog face area and the combatants suddenly remembered they had better things to do like breathing and being able to see .
They recovered from the spray in a few minutes and the owners left the dog park, one would guess to the respective vets to fix the damage. And hopefully to schedule neutering for their intact males.
I assume I'll collect downvotes about this approach but it worked and didn't risk further damaging the animals. No regrets.
Be careful about trusting flash drives. I've had several crap the bed. My understanding is the data is still there but the internal controller has fallen over.
I agree with others that say make multiple copies in multiples places on different media types.
Unless it's been autoclaved or packaged in a "clean room" I don't assume anything's sterile . I would say that mass produced paper products like that are closer to sanitary.
if it was a cheap solution everyone would just install batteries but guess what?
I'd say it can be a cheap solution (see below) but folks don't want to decrease their power use to do it. Tiny Home dwellers and vanfolk can live offgrid indefinitely because they plan their use and electrical systems mindfully.
I lived off-grid for over 6 years with a power setup that cost about $1,350. And even then I was using a premium solar charge controller and semi-premium battery bank. If I were building out the same capacity today it'd cost about $850.
I personally haven’t ever heard of someone being “forced” to connect to the grid but if so that’s a sad thing.
I used to live in a tiny rural town, pop. ~700. Town council passed an ordinance that everyone had to be connected to the grid. This happened about a month after the mayor (and town plumber) stood on my porch and talked about how gummint should stay out of people's business.
What a great site!
I added them to my reading list. It's not mentioned on the site AFAIK but the RSS feed is https://www.nationhoodlab.org/feed/
When I was stationed in [the former West] Germany in the 80s one of the guys in my platoon was an avid & considerate traveler. He never claimed to be Canadian but
He didn't want to lumped in with "Ugly American" a-holes. And he wasn't. Probably more due his considerate behavior than flag patch but who knows.
Other proof of his excellence: he took me to my first Fields of the Nephilim, Sisters of Mercy, and Nitzer Ebb shows.
I apologize in advance for the long reply. In my defense A) I am retired; and B) I had two cups of coffee this morning.
TL;DR: I don't know for sure what's happening in the picture. I do know that police forces are agents of the State. I will suggest below that police forces are not structured for (and have no significant interest in) protecting or serving the public.
Seems to me that the picture is of "what actually happens". Or happened at that moment.
I didn't say anything about what the police in the pic were doing.
what a competent and well trained NYPD would be doing instead:
So. Are the officers in the pic fighting crime and/or protecting the public? It's not clear to me that they are but I'm willing to listen to other interpretations.
what a competent and well trained police force would be doing instead:
Normatively, I might say
Descriptively,
Basically citizens are forced to pay for a police force under penalty of fine or imprisonment, but the police don't have to do anything for the citizen. And the police can steal the citizen's stuff with effective impunity. Don't get me started on Q.A. or the incestuous relationships PDs have with DAs (the latter having absolute rather than just qualified immunity).
Yes. It's rare for a US citizen to be in a different political party or religious denomination than their parents. <- not happening by accident
Also, most people I try to have good faith discussions with speak solely in soundbites they heard in their favorite news ecosystem. No critical thought occurring at all.
What we might want and what actually happens are different things. In philosophical terms it's the difference between the normative and the descriptive.
Example: for the several years I was unhoused police harassed me regularly (despite being careful of to break no laws or inconvenience any Normals) and offered help exactly zero times. Admitted it's anecdotal but I don't think it's an outlier case.
"To Serve and Protect [the status quo]"
Questions with my BOFH answers when I'm annoyed. And I'm often annoyed.
{edited for formatting}
The specter of armed officers at polling places should make citizens re-familiarize with grand-dad's deer rifle that's been stored in the hall closet. This is not a drill.
or kidnap them until the voting window has closed
But brainwashing children to believe that if they don't worship the family god they will burn in hell forever is totally cool.
the Republican "I swear we're not secretly gay" convention.
I don't think Trump has ever thought about consent in any context.
I had to look it up. The wikipedia article on it is worth the read.
I don't know the best way but I'll say what I did earlier this year when a ~150lb cane corso attacked another person's a younger dog of the same breed (~120lbs, neither of them were mine). By the time I got over to them they were locked onto each other's faces and jerking their heads back and forth. The owners were useless in preventing damage -- blood was already smeared over the dogs. I applied a short blast of POM pepper spray at the combined dog face area and the combatants suddenly remembered they had better things to do like breathing and being able to see .
They recovered from the spray in a few minutes and the owners left the dog park, one would guess to the respective vets to fix the damage. And hopefully to schedule neutering for their intact males.
I assume I'll collect downvotes about this approach but it worked and didn't risk further damaging the animals. No regrets.
Installing a urinal over his grave could make a dent in the national debt. Charge people $20 to piss on him, and charge MAGA $20 to clean it up again.
I would absolutely pay $20 to piss on his grave.
Be careful about trusting flash drives. I've had several crap the bed. My understanding is the data is still there but the internal controller has fallen over.
I agree with others that say make multiple copies in multiples places on different media types.
Unless it's been autoclaved or packaged in a "clean room" I don't assume anything's sterile . I would say that mass produced paper products like that are closer to sanitary.
United States. This occurred in Rains County, TX.
I'd say it can be a cheap solution (see below) but folks don't want to decrease their power use to do it. Tiny Home dwellers and vanfolk can live offgrid indefinitely because they plan their use and electrical systems mindfully.
I lived off-grid for over 6 years with a power setup that cost about $1,350. And even then I was using a premium solar charge controller and semi-premium battery bank. If I were building out the same capacity today it'd cost about $850.
I used to live in a tiny rural town, pop. ~700. Town council passed an ordinance that everyone had to be connected to the grid. This happened about a month after the mayor (and town plumber) stood on my porch and talked about how gummint should stay out of people's business.
I was hoping for capybaras
He's like someone's obnoxious 5-year-old in a movie theater that can't STFU