America’s Cops Need to Get a F***ing Clue.

Now it’s the Cleveland PD’s chance to display some truly epic ignorance and stupidity:

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins took the field Sunday in a shirt reading “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III” in a gesture to bring light to officer-involved shootings in Ohio that have happened in the last three months. Now Cleveland Police Patrolman Union President Jeff Follmer is demanding an apology from the Browns for Hawkins’ actions on Sunday.
He said,”It’s pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law. They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland Police protect and serve the Browns stadium and the Browns organization owes us an apology.”

Not that it is confined to Cleveland: the same kind of cluelessness has been on display in St. Louis, and other cities across the country, large and small. Cops don’t get it. They truly do not understand.

This is because of a long process of “othering” that has gone on for decades. Politicians and pundits have sown the seeds of mistrust between civilians and law enforcement, to the extent that we not only mistrust each other, but we are preparing to be attacked at any moment. (One example: more people wanting to carry concealed weapons, and more cops opposing CCW.) It’s now at the point where far too many people in Law Enforcement feel that anyone who isn’t a cop is a potentially deadly enemy, and they act on that mindset.

On Edit: Here is another example.

The solution is to change the way we see each other. In spite of the media, in spite of regressive jackasses on all sides, people of good will can and must re-establish communication and re-develop mutual respect. There are a lot of good cops out there, and we can start with them. Weed out the “Kill them all” a**holes and get down to business with the real professionals who actually want to protect and to serve.

But this ain’t gonna happen until the police holster their weapons, close their mouths, and open their ears. From the newest rookie patrolman, through the chiefs and up to the District Attorneys, Law Enforcement needs to understand that we have good reason to fear and mistrust them. And that cannot continue to be the case.

Get a clue, cops. Please.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

When a Nixon Called out the National Guard…

Back in the day, a bunch of protesters were, well, protesting, and a politician named Nixon had the National Guard called out (by a crony of his), loaded weapons and all. Here’s what happened:

Nobody needs automatic weapons pointed at them when they are exercising their First Amendment rights. No one deserves that. And no ethical politician should EVER make that their option of first resort.

” Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. ”

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Freedom of Speech: Not Quite Dead, but it’s Mostly Dead.

See that guy? He was arrested yesterday in Wisconsin, for holding up a sign saying: “Article 1, Section 4”. That is the little tiny part of their state Constitution that guarantees residents of that state the right to freedom of speech. The cops took umbrage to a citizen holding a sign that cited the law, so they cuffed him and threw him in jail.

See that guy? He’s a octogenarian military veteran, arrested for peaceable assembly in North Carolina. The Repubs that own that state took umbrage at a senior citizen who walks with a cane reminding the people what a real hero looks like, so they cuffed him and threw him in jail, too.

“Republicans”, you see, have ticked off a lot of people lately. These ticked-off people have been engaging in peaceful protest, and the GOP is now ticked off right back. So, they have started arresting protesters.

All that has accomplished thus far is to bring out more protesters. And tourists who wanted to see the protesters. So, the Elephants decided to arrest even more people. Result? Even MORE protesters and gawkers.

So now, those a**holes Repubs in Cheese Country can arrest you for no reason if you are anywhere they don’t want you to be. Really. Click the link if you don’t believe it. Same deal in North Carolina. That’s upping the ante, all right: Even Bush the Dumber didn’t go so far as busting innocent people for breathing in the wrong place.

“Innocent? Bah, Humbug” says Scott Fitzgerald, one of the Grand Old Poohbahs of the occupying force Wisconsin GOP. “Innocence does not matter, we have a state to milk for all it is worth”. (OK, that is not a verbatim transcript of his remarks. But it does capture the essence. What he did say is damned nearly as bad, or even worse: “If you are in the vicinity of the illegal demonstrations that have been taking place over the noon hour in the rotunda, you will be considered part of the protests and are subject to being ticketed.”) Yes that’s right. Even if you aren’t involved in the protest, they’ll bust you for being nearby one.

Ask one innocent bystander:

Joe Meiller, a Madison Metro bus driver who brought his two sons to watch the singalong Friday from the balcony, was upset that he was asked to leave by Capitol police. “We didn’t sing or clap once,” Meiller said. “If I observe a bank robbery nearby, am I a participant because I was nearby?”

That’s your Republican America today, friends: people being arrested for not liking Republican policies, and saying so politely. That’s what your Republicans see as “freedom of speech”: you can say anything you want, so long as they agree with it. And shut up if you don’t like Repubs, or they’ll throw your a** in jail.

Even if you don’t say a word. Even if you’re nearly crippled. Even if you weren’t part of the protest at all. Jailed, by Imperial Republican decree. Freedom of speech? Not hardly.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

P.S. Other people who were punished for either protesting or being nearby a protest against “Republican” policies on May 4, 1970:

Yes, that’s blood. Yes, they are dead. Think it can’t happen again? Think again.