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Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

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Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#341

Post by manmal »

TrapLord_Rhodo wrote: post #324
elcritch wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could say he was giving the owners a chance at recovering some value rather than nothing. Also, it’s probably a more apt analogy for modern US hospitals: when you’re having say a heart attack you can’t exactly “price shop”.

But the slanted history point of view is that he started fires, so he can buy the distressed property. hospitals don't have an incentive to give you a heart attack.

I‘m curious, why don’t hospitals have such an incentive? Naive conjecture would tell me otherwise.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#342

Post by dontlaugh »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #321
dontlaugh wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Police are part of the “special bodies of armed men” that form the state. They only exist to protect the interests of the ruling class, which in most cases is exploiting labour.

Laborers need and want protection and laws too. The vast majority of what police actually do is serving labor.

Not if the laws are written against their interests.

Somehow, billionaires don’t go to prison for stealing food.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#344

Post by NickC25 »

WalterBright wrote: post #306
NickC25 wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart is able to provide cheap goods because it can strong-arm providers into taking a loss or operating at a break-even point just for the chance to sell at Walmart. It can also provide cheap goods because they pay their workers jack shit and instruct employees to use government subsidized healthcare and insurance. It's totally possible to provide good pay, healthcare, etc... to employees, still have healthy enoug…

1. Nobody makes providers sell thru Walmart. 2. Nobody makes anyone buy from Walmart. 3. Nobody makes anyone work for Walmart. 4. Anybody is free to spin up a competitor to Walmart. 5. Walmart is not responsible for government wealth transfer programs. > It's totally possible to provide [...] You and anyone else are free to do so.

Have you ever been to a small town in America? Outside of a few regions, Walmart is all they have...so that sort of nixes points 2 and 3.

Regarding point 4, and your quoting of me - yes, people have. And some have been lucky in that they've made themselves multigenerational wealth in doing so. The guy who founded Costco did it, and made himself over a billion dollars. However, the Waltons have hundreds of times that amount. You can make a billion by doing right by everyone, or hundreds of billions by doing right by everyone not named you. I know what number I'd be content with, not sure about you though. (Hint: if you give me a billion dollars, I'm retiring tomorrow)

Regarding point 5, Walmart IS however responsible for spending vast amounts of money (generational money) over the years to enact some pretty anti consumer and anti worker laws throughout the country. It IS responsible for funding some crazy far-right politicians. It IS responsible for paying its workers so little that they are "encouraged" to go on food stamps and apply for section 8 housing.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#345

Post by TrapLord_Rhodo »

manmal wrote: post #341
TrapLord_Rhodo wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the slanted history point of view is that he started fires, so he can buy the distressed property. hospitals don't have an incentive to give you a heart attack.

I‘m curious, why don’t hospitals have such an incentive? Naive conjecture would tell me otherwise.

They do have an incentive to tell you your house is on fire (I.G. prescription drugs, and the like), but they don't actively set houses on fire because they don't have 100% market capture to the patients.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#346

Post by greyface- »

thmsths wrote: post #335
et-al wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SF Police Department bombed the mayor's house in 1975: "In early August 1975, the SFPD went on strike over a pay dispute, violating a California law prohibiting police from striking. The city quickly obtained a court order declaring the strike illegal and enjoining the SFPD back to work. The court messenger delivering the order was met with violence and the SFPD continued to strike... The ACLU obtained a court or…

Very naive question: why did Federal law enforcement not get involved?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_wall_of_silence

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#347

Post by pcthrowaway »

kemayo wrote: post #156

This is a pretty shady looking protection racket -- "nice business you've got here, be a shame if something were to happen to it". With the difference from traditional gang/mafia activity just being that they'll get the government to remove your business license, rather than burning the place down. Similarly, I once got a speeding ticket while driving through Kansas, and was instructed by the ticketing officer on how…

> Similarly, I once got a speeding ticket while driving through Kansas, and was instructed by the ticketing officer on how to send a "donation" to the "Sheriff's Benevolent Society"

This is when you express frustration because you already donated to the Policemen's Ball.

If it works out, the officer will respond with something like "What are you talking about, policemen don't have balls"

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#348

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

thedaly wrote: post #49

> Santamaria was later required to come up with security plans outlining the number of officers needed per night. The officers insisted on getting paid cash, she said. She feared if she didn’t oblige, she’d lose her license. > Eventually, another officer helped schedule off-duty work: Derek Chauvin. He worked security at her club for 17 years. > ... > She sold the club in 2019. When Santamaria saw Chauvin pinning Geo…

One theory I read is that Floyd and Chauvin were part of the same counterfeiting ring operating out of that club, and Chauvin murdered Floyd in order to keep him quiet. (Recall that Floyd was originally arrested for suspected use of a counterfeit $20 bill.) I think maybe part of the idea was that nightclubs are interesting to counterfeiters because they deal with so much cash.

(Racism still plays a big part in the Floyd story even if this is true -- Chauvin presumably thought he could get away with it, and his fellow officers mostly didn't try to stop him.)

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#350

Post by tcbawo »

BWStearns wrote: post #93

Friend of mine runs a drone photography business (think instagram people on vacation or house photography for real estate). The city requires he hire an off duty cop for $100/hr to “manage the set” and the minimum time per engagement for this rent-a-racketeer service is four hours. The shoots are usually about 30 minutes.

This ordinance sounds like it was created to discourage people from flying drones and photographing residents without their permission. If I had to guess, some hobbyists probably tried to claim what they were doing was business-related. So, the city decided to set a high bar.
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