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The Criminalization of Everyday Life

tomdispatch.com

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Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#71

Post by JonnieCache »

redblacktree wrote: post #66
JonnieCache wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to religiously apply that view, nobody is in the driving seat, chaos reigns, conspiracy theorists are looking to replace their father, etc etc. These days I try to take more of a balanced perspective. There are many examples of covert malevolent acts in the halls of power throughout history, there was a list of confessed false flag operations on here just the other day. Look into any book about the history of…

If you discover a conspiracy that you believe, in absence of proof, what can you do with that information? I stopped trying to "figure it all out" once I realized that there was very little I can do as an individual, even if I am right about some conspiracy.

I suppose I worry that if I dismiss this stuff out of hand, one day I'll be blind to the one for which there is proof, or I'll ignore someone else who with hindsight shouldn't have been ignored. Like rms.

But you're probably right, this kind of thinking is largely self-indulgent.

EDIT: a little understanding of that kind of political history definitely gives useful context to discourse on current affairs, I think. It is helpful to consider how the events of the present might be seen in 30 or 50 years time, even without knowledge of what occurs between now and then.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#72

Post by maxerickson »

iambateman wrote: post #32

If every police station in the country is equipped with military-grade weapons and vehicles, what happens in the event of despotic leadership? Suppose someone rises to power with little regard for legislative oversight and activates the sleeping military at home. It might start with a real (or faked) terror event coordinated across several major cities. It wouldn't take much at all, 5-10 cities, and suddenly: 1. Inte…

Why are the enforcers that are keeping the police in line so quick to go along with the despot?

Or do you really think that the police in the U.S. are equivalent to a disciplined, no-questions-asked unit of the Federal government?

(I don't think a majority of the military could be encouraged to act directly against the citizens of the U.S., never mind the police (preempting snide replies, against the people in a nationally organized manner))

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#73

Post by afterburner »

mhurron wrote: post #12
mkaziz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada?

Satan's Little Helper? The country that seems to simply enacts laws and legislation that just mirror the US so they look like good little friends? The country that assists the NSA as needed? That Canada?

The general attitude, and the implications of everyone having health care, are far better. The police in general have a far friendlier disposition. It's not all about authority and the "listen to me I'm the coach/sergeant" sports-talk/military-talk mentality. There is also no real race issue the way African Americans experience in the US (a systematic, paranoid, aggressive marginalization of a large section of society).

And there certainly isn't anything like the militarization of the police like there is in the US, which is the focus of this article.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#74

Post by salient »

sliverstorm wrote: post #21
MrZongle2 wrote: post #5

When I read something like this, I always think back to when I would see some tinfoil-hat type ranting on Usenet 20 years ago about the growing surveillance/police state in America. It was generally eye-rolling or unintentionally hilarious stuff. What's depressing is that it's starting to look like they were right.

The real tinfoil types believe that the government cloud research facility in Alaska controls the weather globally and can cause earthquakes and tsunamis on command. We don't have any indication to believe that's true yet.

The funny thing is that we're probably just a few decades away from doing that, too.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#75

Post by aestra »

bilbo0s wrote: post #64
aestra wrote: post #26

WOW! The most shocking linked article is the kids who got arrested for waiting for the bus. They were excepted to plea bargain. That's right, the charges weren't dropped!!!!!! edit the DA dismissed the charges but the police chief thinks the arrest was justified. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/04/charges... Interview with the coach (he seems like a really nice guy): http://www.infowars.com/kids-arr…

Ok... that one is crazy. Obey the cop and get suspended... or obey the teacher and go to jail. Just leaving these kids in no-win situations. SOMEONE has to be willing to listen and hear the kids out. Either the cop has to hear them out, and then say "OK, well I'll just keep an eye on you until your teacher comes." Or the teacher has to hear them out, and then say "Well, OK, it was my fault for telling you guys to sta…

Did you see the interview with the coach? He showed up, identified himself, said these kids were in the right place and they were going to a basketball game all while speaking very respecfully and the cops said if he didn't leave the coach was going to jail too! Apparently being out in public is illegal.

They were going to a basketball game not school so they probably wouldn't get suspended but they were expected to be there. Plus they wanted to be there. It was according to the coach the normal place they caught the bus for games.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#76

Post by raven105x »

anon4 wrote: post #45
coldcode wrote: post #14

What a depressing article(s). Our reality is only going to get worse since there is little we can (or have the will to) do. At least in the Ukraine people are really contemplating change. Here we watch our football and our shows and fawn over celebrities and nothing changes.

Yeah, but in Ukraine, they're digging themselves out of a much deeper hole. If they manage to get accepted in the EU, a lot of them would emigrate west. USA citizens don't have that option. There isn't a "west" for someone from the USA to emigrate to. USA is the west. You shouldn't compare your corruption with Ukraine's or other Soviet Bloc countries'. Those people have a place to run to, as hard as getting there is.…

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands.

Hell, even Switzerland.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#77

Post by DanBC »

djdj123 wrote: post #53
DanBC wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crime, especially violent crime, is dropping in most of US.

This generalization gets bandied about too much. Crime trends and patterns are highly local. I'm sure violent crime is dropping in many places, but in other places it's spiraling out of control, for example, South Chicago, East Oakland, Detroit. I think it's a mistake to throw those places in the same basket as a small city in Ohio (unless it really has similar crime stats).

Do you have crime stats for those areas please?

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#78

Post by afterburner »

I generally agree with the article, but I object to this section:

"And the mood is spreading. Take the asset bubble collapse of 2008 and the rising cries of progressives for the criminal prosecution of Wall Street perpetrators, as if a fundamentally sound financial system had been abused by a small number of criminals who were running free after the debacle. Instead of pushing a debate about how to restructure our predatory financial system, liberals in their focus on individual prosecution are aping the punitive zeal of the authoritarians. A few high-profile prosecutions for insider trading (which had nothing to do with the last crash) have, of course, not changed Wall Street one bit."

I think that the self-serving, damaging actions of those with a lot of power that affected the entire world's economy is worth looking into at least some prosecution, it's hardly in the same league as what happened to three innocent teenagers waiting for a bus. And if insider trading isn't related to the last crash, then of course prosecuting it isn't going to change anything.

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#79

Post by tunap »

VLM wrote: post #41
crazygringo wrote: post #22

I can't say I'm exactly surprised. If you ran a police department, you're not about to turn down a free tank -- I mean, how cool is that, toys for the boys?!?! What's bothersome is that a police department is allowed to do this. That DoD rules don't prohibit selling/giving military equipment to police departments. That state legislatures don't prohibit it. A police department, like any organization, is always going t…

The mayor is busy making speeches about how he's tough on crime. Things are gerrymandered enough that its a one party system where I live, so any speeches are a bit extreme, hoping to rise up in the party ranks, not appeal to anyone but extremists. My little city has one of those tanks and used it down the street from my home a couple years ago. Couple broke up, guy goes out, gets drunk, comes home, mostly but not en…

Well, at least the parking break didn't fail and crush the neighbor's car.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2004-08-05/news/dog-day-after...

Re: The Criminalization of Everyday Life

#80

Post by [deleted] »

viggity wrote: post #42
0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #23

At least the 113th congress didn't create many new laws. No SOPA, PIPA, or COICA yet either.

one of the few beauties of our government is that it is near impossible to pass laws with a divided congress. I'm a pretty passionate libertarian/conservative but having the dems control one house of congress isn't all that bad of a thing (from my viewpoint)

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