Friday, March 30, 2007

Playing stupid

It appears that there is a new generation of cop shows hitting the air waves lately. I admit I've been watching some of them.

Naturally these programs universally portray cops as the protagonists, which clearly is the truth with almost every confrontation they show. In reality, though, cops are not always the good guys. Even in these videos, the cops are not always the good guys. Some of the cops blatantly disregard so many laws, it just blows my mind. But the ex-cop narrator never says a word about the cops' unlawful actions. He just blows his wad again and again as the sadistic abusers of authority "protect" people by victimizing them.

Anybody ever heard of that United States Constitution thing? It goes a little something like this:

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen video of cops violating this undeniable right of the American people. One example I saw recently involved a female cop who stopped a male driver for a minor traffic violation. The driver stopped the car and cooperated fully with the cop until she took his wallet from him and began looking through it.

That episode, to this point, constitutes an unlawful search and seizure, a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The cops have absolutely no right to take my wallet or your wallet or anyone else's wallet during a routine traffic stop.

After the cop took the driver's wallet and began violating one of the most basic rights given to EVERY HUMAN BEING who sets foot on American soil, the motorist was not very happy. So he tried to take his wallet back from her, as she had absolutely no justification to take it from him in the first place. However, believing she has every right to strip this man of his Constitutional FREEDOM, simply because she is a cop, the cop resisted, and the previously calm situation became something resembling a fight.

In the cop's mind, the situation had now become an "assault on an officer" or "resisting arrest," so she treated it as such. That is, after she provoked a peaceful man to forcibly--not violently--assert his rights, she had the balls to pretend her unlawful actions did not cause the whole episode. Of course, the cop never got in trouble for it. In fact, it appears as though the "justice" system thought of her as a hero after a subsequent illegal search of the man's vehicle netted a hefty amount of cocaine.

Oh, but the cocaine justifies everything, right?

No, it doesn't. And the fact that this kind of thing happens every day ought to scare the shit out of every American. The fact that most viewers of these cop shows don't know their Constitutional rights ought to scare the shit out of every American. The fact that our "protectors" are a bigger threat to our safety than "criminals" ought to scare the shit out of every American.

This stuff ought to scare you so shitless that you actually feel compelled to do something about it. Write a blog entry. Write to the producers of these shows. Tell your local police chief that your community will not tolerate abuse of authority. Press charges on the cop who stripped you of your rights. Just don't continue to allow this kind of behavior because it will happen to you someday if you keep playing stupid.

Pissing off cops is not illegal. Calling cops names is not illegal. Asserting your Constitutional rights to cops is not illegal. Fighting back is not illegal.

Protecting your liberty is not illegal. It is mandatory.

I don't dislike cops. I dislike bad cops.

Aimless
The Quasi-Aimless Trailer