Forum Post: Police and Protester forum for understanding?
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 19, 2011, 9:55 p.m. EST by Bakersxdozen
(1)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
It's become increasingly apparent to me that the polarity between protesters and police is doing nothing but growing larger with each passing day and each new video posted of police brutality. The initial reaction of those of us fed up with the current system is an increasing hatred for the police, which only goes to support the "us vs them mentality", something I believe that we need to eliminate at all costs.
Even before the occupy protests, with words like "pig" being used on daily basis to refer to a police officer, the dehumanizing of our police force was a common thing; all the more now that this is such a hot topic in the news. I may be dramatizing, but this dehumanization is how things like genocide occur; No one can drop napalm on a bunch of woman and children, or give them blankets infected with smallpox without viewing them as something less than human.
Our focus now has to be in unifying this polarity, and ultimately unifying humankind; I see no other option.
What I'm proposing is this; somehow, we host events, get togethers, informal meetings; Meetings between police and protesters so that we can better understand one and other. As someone who has broken the law a number of times, and is in full support of the occupy movement, I can't begin to say I understand what goes on inside a police officers head; but I do know that Fear breeds in the unknown, and if we can bridge the gap between us and one of our percieved enemies, than we may be one step closer to bringing about the change we wish to see.
I can imagine, from the various protests I've been to and the numerous videos that I've seen, that deep down inside; these police officers who are beating protesters and macing people are just as afraid as we are.
One of the biggest problems is the deliberate militarization of our police departments. One of the clues is the fact that our cops are no longer 'police officers,' they are 'law enforcement.' They are no longer officers, they are enforcers. Citizens are now viewed as potential enemies of the state. Police chiefs from major metropolitan areas now routinely receive anti-terrorist training. Our police departments have essentially become a de facto branch of the military, possibly as a way to circumvent the need for Congressional authority before using the Army on US soil, per the Posse Comitatus Act.
@rosewood
After my initial "This is a wonderful idea!" I realized that exactly what your voicing; that it could be used in that way. Maybe I'm just being naive, but putting ideas out there can't hurt. What if it was something like "protesters and police go bowling day?"
in the interest of building good relations.
Yes it's a good idea, but some elements within the PD will use it as an opportunity to infiltrate, subvert and psyop; which is why I posted a proposal for a dedicated police stream or channel which will be managed by psychologists, therapists, spiritual and humanistic leaders who will therapuetically work with police. No one was interested in the idea at the time; but you definitely are correct. It's not always fear with police, as now some PD and agencies have a preference for sociopaths; who will obey virtually ANY ORDER.
It is hard to say what is going on in the police department. Who is giving the orders from above??? To me it just don't seem like policy isn't being followed. Or it's being ignored. The police look bad because of leadership.
I am of the opinion that the police should withdraw from all OWS activities. It would be interesting what would happen.
Bakersxdozen wrote: the "us vs them mentality", something I believe that we need to eliminate at all costs.END-
Awesome. What if the only cost was confronting a strange social fear of associating with article 5 of the US constitution (cops are supposed to respect that right?) by placing ART5 after your username. What happens is that when the movement asssociates with constitutional defense overtly, the cops have 2 reasons to stand off. THEN be peaceful and reasonable while using due process. Article 5 is due process but technically we need to be demanding our states legislations pressure congress to call a convention.
Then, consider understanding the true past. Yours and authority. The elite.
Here is the overall picture going back to the Magna Carta through the constitution and civil war to the "Lieber code" or rules of engagement for the North in the civil war. An overview of "Emergency Orders" Originating at the same time, makes it quite clear that we need to use our first and last right.
http://algoxy.com/poly/emergency_powers_statutes.html
Article 5 NOW!
Lessig power point on article V http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpbfY-atMk
Lots of facts here about Article V. http://algoxy.com/poly/article_v_convention.html
Article V conference, Lawrence Lessig at harvard 9/25/11-other attendees video comments http://vimeo.com/31464745