Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
It's also just as way over the top to claim that incidents like these are insignificant or that they shouldn't be brought to public attention.
Only constant public scrutiny upholds the integrity of those with power. It has always been so, and it will always be so.
For example, making noise about cops accidentally shooting innocents needs to be done, because "shoot first ask later" is easy and safe for those with guns, and tempting in moments of chaos and stress. There needs to be a counterbalance.
Also, what happened at the Jefferson memorial is not as important as the question what happens next? Was what the cops did legal? Should it be legal? If so, on what grounds? Was that not a clear violation of people's most basic freedoms?
Yes, people should have a right to annoy people of power, like cops, because the only opposite option is that "annoying a person of power" becomes a crime, and that is a truly dangerous concept for basic rights like liberty and justice.
If people don't constantly take care of their rights, they start to erode, and more people will be abused by people of power over things that truly matter.
Power will always be abused, but that does not mean those abuses should ever be tolerated, even when trivial.
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This Friday I had a very negative interaction with the police. In Vancouver they have the "Gang Squad". Their mandate is basically to go from bar to bar and remove blacklisted people from bars. So they have the power to randomly ask anyone for ID and then pull them from the bar if they show up on their list.
I was in the bar and approached by the gang squad and pulled outside. I think possibly because I work out (therefore, even though I'm short have a much bigger build than average) I was targetted by them. The police officer claimed I didn't look him in the eye when he walked by me the first time and this was his "reasonable cause" to I.D. me.
I find this totally unbelievable as I'm actually a member of the bar society and I was at the bar or on the dance floor the entire time and did not notice these police until this interaction. After being let back into the bar after my ID was scanned, the bar staff was apprehensive about dealing with me, wouldn't serve me properly, and everyone in the bar was looking at me strangely.
I was quite pissed off at the time (I was also drunk), but I think you raise a great point. Our society simply would not be able to function without police risking their lives everyday. You have to take the good with the bad, and in this situation the good far outweighs the bad. I'm not saying we shouldn't discipline police when it's warranted, but our entitled society just does not give them enough respect. I think this is the root of the problem. People in our society these days feel entitled to everything and are unable to realize exactly what goes into them having the day to day safety they do.