Learning The Wrong Lesson From Dallas

Vox Popoli nails it.

Money quote:

Unless and until the police give up their military-style affectations, "us vs them" mentality, and most of all, their legal unaccountability, they're going to find themselves fighting a war against the American people. And it is a war they simply cannot win.

and,

What happened in Dallas may be shocking, but it isn't even remotely surprising. Many people have seen it coming; what will likely prove the most surprising aspect of this incident is how many people will remain utterly unsympathetic to the Dallas police and their bereaved families. The police may consider themselves above the law, but they are not beyond the reach of an increasingly outraged public.


Police around the country will take the wrong lesson from the Dallas shooting event. They, in their ongoing training, will reinforce their belief that they are a military occupational force and that they must, and of right ought to, dominate and subjugate the people who employ them.

Policemen will behave more thuggishly. They will be even more hyper-vigilant with every encounter with "civilians" (mind-set, remember). They will see EVERY citizen who is legally armed, whether in possession of a Government permission slip or not, as an enemy to be stomped on. Understand this. Police around this country have been conditioned for nearly one hundred years to the idea that No one should posses arms but themselves.

Think about this very concept. If a citizen is in possession of a sidearm, which he has a natural right to, and encounters a policeman, the policeman's automatic response is usually, "Prove to me you have permission to do that!" If no permission from the State is required in that locality, the policeman's response is, "Prove to me you NEED to!"

This mind-set leads to, "Get on the ground, Civilian! I shall stand on your neck until I feel better!"

I have said before, we are in the anti-terrorist era. Police tactics have evolved to handle "terrorist situations". What are those? Every situation is a potential "terrorist situation". A citizen otherwise minding his own business and stopped for a minor infraction, or even stopped at an unlawful "check point", becomes a "threat to officer safety" the moment the citizen does anything but submit. God help the citizen if he is exercising his natural right to be armed. The policeman goes instantly into panic mode. The citizen, becomes "Man with a gun!". "Man with a gun..." equals "threat/terrorist/he is going to try to kill me." At that point, there is very little chance the citizen can do anything right. He MUST grovel and beg and placate and render obeisance or the policeman believes he is justified in using deadly force. Killing the "subject" is a valid option because of the policeman's emotional state. The citizen doesn't need to BE a threat to the policeman. The policeman just needs to FEEL that way. That is enough.

What SHOULD policemen learn? Very simply, a man carrying a sidearm in holster is NOT a threat to you or anyone else until he threatens you or someone else! A man with a firearm (or a dozen firearms) in his car as he travels down the road is NOT a criminal until and unless he commits a crime! You have no business interfering with a person going about his business just because he decided to carry his sidearm that day and didn't beg your permission first! Sobriety checkpoints are unlawful, it doesn't matter that Supreme Court says you can get away with doing them. Too often these are used as interrogation checkpoints. Citizens of the community see this as an interruption of their right to their lives. When "What ya headed tonight?" elicits the response, "None of your fucking business! Leave me alone!", you should NOT be surprised! This is a natural and normal response to a person having his life interrupted by a bully intent on his own designs.

Now why did we have shootings in Dallas last night? Multiple reasons. Not the least of which is situations like the one in Minnesota where Philando Castile was murdered by a policeman afraid of his own shadow. Read what I wrote here: http://pluckingtheyew.blogspot.com/2016/07/this-is-sad-video-to-watch.html.

I do not condone the murder of ANYONE. I do however know that it is a universal law that bullies and thugs eventually get what is coming to them. Those thugs could be career criminals, politicians (same thing?), sociopaths and psychopaths in business, or even control-freak policemen.

If you have the attitude, "These civilians are gonna have learn to submit...", then look at Dallas and see what you have wrought.