by Mark Thomey 18 July 2016
I'd like to offer some thoughts about the recent shootings of police officers that have taken place.
I consider myself a 'law-and-order' kind of guy, and I generally
respect the job done by law enforcement agents, as it is dangerous -
more so now days than in times past.
I certainly do NOT condone
the premeditated murder of anyone regardless of their particular
vocation in life; however, I do not set a higher value on the lives of
government law enforcers simply because they don a uniform and wear a
badge, and I certainly do not consider them 'above the law' themselves
simply because they don a uniform and wear a badge. And contrary to
popular opinion these days, I do not consider all of them to be 'heroes'
simply because they don a uniform and wear a badge. A man should not be
called a hero until he actually does something heroic. Getting up and
doing your job every day is not a heroic act, per se. Saving someone
from a burning building at the risk of your own life, for example, is
heroic. To call people heroes simply because they don a uniform and wear
a badge is an insult to people who do perform truly heroic acts.
That being said, if you are paying attention, you can not help but
notice the sharp uptick in the militarization of local and State police
forces coupled with an increase in their inclination to act more like
John Rambo than Andy Taylor. Most cops now days look more like they are
going on a military campaign, complete with kevlar helmets, body armor,
automatic weapons, and armored vehicles. It's getting harder to tell the
difference between your local patrolman and someone in the 101st
Airborne Division. Being confronted by a heavily armed soldier during a
traffic stop is certainly more unnerving than seeing a peace officer in
trousers, shirt, and smokey the bear hat approaching your vehicle. As I
said, I'm a law-and-order guy, but this trend should be of concern to
any reasonable person.
If the old saying about clothes making
the man has any merit, then the previous paragraph should help to
explain the increase in a 'harass and intimidate', as opposed to a
'protect and serve', attitude on the part of an increasing number of law
enforcement agents. I've seen an alarming number of videos online over
the last couple of years where folks are beaten, tazed, bloodied, and
sometime killed over mundane things like wanting to know why they're
being detained, or asserting their rights (which the 'law' is supposed
to protect). It is for this reason that I most definitely DISAGREE with a
recent comment by someone from the political class that it is never Ok
to resist the police. Excuse me? If I'm not being belligerent and some
cop wants to throw a beating on me, I believe I am morally and legally
justified in defending myself from his 'cruel and unusual punishment'.
The same holds true if I'm facing government violence against my person
or property over one of their 'laws' that is contrary to Divine and/or
Natural law. The Church teaches us that an unjust law is no law at all,
and does not need to be complied with. To be clear, if you've been
peacefully apprised of your offense, or asked to follow a reasonable and
legal/just order, and then you forcibly resist, I have no problem with
the cops subduing you with whatever force is required to gain
compliance. And if, under said circumstances, you shoot at them, then
don't be surprised when they shoot back, and any claims of, 'he didn do
nuffin wrong' ring hollow.
And when a citizen is abused or killed
by a law enforcement agent, there should be an independent
investigation by a grand jury or some other legally constituted
investigative body besides the police department. The ancient Greeks
asked, who guards the guards? I'm sure I'd get a much friendlier hearing
before members of my own family for some transgression than I would
from an impartial group of folks to whom I'm not related either by blood
or by profession. Too many times, the guards find themselves justified
and innocent of wrongdoing when bad things happen to folks other than
the guards. I fully realize we live in an imperfect world, and things
will not always go the way we would like, but independent investigations
would do a lot to restore the confidence and trust in law enforcement
agents and the governments they serve that much of the public has lost
as of late.
When government oppresses the people with a plethora
of stupid, needless and unjust 'laws', and the solons and their
enforcers become jackbooted thugs who play by a different set of rules
than the ones they foist upon us, they shouldn't be surprised when
people become disenchanted, angry, suspicious and rebellious. Again, I
am in no way justifying or excusing barbaric or unjust acts of
premeditated violence against just and legitimate authority, but I am
promoting and suggesting righteous and just self-defense against unjust
aggression, tyranny, and barbarity by 'the authorities'. I say this
because while most of us are not part of the BLM/NBPP/social justice
warrior/antifa types who are causing so much mayhem and anger right now,
we are most definitely part of that class (white, Christian Southrons
who dare to defend our rights, blood and soil) that some of those
Ramboesque agents will be sent to disarm, arrest, and imprison - or
worse. The door swings both ways Mr Policeman. So give some thought to
what orders you are going to obey.
I'm sure a number of those who
read this will take exception and have harsh things to say to me for
having written it. That's fine. I have a thick skin. Names don't bother
me. But I thought just a little bit of balance to the issue was needed.
There are lots of ways the government agents could take things down a
notch or two (or three or four) and still do their jobs safely and
effectively.