The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

Yes, this is a big deal for me; I believe that the militarization of America's police is an unalloyed awful development, and one that has no positive effects on our society. It emerged from a combination of the "War On Drugs," hysterical over-reaction from police unions and the local and state governments that wanted to buy their votes, and among other things the federal government's parking lots full of unused military equipment.

I'll climb down off my soap box when cops are held to the same standards as regular Americans or, for that matter, to the same standards as our armed forces. We have some combat veterans in our midst...any of them care to comment on how a soldier or marine would have been dealt with had he, during a routine patrol in a low-threat neighborhood, fired through the window of a home at an unarmed resident? Or shot and killed a naked man?

Naked! No weapon!

But, none of this absolves the media of their vile race-baiting and hiding of the salient facts in favor of an inflammatory headline.

Former police officer found not guilty of murder in shooting death of unarmed black veteran

Yes, you scummy anti-American sleazes, he wasn't convicted of murder, but he was convicted of other serious charges that may get him sent to prison for the rest of his life. And I hate to break it to you, or more probably you already know it and are hiding the facts, but White people get shot by cops just as often as Blacks as a percentage of total encounters.

This isn't a racial issue, this is an out-of-control cops issue.

But is it possible that the tide is turning?

Fort Worth Officer Charged With Murder After Shooting That Killed Atatiana Jefferson

I certainly hope so. The obscene assumption that the most important thing in America is that cops go home, safe and sound every night, and the rest of America be damned is something that needs to be changed. The data show that policing is actually much safer than many other occupations, yet nobody is clamoring for up-armored taxis and million dollar tree-felling equipment for our brave cabbies and lumberjacks.

The sad thing is that a generation or two ago, most Americans respected the police, and didn't see them as an occupying force. But years of militarizing them has taken its toll.

&topic=world_news"> posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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