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IP: Farah: The cops are out of control
From: E Pluribus Unum <[email protected]>
Subject: IP: Farah: The cops are out of control
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 19:39:20 -0500
To: E Pluribus Unum Email Distribution Network <[email protected]>
The cops are out of control
Until very recently, as a law-abiding person, the
presence of police generally gave me a feeling of
security, well-being, order.
Not any more. I confess that, lately, when I see a
cop in my rear-view mirror, I get a very uneasy
feeling.
Maybe it's the horror stories we're hearing.
Maybe it's the way local and state police have
become little more than appendages of the
federal law-enforcement apparatus. Maybe it's
the fact that so many cops have taken sides
against the Constitution and the rights of the
people in the name of more efficient
crime-prevention.
But the recent incidents in Oklahoma, where
police shot an unarmed mother holding her child
in her home, in Virginia, where a SWAT team
killed a watchman guarding a dice game at an
after-hours club and in California, where a
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raid on
a gun shop resulted in the death of the
shopkeeper, provide some hard evidence that
police in America may be getting out of control
I think also about columnist Geoff Metcalf's
anecdote about the law-abiding man arrested
and jailed for having in his possession a tire
iron,
which was classified as a deadly weapon. Had
he brandished it? No. Had he threatened
anyone? No. Had the California Highway Patrol
officer awakened on the wrong side of her bed
that morning? Maybe.
But when you start putting all these incidents
together, with the backdrop of the massacre in
Waco, Texas, and the unnecessary shootout at
Ruby Ridge, it's no wonder Americans like me
are beginning to worry about the possibilities of
an emerging police state.
"Oh, it couldn't happen here," some retort.
"America is different. The cops are our friends."
That may have been true through most of our
history. But there's one big difference today. The
government no longer trusts the people. There is
a move to disarm the populace and to entrust our
safety solely to professional law enforcement.
This is a pattern we've seen in other
authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. It's a
prerequisite to the formation of a police state.
It's
what our Founding Fathers warned us about. It's
why we have a Second Amendment.
One of the other problems we face in America
today is the increasing number of laws on the
books designed to turn virtually everyone into a
law-breaker.
It's easier for cops today to fill their quota of
arrests and citations by targeting
non-threatening, non-violent citizens than it is
actually chasing down violent criminals. Too
often, today's cops make no distinction between
hardened, professional criminals, and people
who may or may not be in technical violation of
the law -- perhaps even an unjust,
unconstitutional law.
But the biggest danger we face is the
federalization and militarization of all law
enforcement. Inter-agency task forces, bringing
together local and state police with federal
agents
are now the rule of the day. Federal agencies
bribe local cops with funding, equipment and
training programs.
America is rapidly becoming an "us vs. them"
society -- with the cops and government on one
side and the people on the other. Many of us
don't feel the heat yet. But it's just a matter of
time before we're all confronted with the harsh
realities of the new emerging police state.
One of these days -- and it may be sooner rather
than later -- America is going to be confronted
with a real domestic emergency. It's not a matter
of if, but when. We've had precious few real
domestic crises throughout our history, and
Americans have become spoiled. Thus, we take
our freedoms for granted.
There are so many possibilities and excuses on
the horizon -- Y2K, terrorism, the threat posed by
weapons of mass destruction from rogue states as
well as China and Russia.
Will America respond to the next crisis in a way
that preserves our civil rights and liberties? Or
will we lose our tentative grasp on freedom --
giving up an illustrious tradition for the sake of
security, safety, order?
If we're to maintain any semblance of freedom in
the worst of times, we must hold the government
and police accountable in the best of times.
A daily radio broadcast adaptation of Joseph
Farah's
commentaries can be heard at http://www.ktkz.co
--
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E Pluribus Unum The Central Ohio Patriot Group
P.O. Box 791 Eventline/Voicemail: (614) 823-8499
Grove City, OH 43123
Meetings: Monday Evenings, 7:30pm, Ryan's Steakhouse
3635 W. Dublin-Granville Rd. (just East of Sawmill Rd.)
http://www.infinet.com/~eplurib [email protected]
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