Ever since the Micheal Brown/Darren Wilson incident I have seen the same thinking error happen over and over again.
Even among those inclined toward liberty.
People who should know better seem to be throwing their unconditional support behind Wilson, just because they don't wish to be seen supporting Brown.
People are so desperate to not be seen supporting someone they see as the bad guy that they make idiots of themselves supporting another bad guy. They want to believe Brown was a bad guy- and it's quite possible he was- so they jump to support Wilson even though he is also a bad guy.
Don't make the mistake of believing that openly breaking counterfeit rules makes a person "bad" either, because nothing could be further from the truth. Good people break bad "laws".
It got so bad I saw people hesitating to condemn the cop who murdered Eric Garner- seemingly based on how they view the Brown/Wilson encounter.
It is common for bad guys to kill each other. It's the life they choose. Don't get wrapped up in supporting one side simply because you hate the other a little more; feel free to condemn both as what they are. And when one side is clearly the bad guy, violating someone who wasn't currently initiating force or theft (which is something ALL on-duty cops are guilty of), then don't hesitate to call the thug a thug.
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My late granddaddy was sheriff. He knew well what the term "thin blue line" meant. It's not what most think is a narrow zone of protection between civil society and the criminal threat but rather the recognition of how similar cops and crooks are.
ReplyDeleteI have seen those studies showing that cops and freelance thugs have identical personality types. Everything I have seen in my life only confirms it.
DeleteBut, as I have said before, some of the best (and most anti-cop) people I have known were ex-law enforcement. It takes a lot of character to wise up and oppose what you used to be. I wonder where your granddaddy would stand today.