Tony,
Unfortunately you have had bad experiences with law enforcement and it is something you are passionate about. However, you can not stereotype a category of people who do the same profession as all the same.
Michael, do you have any stereotypes? How about the claim that I must have been butt raped in prison in order for me to have the view I have. Is it possible that law abiding citizens are simply tired of the abuse that is laid out on the poorest and most needy of our society? Some guys on these boards weren't even born the last time I was pulled over and searched. This isn't about me. This is about America and her citizens. This is about crying out for a man or woman who is willing to stand up, admit the culture and do something about it.
Here is a gift for you. An idea, if you will. Would you like to be a millionaire? Stand up, do some research and write a book on that culture and expose it. Having the respect of your peers would give you credibility. You will be all over every talk show in the nation and maybe you can be the catalyst for change.
Are all pressure washers hacks because there are hacks out there? Since there are bus crashes, should we stop having public transportation? Since there are priests that have molested kids, should we abandon modern religion? You make some very bold leaps in order to support that cause that you feel you are fighting for.
There is a huge difference. IF we pressure washers saw pictures and videos of hack work and as a group we consistently defended the the hacks and made excuses for their pathetic work, then yes, your comparison would be valid. But we DON'T do that. We openly CONDEMN that kind of abuse of customer trust.
If bus drivers cause crashes and there is nothing done to reduce or eliminate the cause of those crashes then you will have a valid argument. But society reacts and bans texting and cell phones on buses in an attempt to fix the problem. Your industry does nothing but offer "retraining" and "an examination of what happened" which we all know is code for "let's just wait till the public forgets about it".
The priest situation is being attacked vigorously by the Catholic church now. But it wasn't always that way. The Catholic church was about the closest in comparison to the police culture of protectionism until church members left in droves and just about put them in bankruptcy. They did something about it, but it wasn't voluntary. IF they hadn't made steps to eliminate it then YES, a mass exodus from the Catholic church would have been fitting.
Extremeism on many levels is frowned upon.
Really? By whom? Was John Adams an extremist? What about Paul Revere? Did you frown upon Martin Luther King?
What is Extremism? Who defines it? By my definition your industry does is extreme. Am I an extremist because I'm outspoken about it?
Some of your points may be valid, but not all of them.
What are they Michael?
There are thousands of acts that are positive in nature that occur each and everyday by members of the law enforcement community, they just are not news worthy and no one spends the time to put them on youtube so that police can be dispalyed ina positive light.
Would you like me to post them for you Michael? They are out there. Most of these threads were discussing the abuses of power, but when a thread was posted about good cops I was the only one in the thread to post a youtube video of a cop doing the right thing. With a little effort you could do the same. Must I do all the work and present both sides? I will make a deal with you. When you start accepting responsibility and show actions where you are using your education and position to invoke change in police policy, I'll post so many good cop videos Ron will have to add on another server.
Society as a whole has degraded to a sad state, I think that this is something that we can mostly agree on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you know what they say about opinions. You should also not push your beliefs on others or try to convince others who do not agree with you that they are wrong.
I should not try to convince others who do not agree with me that they are wrong????? Is that really the society in which you wish to live? What if Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine has put down their pens so as not to "try to convince others"? That is a ludicrous statement that borders on communism.
From the posts on here lately, I have seen peole that are opinionated, arrogant, entitled, soverign citizens or wannabe's, constitutionalists, neo-nazi's, haters and worse.
Really? And when did our republic die and become replaced with fascism? So you've listed the enemies of your culture, opinionated, arrogant, entitled, sovereign citizens, wannabe constitutionalist, etc. Those were the same enemies of the Nazi's. What does that mean? Does that mean that you are now a step above the Nazi's so that you share the same enemies, but are more advanced and now include them as an enemy also? Your sentence is perplexing, frightening, and sad.
When comparisions are made, they should be realistic in nature if you want to support your position, adding the extremeism to them only makes the poster look worse.
Are you saying that positive change is not realistic? I agree. As long as the mentality you profess is allowed to have power greater than the average citizen it is not realistic. Maybe one day a real man will stand up from within the group and make change a reality.
We will not agree on the "cops" thing likely ever, but the least you can do is not brand the profession, put blame where it belongs...... on the supervisors, the specific department, etc that has the issue. It is not the profession as a whole. Your a bright guy, but you can't see that a cop in Maine cannot control and root out the illegal actions of a cop in New Mexico even though their paths will likely never cross. If you can think of a better system, I would like to hear it, this is still the best country in the world.
That all sounds patriotic. I am actively making change in the pressure washing world by using this forum and traveling the country to affect change. You could do the same. If you thought change was needed.
But you are right. We will not agree. Your mind is made up. You see nothing wrong with firing bean bags and rubber bullets into women and children. Apparently by you silence, you see nothing wrong with slamming 16 year old girls to the ground and slamming a mother's head into the ground for not getting in her car when told. Unless you are actively fighting AGAINST change I don't see where your interaction on these threads is even warranted.
I have listed suggestions for change. Go back and read them and quit repeating like a parrot the same old accusation that I am not offering suggestions. It's your turn. Either admit that your stance is that you will resist change, or make a commitment to affect change. Otherwise the fence riding just does nothing but prove my case over and over again.
