Cops and Firemen

Cops and firemen have a similar mission. Both aim to protect life and property. Firemen protect us from fire and other calamities. Cops protect us from criminals. But we know that just ain't so. People love firemen. Firemen are awesome. They have almost universal respect among the communities they serve. But not cops. Cops are hated. Why is this? This is because police do not protect life and property. They are a threat to life and property. They are crooks with badges.

It shouldn't be like this. Cops should have the same level of love and respect as firemen considering that they have virtually the same mission. Firemen are kinda lazy when you think about it because most of their time is spent polishing brass at the fire station. Yet, if you try and defund the fire department, you will have a revolt on your hands. People do not question the need for firemen. But we have already seen towns disband their police forces because of police corruption. It seems people find cops more dispensable than firemen.

The reason cops are hated is simple. They don't protect life and property. They are a fucking joke. Basically, the bulk of their time is spent on two main missions. The first is collecting revenue from traffic citations. The second is going after drug dealers which also enhances revenue thanks to asset forfeiture laws. As one former firefighter put it to me, "The mayor hated the fire department because it ate the city's budget while he loved the police department because it brought money into the city." The police department is essentially a money stealing operation for municipalities covered by some vague moral sanction about serving and protecting.

Where I live, the sheriff in the neighboring county was busted for being the drug lord of his county. This is some unbelievable shit, but it is true. Apparently, the money from the drug trade was so lucrative that the sheriff could no longer permit it to remain in private hands. His defense for his activity was that he was running a "one man investigation" into drug dealing. The reality is that drug prohibition has one telling nasty side effect--police corruption. The money involved in drugs is so large that cops on a personal level succumb to temptation while on an institutional level police forces are overwhelmingly focused on this area for the sake of adding money to their budgets. Under current law, any sizable amount of cash on a person can be seized regardless if that person is guilty of a crime. No due process is required. The person who has just parted with what belongs to him must hire a lawyer and fight it out in court to get back what belongs to him. So, if you are taking with you some cash that you earned from selling pottery at the flea market, the cops can take your cash, and you are fucked. Good luck with getting it back.

The other aspect of the police that is so alarming is how they are becoming more and more militarized with tanks and weapons and military fatigues. SWAT teams are the norm, yet they are not used for supercriminals. They are used for simple arrests not requiring such a show of force. But these wannabe Rambos invade homes, shoot dogs, put guns in children's faces, and bulldoze homes with tanks and armored vehicles. Why do they do this? To protect us from the danger of a dimebag of weed. It boggles the mind.

It isn't the fault of the police that they are tasked with enforcing unjust laws. The blame for that lies with our elected leaders and with the people that elected them. When cops are doing what they should be doing which is protecting life and property, people are appreciative. Recently, in my county, some guys were going around robbing businesses and drug dealers in a crime spree. They even committed murder. People were afraid. Yet, the sheriff's department handled that shit. They got those guys. They did their job, and the community was grateful. But now, that same sheriff's department has decided to put up DUI checkpoints and put a permanent presence on the interstate highway to police people that merely zip through the county on their way somewhere else. The new sheriff has thoroughly pissed off the people here, and they openly admit that they should have voted for the other guy. I am one of those people. I see these moves as nothing more than policing for profit. Now, I spend my time afraid. I'm not afraid of the criminals. I am afraid of the sheriff's department and the new shithead sheriff.

The cops are crooks. They don't protect me. They threaten me. They can rob from me virtually at will. They can violate my rights. They resemble the police in banana republics more and more who wear fatigues, drive Jeeps, carry automatic weapons, and demand to see your papers. If I protect myself against assault, home invasion, and the rest, I can expect to be treated just like a criminal. When I have had a legitimate need for the police such as when my car was stolen, they were useless. Solving that crime was going to cost money, so they did nothing about it. They only care about the crimes that make money for them. So, if you buy too much cold or allergy medicine at the pharmacy, you can expect a SWAT team to kick your door in, blow your brains out, and take everything you own because you purchased some Sudafed.

The answer to this problem of police corruption is to end the war on drugs. Likewise, fines for speeding and the like should never go to the police departments. The bulk of what cops do should be focused on solving real crimes like rape, murder, fraud, and theft. The good cops work in those areas. Not all cops are bad. As some wiseass put it, the 95% of cops who are bad give the other 5% a bad name. The fact is that we need to get the cops back to a level of respect enjoyed by our firefighters. This can only be done when our elected leaders remove the perverse incentives they create with their bullshit laws meant to placate a few shitheads in the community. This will probably happen when the mayor gets pulled over for DUI. But that happens all the time, and the mayor gets away with it. I am probably fooling myself. Cleaning this corruption up is like trying to take the stink off shit.

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