Author Topic: Amusing!  (Read 2689 times)

KnuckleBuckett

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Amusing!
« on: August 19, 2015, 07:31:15 PM »

charlie

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2015, 12:14:53 PM »
Would you be willing to have a discussion about that video, Knuck?

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2015, 12:54:46 PM »
Would you be willing to have a discussion about that video, Knuck?

Meh.  Not really into a deep philosophical conversation about a humor blurb.

micah

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2015, 01:33:57 PM »
I'll bite.  whatcha got?   

I'll start by saying that I generally agree with everything this guy said.  But I also believe that in some areas of the country, specifically in many metropolitan areas, there are personal biases held by some in law enforcement that could improperly and  disproportionately effect certain ethnic and social-economic groups.  Furthermore, I believe that anyone in a position of power or authority is capable of abusing that power whether wittingly or not.  I do not think that this is some sort of epidemic in law enforcement but I do believe that a few bad apple can indeed spoil the whole bunch.

Additionally, despite some opinions I may have held and argued for 10 years ago, I have recently become fairly passionate about defending our 4th amendment rights.  As such, I agree with the video's sentiment that if you don't act out against those in authority they won't bother you but I'm concerned that those enforcing the law may not always hold up their half of that bargain.

I guess if I were making such a video I would conclude by saying "I have the utmost respect for the police. Except for when I don't"
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charlie

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2015, 04:03:52 PM »
Would you be willing to have a discussion about that video, Knuck?

Meh.  Not really into a deep philosophical conversation about a humor blurb.

Fair enough. That's why I asked.

And while I thought it was amusing in a lot of ways, it was also insulting and ignorant. He may have been funny while doing it, but he was definitely trying to make a larger point, so I'm sure you're not surprised that that larger point might get discussed.

charlie

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2015, 05:10:07 PM »
I'll bite.  whatcha got?   

A couple things...

Personal Accountability
I'm a big fan of personal accountability. I strive to hold myself accountable for all of my behavior. I try to teach my kids to focus on what they can do rather than what other should do (both after an incident and the next time the situation occurs). This is one of the most important things I can teach them. The guy in the video mentions how he holds himself accountable for his actions. I think this is great and I agree that it's something everybody should try to do.

However, I don't like to dismiss the hardships of others by saying that if only they behaved better they wouldn't have those problems. Even if that's true in a particular instance, people are fallible and make mistakes all the time and when the consequences are disproportionate then pointing to personal responsibility doesn't help.

Fuck the Police
Well, yeah, I agree that these overly broad sentiments are unnecessary and stand to make the situation worse and not better. Obviously they're just hyperbolic rants about something the speaker is upset about (not any different than the video itself, by the way), but that doesn't mean they're right. But also like the video, it's not something I'm going to get to worked up over. I don't mind if people vent.

Police Misbehavior
I think I agree with you, Micah, in that issues currently in the news about police abuses are not indicative of law enforcement as a whole. That said, the video completely ignores the legitimate issues that have led people to be angry at the police. The whole, "I've never had a problem with a cop... when you decide to quit breaking the law, they'll leave you the fuck alone" statement is incredibly ignorant. Yeah, that must be nice for you, guy on youtube whoever you are, but that's not actually true for everybody.

Furthermore, and along the lines of what I said in the personal accountability section, even in cases where individuals do resist or are uncooperative the consequences can be extremely disproportionate. Pointing out that if Eric Garner didn't want to die in policy custody he should have been more cooperative when they tried to arrest him is asinine. But that's essentially what the video does by ignoring (or being ignorant of) the fact that videos showing excessive force are complaining that it's excessive.

And we still haven't even addressed the systemic issues that lead to people of certain ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds finding themselves in these situations much more often in the first place. The rant in the video certainly doesn't seem to take that into account. The anger and frustration behind "fuck the police" is a lot more complex than people being mad when they get what's coming to them.

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Conclusion
"Fuck the police" and this video are both hyperbolic commentaries on issues in society that ignore the specific realities of those issues they comment on. Which means that despite significantly more thought and effort being put into it, this video is as worthless as the facebook comments it refers to. In my opinion of course.

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Re: Amusing!
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2015, 09:15:36 AM »
Yea - I'm with charlie ...not super amusing on this one...I thank charlie for writing it all out for me, but I will simply add that IMO while personal responsibility is of course paramount, this attitude over simplifies the incredibly complex forces that are driving the anti-police feelings in this country and ignoring how different situations can lead to vastly different police responses and that those situations are not always proportional.

Micah - One area I would disagree with you about - is that I don't think it's just metropolitan areas.  I think it's any area where the police/community have an us vs them feeling.  For example, the motorist asset seizures in TN (and elsewhere). 

Oh - also - people who would respond to a wounded warrior photo op with "Fuck da police" are fucking morons.
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