So police go on a national, general strike, tomorrow, ALL of them nationwide...

[randys1]

To show us how much we really need them.


The exercise works, but why?

If police went on such a strike in Australia or Britain, would the consequences be as dire as they may be here?

If not, why not?



Thanks NRA and gun manufacturers, thanks a lot.

[LittleBlue]

1. In our defense, we do have unique circumstances

aside from just guns. We have the largest narcotics trafficking state in the world on our southern border. The UK doesn't have anything like that to deal with.

[TexasProgresive]

31. End the war on drugs-legalize them

use the profits to fund free treatment clinics and take the money and power out of the drug runner's pockets.

[LittleBlue]

33. Fully agreed

Until we do, US gangs will be funded by narcotics.

[FrodosPet]

55. And subsidize the drugs for low income

What good is legal heroin if you still have to steal for enough money to buy it? A week's supply should cost $50 or less to make it accessible to even the poorest addict.

[B Calm]

2. Damn I should make a run to Colorado.

Just kidding

[RKP5637]

37. Yep! LOL!

[B Calm]

40. 1,084 miles one way for me. . .

That's too much driving for me. . . Unless they strike all week.

[madokie]

47. I'm warming the pickup up now

be checking the weather between here and there here shortly

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. Yikes! How will that work?

Do you have a link?

[Brickbat]

4. It's unclear to me what you think the consequences would be.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

5. Do we?

I have 'needed' police twice in my life. Both times when my residence was broken into. In both instances, the police did nothing but tell me to be sure to 'lock up' my doors and windows. No evidence was collected, not even a pretense of trying to actually catch anyone was made.

so for roughly 45.859999 years of the 46.86 years I've been alive, I never would have even noticed that the police weren't working.

Let them strike.

[joeglow3]

14. I think u missed the point of the thread

How many times have you not needed to call the police because a crime wasn't committed because of the presence of police? And what does that say about us as a society?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. That's a lot of negatives, and pretty hard to prove.

You can always speculate that 'police prevented something', but generally speaking, it seems to me that if the 'presence of police' prevents a crime, those intending to commit a (generic) crime just go somewhere with no police around and commit it there. Obviously, if someone intends to assault a SPECIFIC person, then yes, you can put protection around that person to 'prevent' that crime. But if they're going to mug somebody, they'll just end up mugging a different person. The crime is not 'prevented', just 'moved'.

[hfojvt]

41. seems to me that if police didn't exist

we would need to invent them.

Here I am, sitting in my house at my computer. There exist in this society, unfortunately, people who would not mind breaking into my house and stealing anything they wanted. Even beating me up or killing me in the process. One major thing that reduces the likelihood that they will try, is the fact that I can call 911 and perhaps get the cops here PDQ.

There are in this society, at least two stories I can remember, people who kill other people just because they are "bored". Or people who go on shooting sprees "just because" of whatever.

Here's a local story I can remember. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/29/mall.shooter/index.html?eref=rss_latest

I remember seeing that story on the nightly news and the reporter showed this cop reaching into his car, pulling out a shot gun and go running into the mall at top speed.

Maybe it was a staged photo op, or maybe ambulance chasing reporters really did catch the police in action that day. How many more people would have been killed that day, if not for the fact that, as a witness said "Then police, their guns drawn, began "coming from everywhere," she said."

How many more people would those "bored" people kill, if they didn't get caught and locked up for a long, long time. How many other "bored" people would kill somebody just for the fuck of it, if they didn't stop and think "hey, no, let's not because I don't want to risk spending the rest of my life in prison."

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

54. Crime has been dropping for decades.

Yes, if there were 0 police, we would need to 'invent them', because we still do have crime. But we're 'fighting the last war' as it were. We've got police who are armed and behave for the crime we 'had', not the crime we 'have'. Just as the Us creates terrorists by its violent acts of interventionism abroad, domestically, police exacerbate the problems in many areas by their overly violent and antagonistic relationships with communities.

So what we need are police who are trained first and foremost to de-escalate situations, and only pull out the heavy weaponry when truly confronting those extremely rare 'people who kill other people just because'.

[loyalsister]

53. I called the police for the first time last year

because a neighbor threatened me with physical violence. I was terrified. They took my statement, and he was prosecuted.
He's still around, so I'm not thrilled to see them strike. I hate the idea of someone getting hurt to prove a point.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

56. When I painted my house

a rather interesting shade of blue-purple, my neighbour catercorner came out in his back yard, threw a few racist and homophobic slurs and finished up with a comment that a house that ugly should be firebombed. Given that he was an ex-felon convicted of arson, I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear such. I reported it to the police 'just in case', but nothing happened.

But here's the thing - if my neighbour - or yours - had actually carried through on their violent ideas, police wouldn't stop them. They'd just come along after they'd committed their crimes to arrest them, which wouldn't particularly help either of us.

[arcane1]

6. The lucrative prison industry won't like that very much.

No cops on duty = no arrests, which = no profit.

[GummyBearz]

7. Are the high way patrol also on strike?

I could make record time to my parents house...

[Rex]

8. Wow, is there a bigger group of CRYBABIES on this planet?

FUCK THEM, every single one! Shows they don't give two shits about their job. All they care about is absolute worship of their power over us and nothing less!

AGAIN, FUCK THEM. Fire every single one of them! I hear millions are out of house and home and could probably do a better job than the fat pig on the take.

[B Calm]

11. Haven't met one yet that wasn't on a huge ego trip.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

28. I've met a few.

And I'm sure there are many I haven't met who are also decent. But it does seem to be a profession that attracts a lot of people who want the 'power' over others more than to actually 'serve and protect'.

[arcane1]

15. Agreed. The true colors are being shown, and their fetish for "respect" interferes with their duty.

[Rex]

17. The for-profit prison barons will not stand for this for long imo.

These cops will be thrashed by the vulture class for lack of profit. They really REALLY needed to be treated like the minions they are by the ownership class - and even they probably won't side with us. Too entrenched in their lust for power imo.

[cyberswede]

9. Is this hypothetical?

I haven't heard of a planned strike.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. Well, in the vast majority of cases the cops are only there.....

after the fact anyway. While a crime is actually occurring they're not there. Now they do provide a service in arresting people AFTER the fact, but a one day general strike probably wouldn't affect most people very much. Property crimes? Maybe so.

[daredtowork]

12. I guess the police don't work for the public anymore

Aren't there some dystopian movies about the 1% resting easy in their gated communities while allowing open season on crime among the lower orders to "teach them a lesson"?

[Brigid]

18. There was movie called "The Purge" that sounds like this.

I never saw it, but as I recall the previews were something like this.

[daredtowork]

26. Yes that's it

I got the distinct feeling with all the police posturing, even before the "unions" issue, that they were just going to continue to make it all about themselves and not see the role the culture of the police has played in necessitating a re-ignition of the Civil Rights Movement. They clearly don't see their employers as the community or the people.

[Cirque du So-What]

13. The 0.01% would never allow it

They have too much to lose in such a scenario - one in which no amount of private security forces could ever fill (National Guard notwithstanding).

[aikoaiko]

16. Blaming the NRA for this, too?

[VScott]

20. They were behind the Sony hack too!!!

[Glassunion]

36. And the potato famine.

[Paladin]

44. Nothing would please pro-gun radicals more than for the police to disappear. (nt)

[Katashi_itto]

19. Entire Town’s Police Force Went on Strike, It Backfired. No One Wants Them Back

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/acapulco-police-strike-backfired/

[hfojvt]

45. interesting about red lights

but kinda hard to believe. We already have "right turn on red" and even a casual driver like myself has seen THAT abused many times.

[VScott]

21. "Thanks NRA and gun manufacturers, thanks a lot."

[Katashi_itto]

22. Reagan Showed us the Way. Fire them. Hire new ones.

[B Calm]

23. +1 LOL

[Skidmore]

25. This is the approach that I support.

[Marr]

38. +1, I'd support that purely to watch conservatives have a fit as they

attempt to explain why Reagan's tactics were so deplorable.

[hunter]

24. 95% of the carnage would be people doing idiotic things with their automobiles.

Otherwise, I think it would be an ordinary and fairly peaceful day, aside from distracting public intoxication, nudity, and sex. Like a rowdy "spring break" for older people in some places.

It's not the police who generally "keep the peace" in most communities. Most people are law-abiding because it simply makes good sense to them, not because they fear police intervention.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

30. Yup, it's firefighters and EMTs you don't want to strike in traffic cases. nt

[daredtowork]

32. I think some would take advantage

if they can predict when the police won't be there.

If the community doesn't work together to protect itself in any way, it will be vulnerable to whoever does get a pack of wolves together to loot.

But if the police aren't answerable to the community and aren't trusted to protect people anyway...then, hmmm...

The police "unions" seem to have become some transcendent force that get to work as police just because they say so. As a lifelong, passionate supporter of unionism, I have to say that's the type of attitude that makes unions work bad. At the root of a labor union is the job you were originally hired to do.

The looming question for the police: are they the lackeys of a few uber wealthy property owners and political elites or do they serve the community at large? If the community at large has been giving the police some negative performance feedback, is the proper response to say "I will just avoid working until you give in?" That's not the response if the community is who you protect and serve.

[world wide wally]

29. I can guarantee that this is one time Republican Governors and Mayors won't be union busting….

damnit!

[Glassunion]

34. Would never happen

This is a huge exercise in "what if" that would never happen.

[Agnosticsherbet]

35. They are a union members. I support unions and wouls not cross a picket line tomorrow

manned by union members.

I would only call in the event of a life threatening emergency.

[jwirr]

39. A little side experiment. A county I grew up in decided to put a country policeman in each small

town. Three years later they pulled them all out - they were not needed. Most of those towns do not have any police force other than the centralized county sheriff's department. So in large cities it could cause a problem but the only police officer most of us need is the dispatcher when we need an ambulance. In other words 911. And I have often been annoyed by the police they send with an ambulance because we did not need them. I was a first responder in a building where I lived. I knew the routine.

These police who are going to go on strike need to understand that we are not protesting having A police force. We are protesting the misuse of a police force. We are protesting being treated like the enemy with a shot first and ask questions later attitude. We are protesting the practice of arresting people so that the fines can be used to pay their wages (a quota system). We are protesting violence used on unarmed people who are only committing petty crimes.

When a police force is more feared than trusted you are not going to call them no matter what. And if they come they can be sure they will not be welcomed.

[Bluenorthwest]

42. I see no such strike being reported.

So this is either intentionally dishonest, very poorly written or I'm missing out on enormous front page news.

[yewberry]

43. I'm a public employee. We don't have the right to strike.

I don't think most police have that right, either, and it's not likely they'd go wildcat en masse.

[Takket]

46. is someone arguing we don't need police?

We need police. what would be nice is if they have the proper screening and training so racists itching for any excuse to cut down a black person aren't placed in a position of trust. also it would be nice if the justice and grand jury systems were modified to remove the de facto immunity from murder prosecution that the police enjoy.

[notadmblnd]

48. I don't see a dire situation occurring

[NYC Liberal]

49. People don’t want to get rid of cops. They want cops to do their jobs, correctly and appropriately.

Lots of people hate politicians, but that doesn’t mean they all want to get rid of government.

In any other profession, violating your workplace policy -- let alone breaking the law -- would at the very least get you reprimanded. In many jobs, it would get you fired. Yet that seems not to happen with police -- even though in their case “violating policy” doesn’t mean being 5 minutes late or watching YouTube on the clock; it often means assaulting or killing someone.

[951-Riverside]

50. I don't want to get rid of the institution, I want to remove the people who exploit it.

*And by remove, I mean fire immediately and bar them from working in any government law enforcement capacity. Treat them like the disease that they are.

[BainsBane]

51. Gunz

The elephant in the room. They are what make America so dangerous and increase lethality for police and the general public.

[randys1]

52. The point of the thread was we might miss police but the reason we would is we are armed to the

teeth as a society and lots of folks out there with guns and bad attitudes

Ted Nugent and that type of person comes to mind.

When we get a SC that interprets the 2nd amendment the way it was written we could be on the move to a country like Britain or Australia and this problem would be much less of an issue.

[randys1]

58. Exactly, we cant solve our EXTREMELY serious police problem until we remove THEIR excuse

to be so heavily armed.

[L0oniX]

57. I'll be selling pounds of weed on the street. Hookers, pimps and johns will be happy too.