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ChisolmTrailDem

(9,463 posts)

29. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to research and present my case properly on this...

Tue Jan 14, 2014, 02:38 PM

Jan 2014

...at this time. But if you don't mind waiting until I do later today, I'll attempt to illustrate why we are a creeping police state and that we don't necessarily have to be to the point of being dragged out of Berlin coffee shops just yet in order to exist in a "police state".

If we just want to adhere to the Wikipedia definition posted elsewhere in this thread, and that there can be and are no other levels of police state except the one that drags your ass out of a coffee shop for saying the wrong thing, then we may as well end the discussion right here.

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Can we please put the discussion, whether the US is a police-state, to rest? [View all] DetlefK Jan 2014 OP

10 years of war and combat trained cops....what do we expect? VanillaRhapsody Jan 2014 #1

Yay, Cops! Iggo Jan 2014 #2

Sure - Killing Unarmed Children is the new norm FreakinDJ Jan 2014 #3

We just had a cop here locally who had two incidents one for fighting and getting thrown out liberal_at_heart Jan 2014 #4

In a real "police state" you would be arrested and dragged away just for posting that (nt) Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #5

In a real police state, police could execute me without due process... Oops. DetlefK Jan 2014 #8

Either it is or it isn't... Orsino Jan 2014 #133

Bullshit infoviro Jan 2014 #11

So it is... when you say it is... Lost_Count Jan 2014 #126

...in a comic book police state. NuclearDem Jan 2014 #12

maybe in the movies FatBuddy Jan 2014 #13

or rather, "regular" and "inverted" totalitarian governments BelgianMadCow Jan 2014 #18

That distills what America is all about in just a few paragraphs. LuvNewcastle Jan 2014 #21

thank you for posting that and the link. interesting. n/t Tuesday Afternoon Jan 2014 #58

that is fucking brilliant. Warren Stupidity Jan 2014 #99

What I fear is that it also applies to the EU BelgianMadCow Jan 2014 #104

Oh bull-fucking-shit! n/t ChisolmTrailDem Jan 2014 #15

If someone in 1937 in a Berlin coffee shop had started whining about living in a "police state" Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #27

Unfortunately, I do not have the time to research and present my case properly on this... ChisolmTrailDem Jan 2014 #29

obtuse FatBuddy Jan 2014 #77

Yeah, the NYPD would get right on that. Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #79

yeah FatBuddy Jan 2014 #80

Crickets treestar Jan 2014 #118

Pretty much LittleBlue Jan 2014 #17

No, you wouldn't. That is a fallacy about how police states operate. Perhaps you read more sabrina 1 Jan 2014 #46

A US judge ruled that "Stop and Frisk" should end. Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #54

Sure, police states are nothing if not determined to APPEAR to be fair. Has Stop and Frisk ended sabrina 1 Jan 2014 #69

No, Federal Judge Judith Scheindlin did NOT order that it should end! markpkessinger Jan 2014 #85

And the liberal and progressive new mayor promptly hired the shithead who Warren Stupidity Jan 2014 #100

"Real" police states don't spring spontaneously from democratic societies. tblue37 Jan 2014 #84

Police State SamKnause Jan 2014 #6

We need a national commission on law enforcement standards and practices. Comrade Grumpy Jan 2014 #7

Notice how your local paper and news channel Ron Green Jan 2014 #9

Heroes! Everyday heroes! Every one of them. LuvNewcastle Jan 2014 #23

Yep. It's interesting to see the contortions Ron Green Jan 2014 #121

Mental illness is now a capital offense, punishable by summary execution by cops. jsr Jan 2014 #10

I'll ask my pals in North Korea and Moscow about our horrible police state. Orrex Jan 2014 #14

A police state by any other measure, is still a police state. If you think we're not already ChisolmTrailDem Jan 2014 #19

How long have we been in this police state, by your reckoning? Orrex Jan 2014 #20

Oh, I don't know...maybe since the Vietnam (think Kent State) era. Probably before. You ChisolmTrailDem Jan 2014 #22

How, then, do you define "police state?" Orrex Jan 2014 #24

Please see my post #29. Thank you, Orrex. nt ChisolmTrailDem Jan 2014 #30

Well. Ok. Orrex Jan 2014 #31

apparently it is like a ROY G BIV hfojvt Jan 2014 #115

the poster confuses "police state" with "totalitarian state". Warren Stupidity Jan 2014 #102

I have friends in Moscow, none in N.Korea which is way, way worse than a police state, it is a sabrina 1 Jan 2014 #50

I was envisioning the classic, cartoon cliche of the Soviet-era police state Orrex Jan 2014 #53

Well, here's one way to see why the US is increasingly viewed as a Police State as opposed sabrina 1 Jan 2014 #63

I understand your objection now. AtheistCrusader Jan 2014 #64

A good response Orrex Jan 2014 #75

That's not an excuse. AtheistCrusader Jan 2014 #59

How do you define "police state?" Orrex Jan 2014 #62

A fair, problematic point. AtheistCrusader Jan 2014 #68

A reasonable definition Orrex Jan 2014 #72

There was a lot of outrage over things like, Kent State. AtheistCrusader Jan 2014 #92

What an asinine post. woo me with science Jan 2014 #89

I find your measured, thoughtful tone strangely inspiring. Orrex Jan 2014 #91

Ah, a bid for "measured, thoughtful" discussion of woo me with science Jan 2014 #94

Golly! When you put it like that, you don't seem asinine at all. Orrex Jan 2014 #97

I bet many in NK would gladly live in OUR "police state" Proud Liberal Dem Jan 2014 #105

YAY!!!! We're better than North Korea!!!! bvar22 Jan 2014 #129

That's not the definition of a police state. And I agree we have an issue with police brutality and stevenleser Jan 2014 #16

I think it's more indicative of a brutal and violent culture overall LanternWaste Jan 2014 #25

I think that is exactly right. It's not a police state or Stasi state, its a violent culture. stevenleser Jan 2014 #28

It is a police state, Steven. Th1onein Jan 2014 #114

& what kind of character do we select to set up our SWAT teams? Faryn Balyncd Jan 2014 #34

We get the government we deserve, right? Do we get the law enforcement we deserve, too? randome Jan 2014 #44

I don't know what kind of character we select. LanternWaste Jan 2014 #45

I think 've nailed it. Faryn Balyncd Jan 2014 #86

+1 freshwest Jan 2014 #87

No, we generally live in a STASI-style police state. Swede Atlanta Jan 2014 #26

Under the real Stasi, what do you think happened to people who publically complained about it? (nt) Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #33

Were all their private communications monitored by a secretive spy agency? Romulox Jan 2014 #43

for the win frylock Jan 2014 #56

... Romulox Jan 2014 #140

i am, man. thanks! frylock Jan 2014 #141

Not only that, one of the defining characteristics of the STASI was their prolific recruitment of stevenleser Jan 2014 #51

As a child, I was taught East Germany was terrifying, as you were always under surveillance. Romulox Jan 2014 #32

Well for one thing you can stand in Times Square and throw insults about President Obama, Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #36

OK. But I am still under surveillance in my home and in all of my "private" communications. Romulox Jan 2014 #42

How naive Vattel Jan 2014 #74

If the United States qualifies as a police state, the term has become utterly useless. WatermelonRat Jan 2014 #35

we're edging ever closer. and those that don't see it are boiled- as in frogs cali Jan 2014 #37

And we have been since 1789 or so (nt) Recursion Jan 2014 #41

Yes, I recall Glenn Beck once making that very same analogy. I called BS then too. WatermelonRat Jan 2014 #55

uh, you realize that many, many people have used that analogy, dear? cali Jan 2014 #60

You're right, that was improper on my part. I apologize for the undue snarkery. WatermelonRat Jan 2014 #73

Yeah.... "creeping fascism", "police state", all tiresome DU cliches (nt) Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #39

cliches are often just that because they reflect the truth. cali Jan 2014 #61

Ah, now a "corporate controlled country" is very different from a "police state". Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #66

Not so different when the corporations control the police. nt laundry_queen Jan 2014 #88

This BBC docu brings up exactly how corporate and state control merged BelgianMadCow Jan 2014 #98

Thank you for this Kurovski Jan 2014 #116

Constant, dragnet style spying on every American, in direct contravention of our founding principles Romulox Jan 2014 #48

It is wrong. Improper overreach fueled by the desire not to have the next 9/11 be on their watch. WatermelonRat Jan 2014 #82

Constant dragnet spying on every American? treestar Jan 2014 #120

+1 treestar Jan 2014 #119

Not going to comment on the police state part. NCTraveler Jan 2014 #38

where are the good apples? frylock Jan 2014 #71

How about the NYPD cop who bought boots for the homeless guy? (nt) Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #76

or the one who shot someone's dog? FatBuddy Jan 2014 #78

wow.. frylock Jan 2014 #83

Well, that's another formerly useful term that DU has killed. "Police state" means nothing Recursion Jan 2014 #40

This is why these kinds of terms should not be tossed about casually. stevenleser Jan 2014 #52

Well... Drunken Irishman Jan 2014 #47

police are disgusting... alato Jan 2014 #49

Wow 16 rounds into a man holding a cell phone, the fatal shots from BEHIND? AtheistCrusader Jan 2014 #57

Boy I'm glad I don't live in those places, Progressive dog Jan 2014 #65

Yes, except for those for whom nothing is real until it effects them. Egalitarian Thug Jan 2014 #67

Yes there is bullshit in our Country but be careful what you wish for. William769 Jan 2014 #70

Well, what did you think the FEMA death camps were for? JoePhilly Jan 2014 #81

cover reddread Jan 2014 #112

Uglier than DEATH CAMPS? JoePhilly Jan 2014 #122

uglier than Fallujah? torture and rendition? Death squads and drug cartels? reddread Jan 2014 #123

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!!! JoePhilly Jan 2014 #124

... Orrex Jan 2014 #125

Mass surveillance, secret laws, secret courts, indefinite detention, militarized police... woo me with science Jan 2014 #90

Perhaps because it's not such a clear-cut yes/no distinction? Silent3 Jan 2014 #93

the enablers would rather not reddread Jan 2014 #95

Thank you. Here is the link: woo me with science Jan 2014 #96

you never loved criminal lovers, anyway reddread Jan 2014 #106

We need this message, everywhere. woo me with science Jan 2014 #113

I don't buy that we are living in a "police state" Proud Liberal Dem Jan 2014 #101

never mind the others reddread Jan 2014 #109

We don't lock up political prisoners en mass, so not there yet. Rex Jan 2014 #103

"en masse", nevermind Siegelman, Peltier, Mumia reddread Jan 2014 #110

I'm surprised to read this from you. What you're saying is that yes, we have all the elements, but Egalitarian Thug Jan 2014 #127

Why surprised? Yes that is exactly it, we have all the ingredients Rex Jan 2014 #128

OK, go on down that road. How is it that you imagine we can not go through this arbitrary door? Egalitarian Thug Jan 2014 #130

I see us becoming a new kind of police state, not defined by classical means. Rex Jan 2014 #132

"a new kind of police state". Exactly. What purpose does arguing terminology serve, when the Egalitarian Thug Jan 2014 #135

Hey I don't make up terminology, take that up with the people that do. Rex Jan 2014 #136

Yes, we can put it to rest: the answer is "of course not, don't be so silly". Donald Ian Rankin Jan 2014 #107

That flippancy is absurd. woo me with science Jan 2014 #108

Anecdoltal n/t reddread Jan 2014 #111

That is not what is meant by police state treestar Jan 2014 #117

Yes. Words have meanings. Hyperbole doesn't make one's case stronger. Quite the opposite stevenleser Jan 2014 #131

Do you surmise that it is a common view among European democratic-progressives Zorra Jan 2014 #134

Out of curiosity I asked Skinner whether law enforcement has ever asked for info on DUers Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #137

Really? We can't criticize war criminals who have not to this day been brought to justice Cleita Jan 2014 #138

We can criticize (and have criticized) them to our heart's content. Nye Bevan Jan 2014 #139