General Discussion

Egalitarian Thug

(12,448 posts)

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

Reply to Rex (Reply #103)

Wed Jan 15, 2014, 11:47 AM

Jan 2014

the difference is in degree.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

141 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

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