Yelling about the cops

A police union in Santa Clara sent a letter to the Giants football team threatening to withdraw their services helping with security at events unless the organization tales action in regards to Colin Kaepernick's continued refusal to stand for the national anthem. To the actual police departments credit, the police chief recognized that is a pretty terrible thing to do and has stated they would continue providing their services, but he doesn't actually control the union so who knows how that is going to turn out.

It is interesting that the powers of unions in general have been severely limited over the years, but the law enforcement ones seem to operate with more or less total impunity with regards to keeping their members out of trouble. They wield power in a way that is seriously creepy and in large part it seems their only goal is to prevent criticism or consequences from landing on their members, no matter what they might do to deserve such consequences.

Like murder.

The cops demand unconditional respect and obedience and the freedom to operate as they please, and there is a large, possibly majority, portion of the population that thinks they should be able to, why? Isn't it their job to be held to a higher standard? To put themselves in harms way of anyone regardless of race, creed, gender, or politics? You don't get to be the most visible face of authority in the country and pretend you are helpless and need protection, it doesn't work like that.

Ideally in all interactions with the police no one gets hurt at all, but the second best result is not one in which a civilian, criminal or otherwise is dead or injured while all the cops are fine, the reverse is actually the ideal response, no I am not wishing death on police but they are supposed to be the ones who save us, if someone is dead that means they have failed! And yes sometimes you can't avoid it, sometimes the only solution is to kill, but you don't celebrate it, you mourn and learn from it so it doesn't happen again, anytime you fire a gun, or a taser, or beat someone into submission, the system has broken down at some level.

Right now the police seem to feel that because it is easy and safe, for them, shooting people out of hand is the appropriate and responsible way to resolve any crisis from jaywalking to illegal cigarette sales, that isn't policing and those who do it and support it are not a police force, they are a group of armed thugs who we pay to menace us daily.

I hope the Giants doesn't fold, and I hope Kaepernick keeps this up and more join him, as they did last game, the only thing America might love more than police is our sports heroes after all. The circus has always been a good way to distract from oppression, but what happens when the circus starts talking about it?