Omnes legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus.
@AgonyandIrony that’s one of my favorite quotes, said by Cicero.
We are slaves to the law in order to be free. I know you might disagree with me, but hear me out:
There is order in nature, more so than chaos.
If by “there is no authority but the self” you mean freedom from all restraint then you espouse lawlessness. Freedom from law is not liberty but chaos. It’s also antithetical to any kind of worker’s rights or social movements I’ve seen you espouse before.
Not to say we should be bound by myriad regulation (though we may be) nor yet that we should not be self-disciplined (as truly we ought to be) but that our liberty should be guaranteed by a just system of laws that apply equally to all. Without law, literal slavery will be the norm for the majority.
First off, thank you for responding and also thank you for understanding my point of view.
When I say there is no authority but to oneself, and that's something I still quite believe, its that state defined morality (laws) are very often tools of oppression, and in the US rather counter intuitive. Perhaps you might even agree with me about the failures of the drug war, but whereas you see someone put in prison for nonviolent charges. I see a man put into a small cell for years stripped from his family and community, often tortured, I see a man who when released can't find a job because of the bias against felons in the workplace.
I believe in a social contract, I abhor traffic violations the same people abhor drug charges for that reason.
Also the reason I'm hesitant to accept the police as something I can trust is because of my workers rights beliefs, for a very long time the police were more often than not hired by the factory owners to beat, torture, and murder union leaders. That's not even me being dramatic, that's a fact. There absolutely has to be a very healthy skepticism of the police based on the history of the police.
We also can't assume much, it's quite well known the way whistleblowers are treated, we look at Baltimore where hundreds of men were framed with planted drugs. Here in Louisiana a cop got caugght planting crack and when he found out he was on video he tried to chase the woman recording down. By the way, there were no punishments for that man and his accomplices. I legit think you're a good cop but do you see how I can consider those fucking pigs that took part in that to be worse than any crack dealer in the hood? How many lives have these people ruined? How many fathers stripped from their families?
A lot of cops do a very important service, but we cannot respect the police until at the very least qualified immunity is repealed. Plus when we factor in the sheer monetary value of assets forfeited? That's fucking looting to me and it's state sanctioned robbery. You can (not you, again I actually hold a lot of respect for you as a LEO) can get away with just about anything. Elijah was a sweet boy beat to death and tortured, that's a fact and none of those pigs suffered for their actions. In what world should I respect a police officer in general when they can literally get away with murder?
It makes no sense. I can face repercussions for my actions, but until you guys speak up for the multitude of injustices and deaths the police have given us, why should I? How many of your boys are advocating for the repeal of qualified immunitty? Very few. Because you know what happens when a cop tends to stand up against the horrific actions of their peers? They get to their squad cars and find mutilated animals on their cruiser.
I mean this with a lot of respect and I'm willing to see things from a different perspective, but you have to understand why we consider you the enemy of freedom. You're ripping families apart because of nonviolent offenses, and it is disproportionately attacking people of color. Perhaps its an inherent bias due to high crime neighborhoods, but where were you when the black sites of Chicago were made normal. Don't you at least agree there is a police culture that needs to be addressed? I said it many times. The hatred, the bricks and bottles dropping pigs, frankly that was earned. Haven't you guys done ANYTHING to earn the hatred you hate?
You say literal slavery, but the way you justify kicking in doors and murdering people in no knocks is the exact same excuse the police gave when they were slave catchers and union breakers.I could always be wrong, and I'm always willing to accept being wrongg, but God damn dude. The power structure for the police, who are public servants is in no way equal to those you swore to protect.
So I get the point of ACAB, I don't believe it personally, but I understand why it's a thing.
