I doubt highly that either side of this argument will surrender to the other. The one comment I would make is that unless you have experienced what a police officer does, it is impossible to understand the stress, complexity and craziness of the job. It is often said, police work is 98% boredom interrupted by 2% terror. In my career, I have been spit on, assaulted and shot at...and I can tell you it isn't fun. I understand that some people say, "that's the job you chose to do", but that is dismissive of the reality of dealing with people who believe they are exempt from the rules of law. Because they are human, some officers can lose perspective and act outside of their scope of authority. I am not going to convince anyone here to change their opinion...I can only reiterate the one absolute...if people comply, excessive force would be a very rare occurence. In 30 years of policing, I have never seen anyone beaten, tasered or shot for complying with a lawful order from a police officer. That may be anecdotal, but it is a compilation of my 30 years of dealing with the public. If anyone can present facts that dispute my experiences, I am very open to hear and consider them.
tenyearsafter
JoinedPosts by tenyearsafter
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305
McKinney Texas pool party?
by Marvin Shilmer inso today i was asked my thoughts on the pool party incident in mcminney, texas.
my response: it shows a clash of expectations.
i saw police officers who expected citizens to listen to and follow instructions.
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305
McKinney Texas pool party?
by Marvin Shilmer inso today i was asked my thoughts on the pool party incident in mcminney, texas.
my response: it shows a clash of expectations.
i saw police officers who expected citizens to listen to and follow instructions.
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tenyearsafter
Having been a police officer for 30 years, I have a different perspective than others commenting on this topic. Everyone is influenced by their own life experiences and social biases. As I have watched the various incidents from Ferguson to this Texas pool party unfold, a common thread ties them all together. Without exception, each incident would have had a different outcome if the subjects involved had complied with the police during the interaction. I am not siding with any specific officer's actions, as some of the police tactics were unprofessional, up to and including criminal. My point is, like it or not, we live in a country of laws, and the police are charged with enforcing those laws. Just because we may not agree with a certain law, doesn't exempt us of having to follow the law. If we don't agree with the law, we need to work to have that law changed. Challenging or refusing to comply with the police only escalates a situation. The police are legally empowered to "use whatever force is necessary to effect an arrest". Use of force is never a pretty thing, and when seen on a video can be shocking to the average citizen. I have personally experienced countless acts of disrespect and outright contempt of the law. I would ask a question of the most vocal critics...what should the police do when people refuse to follow the law and resist the efforts of police to peacefully enforce the law? Should the police just give up and leave the scene? If people refuse to comply and follow verbal commands, should that end the continuum of enforcement? Bottom line, it never is as easy or simple as people not involved in any given situation think. In the case of the McKinney incident, crowds can become dangerous quickly...even if they are teenagers at a pool party. I am not going to judge the officer's actions, but rather have you place yourself in that situation. What I saw on the video was a large group of people involved in a some type of volatile situation. When police arrive, they don't know what the situation is, they can only process what they see upon arrival. Police are human, and can feel scared in volatile scenarios. No amount of training can prevent all types of emotional responses by an officer. In the current environment of police distrust, the police are "damned if you do, and damned if you don't". I personally am glad that I am not starting my career in law enforcement...it is not a "good" career any longer. I go back to my simplistic bottom line...if people comply, the majority of situations resolve peacefully and without harm to the participants. -
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New way of preacing?
by dogon ini have noticed that in florida at least i see at every flea market and or town square jws sitting drinking coffee with a table and a couple of sandwich signs with watchtowers and awakes doing nothing more than playing on their phones and or talking to each other.
i have not yet seen anyone going up to them and engaging them but i bet they are counting time.
what a cheat.
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tenyearsafter
I just came back from Europe, and cart witnessing seems quite popular. I have yet to see one in the States, but saw several while on my trip. The interesting thing was, the people manning the carts never spoke to anyone that I could see...in one case, there were two carts together, and the JW's spent their time talking to each other. Very odd... -
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Mother's day according to Joseph Rutherford
by opusdei1972 inthis is what the second president of the watchtower society, the channel of god appointed in 1919, wrote about the mother's day:.
satan would turn the people away from this beautiful symbol, and therefore from god, and cause them to disregard the word of the lord.
this he does in a very subtle way by organizing what in england and in america, the chief countries of christendom, is called "mother's day".
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tenyearsafter
Mommy issues.... -
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Things I trust more than the Jehovah's Witnesses Governing Body
by OnTheWayOut ini stole this, from of all places, rick fearon.
i don't know who he stole it from.
please think of more.. things i trust more than the jehovah's witnesses governing body+ the media+ mexican tap water+ cappuccino from bill cosby+ a bigfoot sighting+ a politician who says "trust me"+ an al qaeda who wants flying lessons, but skips landing and take-offs+ a hillary clinton war story+ bill clinton wanting to give a speech at an all-female school+ gas station sushi+ a brian williams or bill o'rielly news report+ email from a nigerian prince.
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tenyearsafter
I think it originally came from someone's opinion piece called "Things I Trust More Than Obama"...but it certainly fits here! -
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GB Bodyguards
by Socrateswannabe ini have heard that at the international conventions and even at us headquarters, the governing body travel with entourages or bodyguards.
does anyone know this to be a fact?
if so, why?
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tenyearsafter
When I worked security at conventions 20 years ago, I was always picked to work GB escort...I suspect because I was a police officer. They speak against the profession as "not above reproach", but certainly have no issue with using the skill set to their benefit. -
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Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?
by EndofMysteries infrom so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.
i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.
to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.
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tenyearsafter
BA Business Administration; some credits on MBA -
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Church of Neurotology - SNL Video Skit
by berrygerry inchurch of neurotology - snl video skit tonight.. cute enough..
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tenyearsafter
Spot on knock-off of the music video Scientology produced, and was featured in Going Clear documentary.
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HBO Scientology Documentary
by tresdecu inhas anyone else seen the hbo scientology documentary 'going clear' - wow...cults are just mind-blowing you wonder how people can fall for that garbage, then you (those of us former/fading jws) look in the mirror.. i would love for someone to make a major jw documentary like this.
'going clear' is getting a lot of press.
poor tom cruise...he looks like quite the whack job in it too.
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tenyearsafter
Just saw it, and the similarities are eerie...but Scientology is another level of crazy compared to JW's! The "disconnecting" smacks of DF'ing, and you can be labeled a Suppressive Person for something as simple as asking a question of their leadership. If you leave and talk against them, you are labeled a squirrel, and they send "squirrel hunters" to harass and damage that dissenter anyway they can. It is one scary high control group!! -
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The 50 Ways to Be Disfellowshipped
by Wild_Thing ini was wondering ... what are all of the "official" reasons provided by elders for disfellowshipping someone?
i know the most common reasons are adultery and fornication, but what about the others?
a couple of years ago i traveled back to my hometown` and one of my old jw acquaintances told me that her grown son had been disfellowshipped for refusing to stop associating with another disfellowshipped person.
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tenyearsafter
Just saw Going Clear, about Scientology, and they mark people as a Supressive Person if they even ask simple questions of their leadership. Sounds eerily similar to being DF'ed for causing divisions.