Issues come and go and that is to be expected. We don’t have long attention spans in a world full of attention-getting advertising and news delivered in 15 second dollops. We have been acculturated to mentally move on if, for no other reason, there is so much drivel backed up waiting to be downloaded into our brains, we have to. We are being force fed infotainment. I came to know that profoundly while living off the grid.
Living off the grid was always busy for us. Always. We had things to do and they all required learning and doing and physical work (which takes us longer as we age). Our days were full but were never jammed or hectic mentally. Our days were relaxing even when physically challenging.
Our days were also pretty balanced. We had first to dream, to think, prepare, work, maybe clean up and then review and then (often) repeat the process just to get the simplest of things done. The only demands were self-imposed. It was a natural pace of doing things. The big difference: we were only REACTIVE after we had had a chance to do it once. And, even then, our ‘reaction’ required re-thinking as well. And, even then, we reacted at our own pace.
The city is different. Most of the time you are instantly REACTIVE in the city. You are ‘reactive’ to schedules, traffic and, of course, the incessant demands of others for your attention. You do not take time to think. There is no time. Having a chance to think is, surprisingly, an option or a luxury – something that seems to disappear with urban immersion. Even the urbanite’s weekends are filled with ‘catching up’ on chores or social engagements. Spending time ‘contemplating’ becomes so rare as to disappear for many people.
I know that, for myself, I spent the bulk of twenty or thirty years in ‘reaction’ mode and my idea of ‘turning it off’ was to turn the TV on. And then I would ‘react’ to what was being aimed at me.
And again – in the city, at this writing, I am now almost fully booked for the next three weeks.
If you have any doubts about all this, ask yourself the following question: “What were the ten biggest news stories of the previous year (2013)”? Name one from 2011. Ask yourself what you did six months ago that was ‘different or out of the ordinary?” I hope you have some semblance of answers but most of us are on cruise control and it all blurs into a morass of nothing.
Well, it did for me, anyway.
But when you write a blog (or, better put: when I write a blog) I always start with, “What is in the back of my head?” I know what is up front and demanding but I want to consider what is still there and yet NOT getting my attention. Today it is police behaviour.
I think police behaviour has gone way, way out of control. And that is, collectively, an insidious act of social change – but we hardly notice. And that is just plain weird. I am making a guess here but I would opine that more people are killed by the police than by criminals in Canada.
Some old lady police protester in Ferguson, Missouri was quoted as saying, “The police are the biggest single danger to the security and safety of the populace in the USA!”
The other day the Vancouver police shot and killed a 57 year old man wielding a two by four standing in the middle of an intersection. Clearly mad. Admittedly, they first tried to subdue him with bean-bags from a shot gun but then they just shot him dead. What kind of ‘training’ is required if they resort to killing at the drop of a hat?
Then there was the 12 year old in some US city playing openly with a BB gun (pistol) and the police arrived and shot him dead within a second of their arrival. Seriously. NOT two seconds. No talking. No ‘get on the ground now!’ crap. They just pulled up and shot him from the car. Dead.
And that is something to think about. THAT is really something to think about. Why are ordinary men (they must be to get in to the police force, one should think…..) killing unarmed citizens to such an extent that it is creeping up the consciousnesses of even old ladies? And me?
More to the point – ask yourself how close you are to being screamed at (GET ON THE GROUND NOW!) and, not having a clue as to why the officer is ‘out of his mind’, responding with “what is the problem, officer? I’ve done nothing!” …..and then…..being shot? The possibility of that kind of madness is increasing.
If a Hell’s Angel walks up to you and appears angry, you might get a beating. If it’s a police officer, you might be killed.
Does that make any sense?
Our Off the Grid Home 
Social control is the aim of all governments protecting the vested rights of the elites. The police are one of the instruments of social control, as is the media and other manufacters of consent. Residents of Ferguson know this well as they take to the streets and are met by highly militarized forces. Inequality thrives in coevcise societies. Canada’s record is appalling on social issues. Our motto has been ‘peace, order and good government.’ O’ Canada.
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30 officers on duty most of the time to ‘protect’ the Kinder Morgan Pipeline process from peaceful protesters. Years of ignoring the plight of ‘missing women’. More years of mystery around the highway of tears. Hundreds of officers at political summit meetings bashing protesters. Clearly the Corporate citizen is valued more than the actual citizen. Why? If our ‘leaders’ are making it so, how can the rank and file comply like Lt. Calley at Mai Lai?
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I wonder what level of experience the VPD pfficer had that shot , and killed, an obviously deranged individual.
A shooting several years ago of a manic depressive schizophrenic (Paul Boyd)off his medication was ruled “justifiable” by the coroner. Then a video from a Winnipeg tourist surfaced and the shooting looked disturbingly like an execution. ( The officer knelt down to the victim, who had already been shot 5 times and was crawling towards the officer ) placed his pistol within inches of his forehead and fired. Military firing squad executions dont have this much excessive brutality.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CE4QFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straight.com%2Fnews%2Fnew-video-shows-paul-boyd-crawling-being-shot-dead-vancouver-police&ei=gsF3VISGJOmGigK944GYCw&usg=AFQjCNFv4fK6JfH7NW-66HhOWgwBuhkg5g
That being said, the govt has been cutting back on funding for mental health institutions for years. The “crazies” are literally dumped on the streets, handed welfare cheques, and when they screw up. The police are called.
The VPD has been focusing on “retiring” the experienced officers to save money and to hire cheaper, green, compliant rookies. The VPD chief has also announced cutbacks, further demoralizing the officers on the force.
Expect more “shootings”.
As for the Hells Angels. I wouldnt want a “beat down” from them either. A friend of mine bought an old cadillac from an Angel. (He was going to use it for the PNE demo derby). When he opened the trunk, there were 15 tire irons in it, and most of them looked like they had been used for ………enforcement.
They arent nice people.
But then again when you’re dealing with violent criminals, you know what you’re getting.
Unlike the police.
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The biggest statement is that we can reasonably compare an encounter with the cops in the same breath as one with the Hell’s Angels. They both present the potential for danger! They SHOULD BE poles apart. But they are not.
Admittedly the plethora of crazies tax the system but I worked with crazies for over 12 years. We never shot anyone. Nor did we taser them. Nor did we beat them senseless. Usually -99.9% of the time – we just talked them down. I guarantee that any sensible investigation of a shooting would result in more rulings of ‘severe over-reaction’ and the only reason they don’t get those findings is because the plaintiff is simply too dead to testify.
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Shed a tear for the pusillanimous ‘servers and protectors’ that can not disarm an ill person who has a chunk of wood. If bean bags will not do it then a service revolver will. Is that all they have? What about some guys in riot gear or a negotiator? Nope too dangerous so it’s best to just do a summary execution. No trial, no due process and no natural justice. Just like the death squads of Argentina! The AAA.
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Or, better yet, the vigilantes of Peru, fed up with an ineffective police force.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQqQIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.appeal-democrat.com%2Fnews%2Fregional_news%2Flatin-america%2Fin-peru-whip-cracking-vigilantes-serve-up-justice%2Farticle_e0065a78-57bb-5ff4-ae21-2fee5aac5642.html&ei=AhB5VJrhBqXWiQL48oCIBg&usg=AFQjCNGqkkSvIwOoyksaxTqfd579dA6slA&bvm=bv.80642063,d.cGE
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In Ferguson an alleged shoplifter and a jaywalker gets six bullets. Hands you are black.
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There is no question that an impoverished and marginalized community will generate more than their share of bad boys (whatcha gonna do?). So I would expect that crime and vandalism would be on a continual and escalating rise – especially with a catalyst like the Mike Brown shooting. But does that mean that shoplifters get shot? Does that mean vandals get shot? Shooting dead is NOT a deterrent, that’s an execution and, with the frequency of it, it is almost mini genocide. It certainly makes the cop the witness, the judge, the prosecution and the executioner all in just a few seconds. And THAT is where it really concerns me.
The Nazis exterminated millions of Jews in WW2 in much the same way. And no one in Germany said very much about it at the time………..
Shouldn’t we speak up now?
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