I wish I had recalled the quote from Marcus Aurelius near the opening of Andrew Sullivan’s latest piece:
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.
It would have been a good addition to my post of yesterday. Apparently, others feel about unfolding events much as I do.
It is madness to describe the entire history of the U. S. as having been motivated by racism.
It is madness for the New York Times to receive a Pulitzer Prize for proclaiming that.
It is madness to include that in school curricula.
It is madness to hire police officers who are incapable of subduing those they are arresting without killing them.
It is madness to empty your revolver into the back of someone you’re attempting to subdue.
It is madness to burn and loot black-owned businesses in support of black people.
It is madness for elected officials to eschew the most basic obligation of the state, surrendering the streets to rioters and looters.
It is madness for vigilantes to take the place of law enforcement officers in protecting private property and individuals.
and, finally, it is madness to think that allowing the madness to continue will propel your candidate into the presidency. Andrew Sullivan continues:
Rioting and lawlessness is evil. And any civil authority that permits, condones or dismisses violence, looting and mayhem in the streets disqualifies itself from any legitimacy. This comes first. If one party supports everything I believe in but doesn’t believe in maintaining law and order all the time and everywhere, I’ll back a party that does. In that sense, I’m a one-issue voter, because without order, there is no room for any other issue. Disorder always and everywhere begets more disorder; the minute the authorities appear to permit such violence, it is destined to grow. And if liberals do not defend order, fascists will.
I think he makes an error. Today’s progressives are not liberals. The most basic quality of a liberal is believing in freedom. Freedom of thought and speech. Not free stuff.
“It is madness to describe the entire history of the U. S. as having been motivated by racism”
It’s myopic and ignorant at best.
I’m halfway through “White Cargo”. If it’s to be believed, the country was founded on profit. Jamestown was founded by the Virginia Company, a group of investors who sought first gold, failing that, tobacco profits.
The settlers were company men or indentured servants or even convicts and kidnapped orphans.
Freedom of religion had little to do with it. At that time and continuing into today, slavery has been practiced all over the world and by almost all peoples.
Our public schools are now so corrupt I believe they should be starved to death by charter schools. Public school education has never been great but now it’s mainly propaganda and indoctrination.
It is madness to hire police officers who are incapable of subduing those they are arresting without killing them.
Stop hiring beta males to do an alpha male’s job.
If your primary concern is getting home alive, you should be a bus driver or move to Mayberry RFD. I was a deputy in New Orleans during the crack wars of the 1980’s. So, benn there, done that.
It is madness to empty your revolver into the back of someone you’re attempting to subdue.
Stop issuing Taser’s to do a PR-24’s job. With proper training, a PR-24 is very effective non-lethal force, and when somebody refuses to respond, you help them realize the “error of their ways”.
Alpha males with a PR-24 will result in more police brutality, but training and supervision are the solution. For criminals, “that’s how it goes when you play the game.” For civilians, swift and harsh punishment. For the public, statics classes.
Unless a person is suicidal, he/she will not try to use a weapon with 2 or more law enforcements officers present. Unless, you have all beta males too scared to “shoot straight”.
It’s your world. It’s your rules. Enjoy.
“It is madness to hire police officers who are incapable of subduing those they are arresting without killing them.”
Incapable or unwilling to even try? It is pretty clear that in some instances they were incapable, but in others it looks like they didnt even try, they just lead with their guns in situations where the person they ended up shooting was clearly unarmed. In other cases where they had people restrained and handcuffed it looks like they just didnt care or had crap training (Floyd, Garner).
Steve