From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 08:28:36 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: IP: Farah: The cops are out of control
Message-ID: <199811022344.PAA28323@netcom13.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




From: E Pluribus Unum <eplurib@infinet.com>
Subject: IP: Farah: The cops are out of control
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 19:39:20 -0500
To: E Pluribus Unum Email Distribution Network <eplurib@infinet.com>

The cops are out of control 
                   

                    Until very recently, as a law-abiding person, the
                    presence of police generally gave me a feeling of
                    security, well-being, order. 

                    Not any more. I confess that, lately, when I see a
                    cop in my rear-view mirror, I get a very uneasy
                    feeling. 

                    Maybe it's the horror stories we're hearing.
                    Maybe it's the way local and state police have
                    become little more than appendages of the
                    federal law-enforcement apparatus. Maybe it's
                    the fact that so many cops have taken sides
                    against the Constitution and the rights of the
                    people in the name of more efficient
                    crime-prevention. 

                    But the recent incidents in Oklahoma, where
                    police shot an unarmed mother holding her child
                    in her home, in Virginia, where a SWAT team
                    killed a watchman guarding a dice game at an
                    after-hours club and in California, where a
                    Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raid on
                    a gun shop resulted in the death of the
                    shopkeeper, provide some hard evidence that
                    police in America may be getting out of control 

                    I think also about columnist Geoff Metcalf's
                    anecdote about the law-abiding man arrested
                    and jailed for having in his possession a tire
iron,
                    which was classified as a deadly weapon. Had
                    he brandished it? No. Had he threatened
                    anyone? No. Had the California Highway Patrol
                    officer awakened on the wrong side of her bed
                    that morning? Maybe. 

                    But when you start putting all these incidents
                    together, with the backdrop of the massacre in
                    Waco, Texas, and the unnecessary shootout at
                    Ruby Ridge, it's no wonder Americans like me
                    are beginning to worry about the possibilities of
                    an emerging police state. 

                    "Oh, it couldn't happen here," some retort.
                    "America is different. The cops are our friends." 

                    That may have been true through most of our
                    history. But there's one big difference today. The
                    government no longer trusts the people. There is
                    a move to disarm the populace and to entrust our
                    safety solely to professional law enforcement.
                    This is a pattern we've seen in other
                    authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. It's a
                    prerequisite to the formation of a police state.
It's
                    what our Founding Fathers warned us about. It's
                    why we have a Second Amendment. 

                    One of the other problems we face in America
                    today is the increasing number of laws on the
                    books designed to turn virtually everyone into a
                    law-breaker. 

                    It's easier for cops today to fill their quota of
                    arrests and citations by targeting
                    non-threatening, non-violent citizens than it is
                    actually chasing down violent criminals. Too
                    often, today's cops make no distinction between
                    hardened, professional criminals, and people
                    who may or may not be in technical violation of
                    the law -- perhaps even an unjust,
                    unconstitutional law. 

                    But the biggest danger we face is the
                    federalization and militarization of all law
                    enforcement. Inter-agency task forces, bringing
                    together local and state police with federal
agents
                    are now the rule of the day. Federal agencies
                    bribe local cops with funding, equipment and
                    training programs. 

                    America is rapidly becoming an "us vs. them"
                    society -- with the cops and government on one
                    side and the people on the other. Many of us
                    don't feel the heat yet. But it's just a matter of
                    time before we're all confronted with the harsh
                    realities of the new emerging police state. 

                    One of these days -- and it may be sooner rather
                    than later -- America is going to be confronted
                    with a real domestic emergency. It's not a matter
                    of if, but when. We've had precious few real
                    domestic crises throughout our history, and
                    Americans have become spoiled. Thus, we take
                    our freedoms for granted. 

                    There are so many possibilities and excuses on
                    the horizon -- Y2K, terrorism, the threat posed by
                    weapons of mass destruction from rogue states as
                    well as China and Russia. 

                    Will America respond to the next crisis in a way
                    that preserves our civil rights and liberties? Or
                    will we lose our tentative grasp on freedom --
                    giving up an illustrious tradition for the sake of
                    security, safety, order? 

                    If we're to maintain any semblance of freedom in
                    the worst of times, we must hold the government
                    and police accountable in the best of times. 
                   

                    A daily radio broadcast adaptation of Joseph
Farah's
                    commentaries can be heard at http://www.ktkz.co
-- 
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