BART shooting, aftermath.

In case you're unfamiliar with it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJAr6NUy3E

A cop murdered Oscar Grant, a son, a brother, a father.
BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit, is a commuter system in the San Francisco Bay Area, for those of you who don't know.

Officer Johannes Mehserle- the officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant, has resigned, and is not charged with murder, manslaughter, or even irresponsibility. He won't attend hearings in person, and only sends communications through his lawyer.
I'm sure he'll receive a medal for his 'heroic actions under great stress' and perhaps a promotion, too.

The aftermath of the shooting of Oscar Grant is something that interests me. Especially this firsthand account, that states the protest was peaceful until some "masked white kids" started "smashing the windows of the ... storefronts"
The crowd apparently dispersed, save the Black youths, who "continued to face down the police, legitimately ... exercising their First Amendment rights." While the "white punks continued to break shit. "
There is clearly (still) lots of racial tension in this (and most) part(s) of the world. But that is not the focus of this blog.
What IS the focus of this blog is the fact that the police would "without warning ... break ranks in a wedge-formation, brutally tackle or beat down a young Black [man], usually tazing him in the bargain, handcuff him behind his back, place him in a painful, arm-twisting restraint hold and, then, with two cops roughly handling him, he would be violently thrown into a vehicle." While the white youths continued their (in the authors own words) Kristallnacht.

This just goes to show how most cops can not be trusted to do the right thing, but rather the easy thing.



Here's a great commentary on the Duality of the Justice System, and how any other person (someone that is not a cop) would have been tackled, arrested, interrogated, and brought to trial. But Mehserle was simply allowed to resign...
That's the problem. This double standard, that's lower for police. How often do you see cops flash their lights in order to go through a red light? How often on the highway do you see a cop going 20-30 mph over the speed limit? When does it end? Speeding, no-knock warrants on the wrong house, shooting a cooperating, handcuffed detainee. It won't end until police are held accountable, and not by other police!

Guns don't kill people, dumb cops do

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=106927

PUEBLO (AP) - A Pueblo police officer remains on leave following the apparent accidental shooting of his wife.

Steven Vaughn told investigators he had just finished cleaning his revolver Sunday when it accidentally fired. The bullet passed through a wall and into a bathroom, hitting his wife, Robin, in the lower torso.

...

(Copyright Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Why does he have a gun if he's too stupid to not point loaded guns at things he doesn't want destroyed? These are the same people you trust to 'protect and serve'? No thanks...

Vigilantism in Guatemala

The streets of Guatemala are safer thanks to citizens protecting each other.


The police have failed to protect the citizenry from the gangs that run rampant through the town of San Juan Sacatepequez; Gangs often force businesses to pay "war taxes," Small businesses that can barely afford to stay open are now forced to spend what little money they have on relocating, hiring personal guards, or just... shut down.

The Guatemalan prosecutor for human rights violations admits that "The state is weak. The people have no confidence. Neither in the security forces nor in the justice system."

But the people there are not hiding away in fear, not anymore.

Thanks to government sanctioned Social Cleansing, the streets are safer.

Yes, vigilantism has it's dark sides- such as the Honor Killings that occur in the Muslim world. Those are wrong. Why are they different from true vigilantism? The victims of the honor killings are only trying to express themselves. They aren't hurting others. The criminals, gang bangers, murderers, drug dealers, and thieves in Guatemala are part of an organized syndicate that has been extorting the helpless people of various slums for years.
And they've had enough.

The premise...

...is simple. Cops are not your friends.
They have no legal obligation to protect you.
Let me say that again.
Police have no legal obligation to protect you.

Let that sink in for a bit.