A message for the police. Please share.

A warning for members of police forces everywhere.

One day you will be forced to choose, to make a decision about who you serve, about what your career means to you, about who YOU are. In far away places like Egypt, under corrupt regimes like Mubarak’s, the choice seems obvious. Was it? Egypt had 20 million people who earned less than $2 per day. Any reasonable employment in Egypt is like manna from heaven. The Egyptian police had the best of all possible worlds; they had good jobs, relative job security, respect, and reasonable personal security so long as Mubarak was in power. Those who refused to attack the protesters gave up more than you can imagine.

If police officers loose sight of their profession and become tools of the government rather than protectors of the people,  if the overtime pay cheque becomes more important than justice and The Rule of Law, then they are supporting a fascist form of government.

Any person who is not in a law making position is one of the common people. As such, you must consider what future you are supporting, for your families and friends, for your children and even their children. The future is built by our actions today, it can seldom be altered by remorse and repentance tomorrow.

While people outside the police forces can only have a vague idea of the trials and frustrations of dealing with day to day violence and criminality and the crappier aspects of the human condition, it is important for police officers to differentiate between justice and dictatorship, between policing and oppressing.

Most people, including police have a high degree of morality. But, we can all be bent by tiny increments till we reach a point where our actions cannot be reconciled with our beliefs. The eventual outcome is what we see happening to American soldiers on a daily basis, they commit suicide to avoid the dilemma presented by the conflict between duty and humanity. People cannot become monsters, they are either born with psychopathic tendencies or they are not. Guilt has never repaired an injustice.

 

Separating the police from the people they are sworn to protect

Have you ever wondered why? In Britain most police carry no guns and wear no armour. In the United States (with one private weapon per person) The police don’t wear kevlar vests.

Yet

In Canada, we now have a situation where all mounties are required to wear bullet proof suits while on duty. The bureaucracy is driving a distrustful wedge between the police and the people.

It is another aspect of divide and conquer. If the police are fearfull that their lives might be in danger at any moment, they will treat all “civilians” accordingly. The requirement to wear bulletproof gear psycologically reinforces that mindset.