I think that your willingness to deal with physical confrontation has colored your ability to see from the perspective of the weak and defenseless.
Spd, the difference being is that I did not initiate the aggression that provoked the physical confrontation. Some may call this self-defense. Furthermore, the woman and the neighbors are not, were not, weak and defenseless. They are completely capable of defending themselves but they have chosen to seek temporary remedy by calling the police. I see no problem with this as it's to each their own, but the husband and the gang-bangers have the knowledge that the police will not be there all the time. And next time they'll be just a bit smarter in committing their crimes.
Why should the victim of the crime (battered woman) be forced to leave her home?
If the husband had kicked her out then she would've been forced to leave her home. As it is, she chose to remain willingly; and willingly she'll remain when he returns after his 48-72 hour hold in the jail before the courts allow him to make bail.
I have no doubt that if she had resorted to deadly force (knife,bat) he simply would have taken it from her and she would have ended up dead.
There's no guarantee on that and you know that to be true. She could just as easily purchase and produce a firearm and defend herself from a distance. As a matter of fact, she may be purchasing one at this moment for when the courts fail in their job and allow him out of jail to return home. Think a piece of paper called a Restraining Order is going to stop somebody intent upon committing harm? Of course, this is purely all subjective, but the possibilities are quite realistic and feasible, much as your assertions on the subject.
The woman happened to be from out of state and had no support system in the area except for the police.
Is she not an adult of able mind capable of making her own decisions and being responsible for her actions? The state still looks upon it as the individual being responsible for their own well-being and safety. Even though the state will continue to limit, restrict or outright prohibit how one can defend themselves yet won't guarantee that persons safety in spite of those prohibitions and restrictions.
In case 2, remember that these were gang members. The neighbors were afraid to confront them and ask them to be quiet. Once again, call the cops and the problem is solved (at least for the night).
Once again, a temporary fix. What happens when they make bail and return for retribution in the wee hours of the morning? Will you or one of your brothers-in-arms be there to protect the neighbors?
Do you think that your response to the BB gun incident was a little extreme?
Not at all. Is there a difference between me defending the weak and defenseless as compared to you?
What would you have done if those teenagers told you to go fuck yourself?
I certainly wouldn't have gotten into a verbal argument. I merely would've stated my position that if it happens again then I shall return with more than a warning. They've been warned and one warning is all I will issue.
Would deadly force have been warranted if they were stupid enough to engage you with their BB guns?
Yes. A BB or pellet gun can still inflict severe injury and in the rare case, death. Point a firearm in my direction and I will not hesitate to defend myself. By definition an air-powered propellent rifle is considered a firearm.
Would a police officer open fire on a teenager pointing a BB gun at him?
They might bother the kid whose dad doesn't have a rifle. They might bother the kid who doesn't have a dad.
Not my concern.
Call the cops and let them deal with these kids (talking to parents, summons to court or arrest)Not everyone in this world is able to defend themselves.
Quite simply I don't believe in this joke called a justice system. I much prefer to deal with the aggressors myself and not depend upon a system who will not adequately punish them because they are juveniles or first time offenders.
Just another thought while I'm typing. I saw that you mentioned to Watcher that police work is not the most dangerous job in the world. Sure, other lines of work have a greater statistical chance of being killed i.e. pilots and lumberjacks. In my ten years as a cop I have been punched,kicked, spat upon,threatened with a knife, threatened with a gun, and injured myself in foot chases. There aren't too many lumberjacks that can say the same thing.
Without lumberjacks you wouldn't have lumber, heh. But I digress, those are the consequences that you take upon yourself knowing full well what you are getting into.
I can also say that I've been punched, kicked, spat upon, had a knife drawn on me, looked into the barrel of a shotgun and injured myself while doing physical activity. And I wasn't even a cop when that all occured nor did any of this happen in my current occupation.
Never mind the psychological beating that you can take responding to all types of incidents (deaths of people in car accidents, SIDS deaths etc.)
Is it really any different than being an EMT, paramedic, nurse or doctor? I would even go so far as to refuting your attempt to humanize cops and their so-called psychological trauma for doing their job. Does a cop feel pity for the very citizenry they target for those monies and loss and freedom? From my experience, no. Most that I encounter even joke or make light of those incidences. If one expects me to feel empathic for the people of that profression, it won't happen because more often than not, the cop inflicts more psychological trauma upon a person than they'll ever experience themselves.
Being a cop doesn't make you a hero.
I like the fact that you can admit that. I don't see you taking that position, but it's a position that the state takes when it comes to it's agents and that position is glorified in the media whenever possible. To me a cop is not a hero, but a jackbooted thug enforcer of the state.
Being a cop makes you a person that sometimes sees the worst in humanity but you come back every day trying to make a difference and help out.
And I can agree with that to an extent. Also to an extent, the state has promoted the cops as being the be-all, end-all of the good side and to call them when something bad happens or is about to happen. The state and the police have also castrated and hamstrung society through this same propaganda and statutes that are legislated by the ruling elite.
I ask, is the law always good and just and does the enforcement of those same laws make one an officer......or merely the hired enforcer of the state that doesn't care whether a victim exists, but that a law has been broken.
You do have a choice. To ignore those laws that don't have an injured party other than the perceived injury the state claims for itself upon the creation of it's laws. It's all about control, spd, and you are the hired gun that does the controlling.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Ditto.


