But the police aren't perfect! They're not robots that appear at any moment of trouble! They're people with flaws, just like you & me! They can't save us in an instant!
Whenever there is a riot or a shooting spree, the police don't always do the most honorable thing!
Sometimes, the police back down in danger, and watch passively as things get out of hand!
1) It happened in last month's Mumbai shootings!
A media photographer Sebastian D'Souza said this
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article14086308.ece
But what angered Mr D'Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply refused to shoot back. "There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything," he said. "At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, 'Shoot them, they're sitting ducks!' but they just didn't shoot back."
The militants returned inside the station and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D'Souza added: "I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera."
To all you gun control fanatics who keep saying "you don't need guns, the police are here to protect us" READ THE 2 PREVIOUS PARAGRAPHS AGAIN!
The police in Mumbai DID NOTHING even when the shootings were going on! They were just standing around! It was after plenty died, and hours passed when they finally did something!
India has one of the strictest gun control laws, but it didn't protect Mumbai at all
From Shikha Dalmia
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122877201598989093.html
After all, what was particularly infuriating about the Mumbai attacks was not just that the Indian government failed to prevent them, even though it had received repeated warnings. Nor was it their tragic death toll; Mumbai, after all, experienced worse in the coordinated series of bombings in 1993 and 2006. Rather, it was that had there been anything resembling meaningful resistance, the attackers never would have been able to stage the kind of spectacle they did. Before they holed up in the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, they seemed to operate with almost complete impunity, freely moving from one target to another.
(skip paragraphs)
But if the hotel staff could take bullets, the question is why couldn't they return them? The reason, as P.R.S. Oberoi, chairman of Oberoi Group, noted, is that none of the hotel's security staff was armed, thanks to the country's strict gun laws that make it virtually impossible to obtain permits. This is also perhaps why the gunmen moved around the city as if they owned it without fearing that anyone would shoot back.
And don't give me this "Mumbai incident was just an isolated incident" CRAP!It's not just Mumbai 2008! It's also Greece 2008, New Orleans 2005, and Los Angeles 1992!
Let's go over these incidents
2) Greece 2008
On December 6, 2008, the Athens police killed a 15-year old boy, and riots spread throughout Greece.
What did the police do about the riots?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122904354644400355.html?mod+djemEditorial%20Page
But soon the protests turned into ugly riots. Groups of masked anarchists set about an orgy of torching, looting and vandalism in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities in Greece.
What was unique about the events in Greece -- as opposed to, say, the riots in the banlieues of Paris a few years ago -- was the total withdrawal of the government and the security forces from the scene of the riots. Civil society was left alone and unarmed to fend off the violent attacks on their property by the hordes of predators. On Tuesday night, one of the worst nights of rioting, more than 400 shops were attacked in Athens: Some were torched, others looted and seriously damaged.
All of this took place while the security forces simply stood by and watched the disaster unfold. They were following the explicit orders of their political masters to assume a "defensive posture" -- which in effect meant that they did not try to prevent the orgy of destruction.
Anyone watching this absurd scene could be excused for concluding that a secret deal had been struck between the government and the rioters: We let you torch and plunder to your heart's content, and you let us continue pretending that we are in charge.
3) A similar thing happened in Los Angeles in the early 1990's.
In March 3, 1991, a man videotaped 4 European-American cops brutally beating an African-American drunk-driving suspect Rodney King! The beatings continued even when King stopped resisted arrest!
On April 29, 1992, 3 cops were found Not Guilty, the other cop got an indecisive decision from the jury!
Just like after the recent Greece incident, riots engulfed Los Angeles!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots
What did the police do after the riots started?
The police backed down!
The commanding police officers told their subordinate officers to get out of South Central LA!
Meanwhile, there were large amounts of hate crimes being committed and videotaped by helicopters!
News commentators were noticing ZERO police were in sight, as rioters attacked ANYONE who wasn't African-American!
The incident that was shown most on the TV news was the brutal attack on European-American truck driver Reginald Denny! He was dragged out of the trucks and rioters were throwing rocks at his head!
What did the police do? NOTHING! They weren't even around!
Denny's life was saved only because other African-Americans in the area were outraged by the anit-white hate crime, got Denny out of the area and drove him to the hospital!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Oliver_Denny
While the attack on Denny was seen as "blacks attacking whites", the MAJORITY of victims being attacked at the same time were Latinos & Asians!
In one case, Feild Lopez, a Guatemalan immigrant was dragged out of his car, brutally beaten and had his genitals spray-painted as his attackers laughed!
What did the police do? NOTHING! They weren't even around!
Lopez's life was saved only because Rev. Bennie Newton, an African American minister, got Lopez out of there and took him to the hospital!
The TV news showed chaos in the LA streets and noticed no cops were around!
This encouraged other gang members to loot & attack!
While the 1st few hours of the riots were dominated by African-American rioters, the Latino gangs were thinking to themselves "why should the blacks have all the fun? What the fuck are we waiting for, let's break some shit up?"
By the time the riots were over, most of those arrested were Latino!
Meanwhile, stores owned by Asians (in this case, mostly Koreans) were attacked, looted & burned by African-American & Latino rioters!
What did the police do? NOTHING! They weren't even around!
Some Korean-owned stores got saved ONLY because their owners were carrying shotguns and rifles! They knew the police weren't going to help, so they took the initiative to protect themselves!
To learn more about the LA riots, the social conditions in LA before the riots, and the police INACTION during the riots, I recommend reading "Official Negligence" by Lou Cannon! If it doesn't horrify you, then nothing will!
4) New Orleans 2005
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.
Even before that, New Orleans had one of the highest murder rates, and one of the most corrupt police departments! Definitely not a stable place!
After Katrina hit New Orleans, gang members took advantage of the chaos by looting stores and beating up anyone who they didn't like or anyone who was vulnerable!
Meanwhile, in Algiers Point, a European-American neighborhood, there were hate crimes committed against African-Americans who happened to be in the area!
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090105/thompson?rel=hp_picks
Where were the police?
Some left the city, some committed suicide, some even joined the looting!
There weren't enough police to take control of the long-out-of-control city!
It was so bad, that the National Guard had to intervene just so those bringing in humanitarian supplies can come in without getting attacked by rioters!
The prisons were damaged, and they needed to make a makeshift prison to jail the looters!
http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4163081.html
NEW ORLEANS - As looters filled the streets and shots rang out, the city's overmatched police knew that whatever other endeavors Hurricane Katrina brought to a halt, crime wasn't one of them.
After being criticized for allowing lawlessness to spiral out of control in the days immediately following the storm, police began arresting people but then ran into a new problem - where to put them. With New Orleans' jails flooded, a temporary holding facility was set up at the city's train and bus terminal.
It held only 30 prisoners by Monday, but that number was likely to swell if police from neighboring Jefferson Parish deliver inmates they had held the past few days.
(skip paragraphs)
The prisoners are separated according to crimes. Inside "Cell 3, felony," some two dozen men milled around. Nearly all had been brought in for looting. Any stolen property valued above $300 was being treated as a felony.
"Believe me, we reviewed every case carefully," said one corrections department official who asked that she not be identified because of safety concerns. "These are not people who stole food. They stole drugs from pharmacies or TVs from stores."
5) So we looked at 4 cases, involving different continents, different racial groups, involving different provoking factors!
In all those cases, the police either backed down or outnumbered!
Is your town's police any better! There's ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT! The only way to find out is when it's too late --- after a riot or shooting spree has started!
Until then, your police department can give out PR statements saying "we will protect our communities", but until chaos happpens, it's all just talk!
In any emergeny, in the first 48 hours, you're on your own!
That means the police aren't going to protect you from 1) those bigger & stronger than you, 2) those on drugs, 3) large mobs of people, 4) those who armed with weapons!
So to the gun-control fanatics, still want to tell me "we don't need guns, the police will protect us"?
6) Enough about the police, I want to discuss the Plaxico Burress case.
Burress is an NFL player who accidentally shot himself at a nightclub!
Gun safety isn't as easy as it looks on TV!
However, I'm irritated by many commentary on this case!
Many commentators say "Burress broke the law (on gun possession), lock him up!"
Here is David Koppel's response to such comments!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122835270947177981.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
Some commentators contend that Plaxico Burress should have hired bodyguards, instead of carrying a gun himself. Mr. Burress might now agree. But people who aren't as wealthy as he is also deserve to be safe, and they don't have the money for bodyguards. New York City needs to regularize its carry permit system so that law-abiding people can protect themselves, especially if their circumstances (such as being a witness to a gang crime) place them at heightened risk.
The Burress case also shows why mandatory sentences are a bad idea. He was careless but had no malign intent. Legislators and mayors like to appear tough by pushing through such draconian laws. Yet the victims are people like Mr. Burress whose conduct may have been improper, but who do not deserve the same sentences meted out to robbers and burglars.
AMEN Mr. Koppel
Also, I noticed many conservatives are silent on this!
They claimed to be outraged when Obama said rural European-Americans "cling to their guns" as reasons to oppose the Democrats! Yet, those same pundits SAY NOTHING when the NBA & NFL place gun-control policies on their players!
You think NASCAR could get away with having gun-control policies on their drivers? NO WAY!
Their drivers & fans (mostly European-Americans from the South) will protest loudly against such policies! NASCAR could NEVER get away with it!
Yet, the NBA & NFL, with many African-American players, get away with gun-control policies! Both leagues have the support of Manhattan/Hollywood/SanFran limousine liberals and they have the silent support of conservative pundits (the same ones offended by Obama's "cling to their guns" comments)
You noticed that many conservative pundits are also silent when African-American rappers are on trial for "illegal gun possession". They didn't speak up for Snoop Dogg, Sean Combs, or DMX when they were on trial for "illegal gun possession", the same laws conservative pundits PRETEND to dislike!
Someone needs to speak up on this!
It's not enough to be outraged when a limousine liberal celebrity bashes rural white gun-owners! As Obama's election showed, YOU CAN'T RELY ON WHITE VOTERS ALONE anymore! The NRA needs to reach out to non-whites! I already see non-whites at gun shows! Why not give them a bigger voice?
After all, the 1st gun control laws were bans on Native Americans & African-Americans from having guns. This allowed the KKK to attack minorities with impunity!
If the KKK was to try attack a large non-white community today, they would get shot at! Their white sheets would turn red from blood!
From an earlier-linked article on India's gun control laws
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122877201598989093.html
One of the big obstacles to gun liberalization in India is the fear that more guns will lead to more violence, given that India is a tinder box of sectarian tensions ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. In fact, more gun ownership -- especially by India's minorities -- might have a deterrent effect.
In 2002, in the Indian state of Gujarat, Hindu mobs brutally attacked Muslim villagers with impunity!
Imagine if the Muslim villagers were armed. The Hindu mobs couldn't attack the Muslim villagers with impunity!
