As long as policemen do not take care of their own corruption and bad temperedness, i have a hard time feeling for them. The use of police to steal from people through harsh fines, civil forfeiture, their disrespect for the rules and safety in traffic, their enforcing of the war on drugs will first have to stop before i can respect them. Clean up your own room first!
As the saying goes, respect is earned. However, what's at stake here, as per the video you posted, is a society on the brink of total collapse into utter lawlessness (with more and more police resigning by the day), which is something I think we all need to think about very carefully.
At the end of the video, Tim Pool talks about his at times hilariously ironic experiences at Occupy Wall Street, which are, of course, relevant to CHAZ. No, he didn't have his possessions stolen (as is reportedly happening right now at CHAZ), but that's only because he had the foresight to keep his possessions with him. Funny, what he DID have stolen was his tent! -- and by the organizers of Occupy themselves!
Here's how Tim very humorously describes what happened:
"They took [my tent] from me, and I got mad and said 'ya'll stole my tent'. And then I went and actually found the people who had it, and they were like, 'This is our tent. It was given to us by the [the organizers], it was a donation'. And I'm like 'no it wasn't. It's my tent'. 'You can't prove it' [they said]. [and I said] 'You're right. I can't'."
"[So] what am I going to do? Go find the receipt from REI?"
Tim continues:
"Well, that's what you get when there's no law enforcement. No police. And to be honest, if the police were there, they could maybe -- in the real world -- they could maybe do a preliminary or a minimal investigation where they go and ask the organizers, 'where'd you get [the tent]?' And they'd say, 'oh, it was put up, and we took it down'. 'Okay, fine. Give it back to guy'. Right? That's usually what may happen. But Occupy was lawless... it was like, 'hey man, I don't know... nobody remembers, nobody knows. Sorry, your tent is gone'."
[Tim continues] "I was talking to somebody giving out socialism books at Occupy Wall Street, and I explained this problem to them, 'that, if you are a part of these groups, and you go out and do your work, they give away your stuff, and by the time you're back not only is your stuff gone, but now you can't get any of the 'donations' because they've given them all away'."
As Tim further explains:
"... during Occupy they had tents and blankets and everything, right? As soon as they opened up the little -- comfort, they called it -- people would line up to get tents, blankets or otherwise... Well, if you were working, or doing something, then you weren't there to get a tent or blanket. When they stole my tent, and I came back, and they said they stole it, I said, 'well then what am I supposed to do?' And they said, 'I don't know, we don't have any tents for you'. And I said, 'so I'm out filming protests, and I'm posting videos on the internet -- actually doing something -- and the people who weren't working came here, [and] you guys took my stuff, gave it to [them], and now there's nothing left for me. So, the people who literally do nothing get the advantage'."
"Guess what I was told?... by someone giving out books on socialism: 'Well, maybe you need some way of proving these things are yours'. And I said, 'you mean like PRIVATE PROPERTY?' [and he said] 'Okay, well, but, yeah, but not really. I mean, private property, I mean, it's your tent. It's different than a building'. 'Oh, okay." [??]
"... [and I said] 'how am I supposed to prove that I did something of value if they're giving away the tents to those who ask for it who aren't doing work?' And I kid you not they said, 'maybe they can give out some kind of trinket or token proving that you've done work so you can redeem it for supplies you need. And I went, 'you mean, MONEY?
You just invented private property and money, thank you very much'. And boy did they get angry."
"And how do you make sure those rules are enforced? [Tim rhetorically asks] I'm waiting for it... where is it?... the POLICE!"
"That's right. It's not perfect. The cops can't do everything for everybody, and sometimes your stuff is just gone. But, hey, man, the police can help with these issues."
Tim, back on CHAZ, where it's reported that a person's tires were slashed:
"This person wasn't in the autonomous zone, they were in West Capitol Hill, but they're still near it. And your tires got slashed, and I'm sorry to hear it. But, guess what? These people have chased the police away. And now police are leaving, they're resigning en masse across the country. And all the stories that you're now hearing? Yeah, that's what you'll get when you have community policing. That's what you get when you disband your police. So, please: be careful what you wish for. You might just get it."
[end quoted material]
So, as per Tim's account, it seems Occupy's socialist methods were failing woefully. And when Tim pointed out some of the ironies and contradictions that arose, the "organizers" (of this obviously unorganized group) wanted to hear none of it. But at least with Occupy there were no official borders, and so the problems and abuses that arose there were not hemmed in by a bordered district allowing no access to outside policing or media oversight -- as opposed to CHAZ, where instead you have thug-like, extortionist type "policing" hemmed in by armed barricades, and asserting itself from within.
Tim also recalled that there were some incidents of rape at Occupy, and that the organizers didn't want the press notified, or the police contacted, since it would give the movement "a bad name." (However, the story did get out, as I remember reading about it at the time.) But that's a significant point as well: there's no incentive for the organizers of these movements to be honest or accountable in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact, which also makes for an especially dangerous situation.
I used to go to a psychotherapist with whom I had some very interesting conversations. One thing she pointed out that really stayed with me was how, when there are groups that secede from the larger society, the problems within that larger society get magnified within that cut-off group. I remember we discussed Jonestown at some point. Of course, a lot of these utopian set-ups such as Jonestown are either a full out psyop, or become infiltrated by such elements, so it's probably difficult to find a "pure" example where the corruption that ensues actually does come from within. But, let's say we have a perfect instance in which there is no operation in place at the outset: in all probability, there is still going to be a serious problem of self policing since all the same temptations and latent dark impulses still exist. And, as per what my therapist had noted, in a cut-off situation, there is an even greater opportunity for darker impulses to get the upper hand.
I think the best thing that could happen in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing is that the police be forced to do some serious and necessary self examination, and in so doing, make the necessary reforms
in earnest. But, as per some of the videos I transcribed earlier, and other material we're seeing, given the police during this most trying time are being abandoned -- and left entirely out of the conversation, in most cases -- even by their own brass, we're now seeing instead a dangerous exodus by these officers.
Taking in the larger picture, it seems the difficult process of self examination and real reform within police departments is being upended by an insidious agenda to dismantle law and order, period. And so, if anything -- whether you feel the police deserve your respect or not -- we should be looking for ways to be fair and even handed in an effort to show our support, not against the victims of police brutality, but given the vital role that the police often do play in our lives. I know, I, for one, have had to call 911 on occasion -- in one instance, for a life and death situation when my brother attempted suicide. Fortunately, he did pull through. But had there been a longer wait that may not have been the case.
So, as concerns our society's fraught relationship with the police, the old saying does seem apt: you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. That goes for most blacks too. After all, will the two black women who were cheering and doing shots when they saw their Minneapolis police precinct burn to the ground really be cheering once mob rule sets in, and women especially may be subject to all manner of brutal attack? I don't think so, no matter how much hate and resentment had been building up prior to this melt down. So, again, it's a tricky business: emotions run high, and all manner of mayhem can and does ensue -- but to what end? Without any forethought nothing of value can ever be accomplished -- other than feeding what seems to be this planned insurrection, or coup... or insidious dissolution.
. I think he didn't fit in and was gently rejected from Occupy.
