Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyRandy
My point is those armored cars that look strange and all of the military training come out in full force on a regular basis. Yes, in Ferguson the cops were outnumbered. But that's a very rare occurrence. Most of the time it's the other way around - with too much overkill. Look at the police response to the Boston Marathon bombings. That wasn't over the top? Shut down the whole city and the outlying areas and they still didn't catch the kid. It was only after the lockdown was lifted that a house owner spotted the kid in his boat.
The authorities are getting bigger, more powerful, and less effective. They are only there to intimidate. Look at the white flags on the Brooklyn Bridge. And twice now kids have gotten to the new World Trade Center. Those are big targets that are secured with millions of dollars of technology because they are high value targets. Totally useless. And don't get me started about the TSA. Its all very expensive window-dressing.
My original point remains the same. The police are being militarized and perceive citizens as the enemy. Too many citizens have a "security at all costs" mentality. And that fits right in with the US Gov't's plans.
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I disagree with where you said our police forces are becoming "less effective". Violent crime is dropping quickly, even through the recession. My little police force in my little home town has license plate scanners on the top of their cars and they can spot a stolen car without putting much effort into it. I think that's great.
The police forces are getting more powerful because they have to. Citizens are now armed with assault rifles, and the police have to match this - and beat it. And while I do believe the police response there has been a bit much, at the same time a day before there was mass looting going on.