Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Us versus Them

John Williams over at Shadowstats.com says:

"Have you ever wondered why the CPI, GDP and employment numbers run counter to your personal and business experiences? The problem lies in biased and often-manipulated government reporting." Williams offers solid information on "things you've suspected but were afraid to ask."

What's the real, pre-Clinton unemployment rate? over 20%. With penury and poverty comes crime.

As a Budget Gets Tighter, Police Battle Rising Crime

Some Link Economy With Spate Of Killings:
In One Month, 57 Die In Eight Mass Murders

With higher crime comes a shift in how police are trained to respond. It is no longer serve and protect, it is us vs. them.

Riot police taught to treat the public 'as their enemy', former chief claims
Riot police are taught to treat the public as their "enemy" and regard every situation as a "threat", former police chiefs will tell a top-level inquiry into the G20 protests. David Gilbertson, a retired Scotland Yard commander and assistant inspector of constabulary, said that the "defensive" approach once central to British policing has "morphed into a faux US-style operation" where officers wear military-looking uniforms and used batons and Taser stun guns to clamp down on perceived dissent.

Former police officer Cas Gadomski wrote a good essay about his on-the-ground observations of the "Us vs. Them" syndrome.

In the days when London riot police bludgeon a man to death, in the days when a benign pastor is beaten up for standing on his 4th Amendment right, in the days when Operation Torch Team has police in riot gear and killer dogs patrolling NYC subways...it is indeed us vs. them.

The question is, will it become us vs. us?

1 comment:

Tammy said...

Actually, the question is when.