August 08, 2004
Police
Kim du Toit asks the question: are our police forces becoming too militarized?
Here's my answer.
We desperately need more cops like St. Thomas (a commenter in the original post).
The problem as I see it is twofold: we will never have all St. Toms walking the streets, ever (just as no corporation will ever be populated solely by overachievers); and two, there are WAY too many "personal and consensual behavior" laws on the books, at all levels. Someone mentioned the WoD above. Don't leave out the War on Gambling, the War on Adult Consensual Sex, and of course, near to this forum's heart, the War on Possessing Firearms.
Do you all in this forum want to see police officers being shown more respect and gratitude than they get now? Do you all want to see police officers have safer, less deadly careers than they have now? THEN GET THEM OUT OF THE NANNYING BUSINESS! What individual adults do in private (smoke marijuana, have gay sex, have sex in exchange for money, targetshoot, hunt, organize gambling tournaments) is none of the state's business save for some minimal health and safety regulation.
Remove the laws, and let market forces dictate what adults want to do with their time and freedom. Gangs would atrophy and die like water-starved plants. Meth houses and marijuana plots would disappear overnight as Seagram's, Abbott Labs, and RJ Reynolds brought true competition (let alone safer drugs, accountability, and a taxable revenue stream) to the "adult relaxation" marketplace. And cops could return to fighting actual crime, like burglaries, muggings, and murders. AND return to being universally admired for the true heroes they are.
Make no mistake: I truly admire cops, nowadays more than ever. I want them around. The streets are dangerous. But it is my heartfelt contention that the vast majority of the danger is a byproduct of the state legislating private adult behaviors.
Will some adults flush their lives down the terlet in a Caligula-inspired stupor? Sure, but it's not like that isn't happening anyway. With these odious laws lifted, TONS of money would be available for education and rehabilitation. Again, this forum knows the value of firearm handling and safety education, right? Was it here that I read about the study where two groups of kids encountered a revolver, one group educated in gun safety, the other not? Even if you don't recall the study, you can guess how the behaviors differed.
If it's good for an adult, it can't be that bad for a child, right? WRONG!!! In an ideal world, a child has a series of firewalls surrounding her. They're called parents, and teachers, and good neighbors. I'm not saying a child should live in a hermetically sealed chamber till they're 18. That's not what growing up is about. Kids learn by getting into mischief (have y'all noticed that we never hear the words brash, mischief, or my favorite monkeyshine any more; today's codewords for kids are insolence and insubordination). Kids model their adult role models, and if that means that a 15 year old learns how to drink responsibly by sipping wine with her parents at dinner, then I'm all for that.
Boy I've gone on and on.