zotmeister: an 8-bit yellow pig with flight goggles on his forehead and a red scarf, striking a heroic pose (butasan)
zotmeister ([personal profile] zotmeister) wrote2007-09-06 11:36 am
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Enforcement


I keep a mental list of "Places Never To Go Because The Law Enforcement Is Retarded". Looks like Brooklyn, Ohio is now on that list. Whether Michael Righi was "asking for it" or not is beside the point; you don't fail to read someone's rights when you arrest them and then drag them to the police station while trying to figure out what to charge them with. That's evil dictatorship right out of a sci-fi flick.

One of my great fears is being injustly punished. When people in positions of authority are doing something wrong, far too few are willing to stand up and say it, especially when they most need to: when innocents are suffering because of it. In fact, many of them will even show resentment towards those that DO uphold their civic duty. This holds true at all levels of the spectrum, from when a teacher is corrected by a student up to when a president sends troops to battle without a congressional declaration of war.

I am sincerely scared of one day being abducted by law enforcement, charged for something I had absolutely nothing to do with nor knowledge of, and thought of as a criminal by the general populace, even if I'm not found guilty. That manner of completely unfair and unfounded stigmata arbitrarily assigned to me worries me deeply, and the thought of it being able to happen anywhere deeply troubles me.

Being honest and open - knowing the truth and telling the truth - is useless when everyone else involved thinks you're lying, and when they do finally accept the truth, it's much too late for you. I can't help but feel that one day this "you" will be me, and the "too late" effect will be permanent. It's like I'm fighting against my destiny.

There are possible segues I could make from that, entering the domains of civil liberties, racism, religion, and the fatally flawed Golden Rule, but I have too much work to do right now to get into any of that (not to mention they could warrant their own entries).

I am SO glad that I live in Rhode Island now. I figure that of all the states in the Union, the one founded on the principle of individual freedom is the safest to be in; it's probably the closest to a civil-liberties bastion as any government that currently exists, and the citizens don't put up with any shit to the contrary. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it could be far, far worse.

Tomorrow: One segue I will follow shortly is into a discussion - and a dream - about Bioshock, a Zotmeister Seal of Approval winner that presents a very clever perspective on civil liberties. - ZM
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[identity profile] tahnan.livejournal.com 2007-09-07 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Still: enh. People panic, people make bad decisions. If you really think that the law enforcement system in Brooklyn, Ohio is utterly corrupt and morally bankrupt because of this one action, then, as they say in the carol, G-d bless you. And do let me know where it is you will go, because I just can't imagine you finding any city, state, or country with law enforcement that hasn't done far, far worse things than that.
zotmeister: an 8-bit yellow pig with flight goggles on his forehead and a red scarf, striking a heroic pose (butasan)

[personal profile] zotmeister 2007-09-08 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I will do no such thing - I fear it would be when the complacent discover the place that it will no longer hold that status.

I like intelligent, challenging discussions; I have no patience for - or tolerance of - making them personal. This one is over. - ZM

[identity profile] tahnan.livejournal.com 2007-09-08 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Whoa, hey, I wasn't trying to make it personal. Bad phrasing on my part: let me try again, paraphrasing the last post.

Still: enh. People panic, people make bad decisions. I'm not convinced that the law enforcement system in Brooklyn, Ohio is utterly corrupt and morally bankrupt.

What I wonder, though, is this: if you won't go places where the law enforcement is "retarded" (your word, not mine), can you give an example of the kind of place you would go--i.e., where is it that law enforcement doesn't ever make that kind of bad decision? I myself can't think of anywhere (city, state, or country) where law enforcement hasn't done things far worse than what they did to Righi; so if the actions of the police in the Righi case would keep you out of that city, I'm genuinely curious to know of an example of a place that no such abuse has ever occurred.


As your posted started with mention of your mental list of places you wouldn't go, I hope you agree that you've opened the door for me to ask where you would go without it being personal.

Again, since you mention your own state as a bastion of civil liberties, I can't help looking around for evidence of that. For instance, there's this record of a Tiverton detective being arrested for corruption (http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/boston112806.html); and rather famously there's the Providence mayor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Cianci) who pled "no contest" to a felony assault charge, got back into office, and was then convicted on 26 of 27 charges of "racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud."

Do you consider this kind of corruption less severe than the actions in the Righi case?
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