I’ve been in law enforcement for the past 18 years. I have attended a variety of training over those years. During the 1990s, most training I attended was community-oriented, sponsored by local agencies or private companies specializing in police training. Themes common to training of the past included topics such as Constitutional rights, community partnerships, youth-oriented programs and problem-oriented policing.
During the past several years, I have witnessed a dramatic shift in the focus of law enforcement training. Law enforcement courses have moved away from a local community focus to a federally dominated model of complete social control. Most training I have attended over the past two years have been sponsored by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), namely the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
No matter what topic the training session concerns, every DHS sponsored course I have attended over the past few years never fails to branch off into warnings about potential domestic terrorists in the community. While this may sound like a valid officer and community safety issue, you may be disturbed to learn how our Federal government describes a typical domestic terrorist.
These federal trainers describe the dangers of ‘extremists’ and ‘militia groups’ roaming the community and hiding in plain sight, ready to attack. Officers are instructed how to recognize these domestic terrorists by their behavior, views and common characteristics. State data bases are kept to track suspected domestic terrorists and officers are instructed on reporting procedures to state and federal agencies. The state I work in, like many others, have what is known as a ‘fusion center’ that compiles a watch list of suspicious people.
So how does a person qualify as a potential domestic terrorist’ Based on the training I have attended, here are characteristics that qualify:
- Expressions of libertarian philosophies (statements, bumper stickers)
- Second Amendment-oriented views (NRA or gun club membership, holding a CCW permit)
- Survivalist literature (fictional books such as “Patriots” and “One Second After” are mentioned by name)
- Self-sufficiency (stockpiling food, ammo, hand tools, medical supplies)
- Fear of economic collapse (buying gold and barter items)
- Religious views concerning the book of Revelation (apocalypse, anti-Christ)
- Expressed fears of Big Brother or big government
- Homeschooling
- Declarations of Constitutional rights and civil liberties
- Belief in a New World Order conspiracy
A recent training session I attended encouraged law enforcement agencies to work with business owners to alert police when customers appear to be stockpiling items. An example was given that a federal agent was monitoring customers at a well known hunting and fishing retail outlet and noting who was purchasing certain items. This is something to remember the next time you purchase a case of ammo at one of these popular outdoor sports retail stores.
Methods of developing evidence of terrorist activity from virtually any search have also been discussed. Various common materials which may be associated with homemade explosives are listed, such as lengths of pipe, gunpowder, matches, flammable liquids and fireworks. Officers are told when these items are found, they can be listed as ‘bomb making materials’. The training even goes so far as to instruct officers that the items are cleverly disguised as legitimate, such as gasoline stored near a lawn mower, pipes stored in a shop building or gunpowder stored with reloading materials.
One course I attended used the example of a person employed as a plumber being the target of a search warrant. In this example, the officers were told how to use his employment as a plumber as further evidence of terrorism. The suspect’s employment would be described as an elaborate scheme to justify possessing pipes and chemicals so as to have bomb making materials readily available. Based on this example, all plumbers are potential pipe bomb makers. All gun dealers are plotting to provide arms to gangs or terrorists. All pest control companies are preparing mass poisonings. By using this logic, simply having the ability to do something criminal automatically makes the person guilty of plotting the crime. With all the various methods of manufacturing methamphetamine, it would also be easy to claim that a disassembled clandestine drug lab was located during the search. In other words, it is easy to frame anyone for possessing bomb making materials (or other crimes) if the officer knows what items to list in the report and how to link these items to terrorism.
Another common tactic used in DHS sponsored training is the slander of certain ideologies by linking an erroneous characteristic to a particular group. Here are some examples:
- These groups hold the anniversaries of certain dates as significant such a Ruby Ridge, Waco and Hitler’s birthday
- They oppose abortion, support gun rights and are affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan
- They are fearful of big government, espouse support for the Constitution and want to kill police officers
- These groups collect firearms, survivalist books and explosives
- These extremists read books such as Patriots, One Second After and The Anarchist Cookbook
- They are religious zealots, reading the book of Revelation, speak of the second coming of Christ and plan mass murders to summon the end of the world
- These people grow their own food, raise livestock and plot attacks on commercial food production facilities
Do you see how this tactic works? List common characteristics of libertarian/conservative minded people, then throw in a slanderous accusation. If A and B apply, then you should automatically presume C applies as well. If they were disturbed by the incidents at Ruby Ridge and Waco, then obviously they must celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Officers are being conditioned to assume criminal and terroristic views when politically-incorrect views are observed. As simple-minded and ridiculous as this line of thinking is, there are some officers who unfortunately buy into this.
Another training session I attended two years ago discussed the dangerous of people who have strong views of the U.S. Constitution. One trainer made the statement that ‘these people actually believe the Second Amendment gives them the personal right to own a gun.’ Of course, the trainer failed to mention that our Founding Fathers, as well as recent Supreme Court rulings, verify this view as being completely accurate. The obvious attempt here was to suggest to officers that the Second Amendment does not apply to individual gun ownership and to be suspicious of anyone who holds such a view. It was also stressed to be cautious of anyone who quotes the Constitution and even worse, actually possesses a copy of this radical document. Incredibly, in the United States of America today belief in our founding legal principles is now grounds for being labeled a domestic terrorism. Imagine how they would respond to some of the known statements of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry or George Mason concerning the issue of individual liberty and limited government. It is true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
There are several things that we, the patriotic, self-sufficient defenders of liberty can do to counter this effort. First, get involved in local elections. Elect county sheriffs who will not fall for such propaganda nor go along with oppressive federal agendas. Elect city council members who will not tolerate such behavior by their city police department. Elect state representatives who will hold state agencies accountable for participating in such tactics. Bring these issues up during elections, demand a public statement on their position on such propaganda and a promise to stand against these efforts while in office.
Second, get to know your local law enforcement officers. It is much more difficult for DHS to brainwash officers against people they personally know. When you are viewed as a neighbor, friend or fellow Christian, these officers are far less likely to submit your name to a terrorist watch list or view you as a potential terrorist. We want local officers to be personally offended when they hear members of their community slandered in such ways.
Third, always be friendly and courteous when speaking to your local officers. Even if that officer has fallen for this propaganda, be sure not to resemble the negative stereotypes labeled to us. After the fifth, sixth or maybe tenth time he deals with one of us, he or she may come to realize we are of no threat to law enforcement or anyone for that matter. Eventually, the officer may attend one of these training sessions, hear the propaganda and say to himself, ‘This isn’t true, I’ve dealt with many people like this, they are God-fearing, liberty loving Americans, they are not the enemy!’
I hope you find this information useful. Please remember that there are many people in law enforcement that have not, and will never, fall for DHS propaganda. Some of the most patriotic defenders of liberty and believers in self-sufficiency can be found in law enforcement. Officers like me will continue to do our part to fight tyranny from within while the general public can do its part by electing liberty-minded candidates to office and educating their friends and neighbors about issues important to all of us.
Bravo, Eric & PW for putting these articles/posts here. I think this is exactly what we all need to look at and consider — the “survivalist” issues as well as the situation with Rawesome, etc., and our reactions to them.
One may or may not agree with everything written under the name of James Wesley Rawles, but we must not ignore these beliefs, feelings, ideas and opinions. Ignoring or trying to slap a gag on them (via media, legislation, whatever) does no good, it only adds to the pressure — which will burst at some point. When people feel that they are not being heard and that their beliefs are ridiculed or marginalized, shit happens. And with enough anger and feelings of powerlessness, the shit that happens might be bad.
This goes for any set of beliefs, feelings, ideas and opinions…whatever the political slant. Think about it: you could argue that the rise of science & secular society/government/education was in part a response to the prior domination of religion in daily life.
But religion didn’t disappear, and science has its own blinders (which are not usually acknowledged by its practitioners and believers). The domination of science & secular society brings with it some of the same issues as the prior domination of religion. And of course there are always people who will take advantage of anyone/group that feels their beliefs are not being heard, regardless of the political slant.
I consider myself “progressive”. Progressive in the way of believing everyone is here to fulfill their unique potential, and that we should treat each other with respect and care for each other, that our Western culture is a beautiful thing in some ways but is overly focused on some of the wrong things.
I cringe when I hear so-called “progressives” ridiculing and maligning anyone who holds a different opinion. What’s so progressive about that? [Ken Wilber has done some brilliant writing on this subject.]
I think the way forward is for each of us to really *listen* to what’s being written and said and done. Listen to what’s behind & beneath the rhetoric. Listen to what’s motivating people to behave the way they do. Listen to how a media story is being spun. And listen to how each of us is reacting — it’s not easy to see yourself as part of the problem. But it’s powerful. If I’m part of the problem, then I’m part of the solution.
meanwhile, 86% of the 43 people chicago police have shot this year were black
and nearly 40% of people in jail in the US are (non-hispanic) black, while only 12.6% of the general population are black (including hispanic black)
i think it’s noteworthy that this ‘new focus’ in policing may be getting more attention b/c it implicitly is targeting groups that include large numbers of white people
While we’re fact checking, here is a file in the Raweome Foodst story, involving an armed raid on an organic food operation. First I’ve included two conventional news stories, one from pubic radio and the other from LA Times.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/08/05/28065/rawesome-court/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-milk-raid-20110804,0,7791693.story
This is from a volunteer researcher; all the references below go back to the website Natural News. It reported:
“Sharon Palmer is being charged with “mislabeling cheese,” NaturalNews has learned. (Yes, mislabeling cheese! This earns you an armed raid in America today, even while the real crooks in Washington run free…) This is on top of the conspiracy charge which has been leveled against all three (James, Sharon and Victoria).”
Apparently they arrested the volunteer biologist who was helping out, as raw dairy products (as does all dairy production) requires their assistance.
If you look you will find other situations like this one.
ef
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Hi Eric and Carol,
Below I have compiled a list of various points about the news story along with links that take you to the source. I’m also attaching links to various videos that were taken on the scene by bystanders and people who were a part of the buyer’s club.
From this news story 3rd Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033220_Rawesome_Foods_armed_raids.html
On Wednesday the 3rd August a “multi-agency SWAT-style armed raid was conducted this morning by helmet-wearing, gun-carrying enforcement agents from the LA County Sheriff’s Office, the FDA, the Dept. of Agriculture and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control)”
This took place at Rawesome Foods which is a private buying club (not a retail store…this is a crucial point) which is founded by James Stewart. They actually followed him from his home to the store before the raid.
“James was handcuffed, was never read his rights and was stuffed into an unmarked car. While agents said they would leave behind a warrant, no one has yet had any opportunity to even see if such a warrant exists or if it is a complete warrant.”
“Law enforcement then proceeded to destroy the inventory of the story by pouring the milk down the drain and / or confiscating raw cheese and fresh produce for destruction.”
They threw him (along with two other women who were also charged….more in later articles) in jail with a bail of $123 000 and no possibility of using bail bonds.
“Law enforcement has demanded that if he comes up with the money to cover bail, he must disclose to them all the sources of that money. (This is an illegal demand!)”
Also raided was a farm, ‘Healthy Family Farms’, in California on the same morning. More in later links.
From this news story 3rd Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033221_Rawesome_Foods_raw_milk.html
Ameteur videos from the scene (low quality…better quality ones later): http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=A5A53BF2F844A0BB9FE1BD9C20E51684
From this news story 3rd Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033222_raw_food_conspiracy.html
“Sharon Palmer, a mom and owner of Healthy Family Farms was also arrested and taken to jail. A third woman, Victoria Bloch, the LA County liaison for the Weston A Price Foundation (www.WestonaPrice.org) , was also reportedly arrested, NaturalNews has learned.”
“Sharon Palmer is being charged with “mislabeling cheese,” NaturalNews has learned. (Yes, mislabeling cheese! This earns you an armed raid in America today, even while the real crooks in Washington run free…) This is on top of the conspiracy charge which has been leveled against all three (James, Sharon and Victoria).
Victoria Bloch is being charged with conspiracy under Section 182A of the California penal code (http://law.onecle.com/california/pe…), which states that that law applies “If two or more persons conspire to commit any crime.””
Natural News organised a protest for the 4th August at the LA courthouse.
“We are collecting funds for the legal defense of Rawesome Foods. Please donate through the Consumer Wellness Center at http://www.ConsumerWellness.org where 100% of the donations go directly to their legal defense.”
From this news story 3rd aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033223_Rawesome_Foods_public_protest.html
Couple of points:
“keep your protests non-violent in nature ”
“Once the mainstream media starts covering this story, they will twist it around and LIE about it as they always do. NPR already did a hatchet job on this group following a previous raid. ”
“There are already misinformed accusations that Rawesome Foods was not licensed as a retail business. But that’s incorrect information: Rawesome Foods is a private buying club and not a retail business that’s open to the general public. People can’t just walk in off the street and shop there like a regular grocery store. Thus, Rawesome does not have to be licensed like a regular grocery store. They are a private buyer’s club.”
From this news story 3rd Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033224_Rawesome_Foods_search_warrant.html
PLEASE READ ENTIRE STORY AT ABOVE LINK. There is too much to post here but it details the terms of the search warrant and how they were violated by the police officers on the day.
From this news story 4th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033225_Rawesome_Foods_photos.html
At above link is a set of photos showing the empty store after the swat team took the ENTIRE inventory.
“As NaturalNews reported earlier, the warrant that was issued to authorize the Rawesome Foods raid specifically stated that “various samples of any food products present may be taken for laboratory analysis.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/033224_R…) But instead of taking only “various samples,” the LA County Dept. of Agriculture authorities engaged in the wholesale theft of the entirety of Rawesome Foods’ inventory.”
“has the effect of instantly putting Rawesome Foods out of business through the government-achieved destruction of their entire inventory.”
From this news story 4th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033226_Rawesome_foods_videos.html
The above link takes you to another link of a video taken after the event interviewing Mariel Hemingway- a celebrity who advocates healthy living and is a member of the club.
Comments from Rawesome members:
“They were just pouring down the drain milk after milk after milk. We generally get about 400 to 800 gallons of milk a week for the community. It was very surreal because right next to us is a homeless shelter, and people are in awe and dismay because here we are in a police state. That’s what’s happening. We are over-policed.”
“We have a country that’s so in debt, I mean trillions of dollars in debt. And we have all these problems. The economy is so messed up and they spend time raiding a raw store, where people are part of a club, in a society where they have much bigger problems than this. Really? You’re gonna spend our taxpayer dollars raiding a raw store? It’s so absurd!”
“In total it looks like they took thirty to fifty thousand dollars worth of food. They backed up a 20-foot truck with a flatbed, and they filled it up with food. It was full when they left here, and you could see watermelons, coconuts, fresh produce that James had just bought this morning. They took it away. That truck was FULL. And when we came back in, they had double padlocked all the locks, and everything was bare.”
From this news story 4th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033232_police_state_raw_foods.html
Mike Adams (founder of NaturalNews) delves a bit more into the reasons why the police state is targeting health food and trying to keep people unhealthy and only able to access pharmaceuticals etc.
“One of the most astounding elements of yesterday’s SWAT-style armed raid on Rawesome Foods in Venice, California is the simple fact that both California and the U.S. government are completely and utterly bankrupt.”
“Instead, the power of the corrupt police state is exercised against small, local farms and food businesses which remain the only option through which everyday people can find real food that isn’t artificially modified or contaminated with chemical additives.”
“Keep in mind this is happening at a time when starvation is on the rise in America — and our own government is running around DESTROYING FOOD!”
“And just so you know, this is also the upshot of the new Food Safety Modernization Act which will only see even MORE armed raids on health food stores and farms.”
I really like the above article and it would be great to read it in total.
From this news story 4th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033233_green_police_environmental_crimes.html
An article confirming the existence of a new ‘Environmental Police’ who will be handling the case with an ‘Environmental Crimes Prosecutor’.
“Instead, a special “environmental crimes” prosecutor will reportedly be prosecuting the case, which now consists of 13 criminal charges, some of which are felony crimes.”
“The issue of environmental police has been covered extensively by Alex Jones at InfoWars.com, where he refers to them as eco fascists.”
…….”Pay attention, SLAVE. Drink your dead pasteurized milk, take your psychotropic drugs, gulp down your fluoridated water and shut the hell up. ”
From this news story 4th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033234_Rawesome_Foods_news_update.html
James Stewart bail reduced to $30000 and Victoria Bloch released from Jail.
“A condition of his release is that he not engage in the sale of unpasteurized milk and cheese.”
James still has 13 felony charges against him including conspiracy.
From this news story 5th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033242_CDC_unpasteurized_milk.html
This article is not to do with the main case. It is about how the FDA lied about statistics etc. in studies used to prove the danger of raw milk.
From this news story 5th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033243_raw_milk_social_media.html
Links to lots of articles and other websites covering the story for easy access to those who want to share the message through social media.
From this news story 5th Aug 2011: http://www.naturalnews.com/033244_Rawesome_Foods_gag_order.html
Victims given COURT GAG ORDER!!!! No emailing, speaking, tweeting, facebooking etc about the case at all!!!!
“First, the government attempts to take away their right to engage in commerce and enter private contracts. Then, the government vandalizes this buying club, steals their cash, destroys their entire product inventory and steals the computers from the store. The owners (and conspiring farmers) are arrested at gunpoint and taken to jail without even being read their rights. And finally, to top it off, they are slapped with a gag order which prohibits them having their First Amendment rights so that they might tell their side of the story.”
“…prevented from:
• Speaking to any member of the press.
• Tweeting or blogging about the raid.
• Posting anything on Facebook or websites.
• Sending emails about the case.
• Communicating in any way, verbally or non-verbally about the government raids conducted against them.”
“Alex Jones will be commenting on this developing story on his Sunday broadcast from http://www.InfoWars.com .”
Here are some links to videos taken by witnesses on the day of the raid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syqWBmRjxmE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubbmbx390yA&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI1gvPmA_c8&feature=youtu.be
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150268953044764&comments
Also, in one of the above videos (I hope I gave the right link…) there is a quote from a woman who works at Rawesome saying that the Raw milk was left OUT OF THE FRIDGE since 7am (time of filming was 12pm) and the feds were planning to take that raw milk to do laboratory testing….ALREADY CONTAMINATED FROM THE HEAT.
The girl is on the left in the photo at this link:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-milk-raid-20110804,0,7791693.story
KTLA NEWS
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150746012090010&oid=227088091238&comments
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On another note which is related, here are links to a story that that happened last month where a woman was threatened with jail time for growing organic vegies in her front yard. They dropped the charge when there was public outrage:
http://www.naturalnews.com/033010_Oak_Park_Julie_Bass.html
“Our attorney went into court this morning to file a motion. While he was there, someone told him the charge against the garden was dropped. Wow. Nobody called us. Nobody called our lawyer. This has got to be the strangest case of dropping charges I have ever heard of. so, they wouldn’t let him file his motion, and when they showed him the paperwork, it was signed by another judge, from another place, who we have never even heard of. Weird weird weird.”
But then when they saw she hadn’t moved the garden the charged her for not licensing her dogs (which she already had).
“So now she’s facing not just 90 days in jail, but 180+ days in jail for something related to her dog licenses.”
There is a whole series of articles about her ending with this one:
http://www.naturalnews.com/033175_Julie_Bass_Oak_Park.html
Near the bottom of the page there are links to previous articles.
And just saw another story about produce being stolen from farms as people go hungry in the ‘debt crisis’:
http://www.naturalnews.com/033108_thieves_copper.html
I hope all this helps!!! Let me know if you need any further information.
I have been studying a lot of ‘conspiracy theories’ of people like David Icke and Alex Jones etc and I’m not sure what your views on the subject are but when you see the patterns start to emerge (like they are quite obviously right now…) it seems beyond my doubt that everything has been planned for a long time and steps have been implemented quietly and behind the scenes (and jarbled up in confusing legal language with regards to new bills being passed) that are meant to lead us to a police state where all rights are taken away.
If you guys don’t really share my views on that subject then thats ok it would be great to just cover this story and get people aware of what is happening. Especially because all healthy food is being targeted and if people don’t wake up before it is too late we could find ourselves having absolutely NO control over where our food comes from. We are even being stripped of the right to plant our own seeds!!!!! Thanks to Monsanto and other organisations. It seems to be about total control.
Though publishing this is a kind of endorsement, I am putting it before our readers so they can discuss the issues. I have a source on the blog post itself — someone who has proven dependable in the past, and who I’ve known for a long time. I’m also circulating it elsewhere for private discussion; there are obviously people who are going to have numerous issues with it. However, none of the ideas it’s presenting are new to me.
Here is the author’s Wiki page. I think what is most noteworthy is how much web traffic he gets. It’s not easy to pull a million visits a month. There has to be a very broad base of focused interest. I recognize that most survivalists are escapists — why bother participating in a solution when you can be plotting going underground. But this is a real fear we’re hearing here and I think we need to listen.
I can tell you this: I’m hearing that a lot worse is possible than you’re reading about in this one post. So this is a kind of primer on evaluating information of this sort. I encourage people to select facts and check them out, and see what comes back from web and news searches.
We’re all talking about DOING SOMETHING. Let’s go!
It’s at times like this that we can be VERY thankful that America is NOT the world!
Isn’t it all about interpretation and then how one projects it outward? If we buy into other’s projections because it resonates and triggers our egos, where does it lead us?
When I hear labels and how people fit into someone’s category of sorts, I want to turn away. It indicates to me the need to make walls of separation to protect. Just because my ego says “yes,” it isn’t necessarily true or real. Far from it.
Everyone has an agenda. Everyone. We have forgotten who we are and until we awaken, those agendas will remain in play.
B.C. – if you click on James Wesley Rawles’ name at the top of the blog, you will see it’s a link to his site! Eric is pretty hot on keeping people informed and in the loop 😉
Pardon me, that’s survivalblog.com.
I gotta say, I do not feel good about the fact that this essay is being posted on Planet Waves without source attribution. I know there’s a byline, but I also know that James Wesley Rawles is not affiliated with PW & probably has no idea his essay is being posted here. The way it’s done makes it appear as though he’s writing for the blog, & it’s clear from the comments that some readers think this is the case.
Besides the confusion this engenders, I also think it is important for readers to understand who Rawles is (in a nutshell, anti-government Christian survivalist guru, of a very different tribe from your average PW reader). This is not to say his views and observations are not worthy and capable of standing on their own merit, but I believe readers should be informed. Context is important.
Rawles’ site, for those who would like to know, is survivalistblog.com.
Around here those criteria fit about 96% of the population one way or another. Everyone has hand tools, everyone stocks food, and firearms are everywhere. On the other hand, an awful lot of people feel there isn’t enough Federal government presence – not enough Border Patrol – so therein lies the local conundrum.
Nearly everyone respects our law enforcement around here as hard working folk, who would view this type of stereotyping as absolute BS. They have enough to worry about, like the cartels from Mexico and their products, they don’t want and don’t need to hassle the locals too much for no good reason.
Yes, there are rednecks here, just like we liberals. We all try to get along though, and the real obvious political nutters stand out like sore thumbs. They either hide in the hills or go away. We have enough nuts as it is without politics screwing things up.
On a much better note, I got a job today! About 75% of a real job, but it will be steady paychecks. Big sigh, big release.
Ok…I’m thinking now. It’s really dark. I moved back to Colorado (and sunshine) from Alaska because of the dark…but it’s just really dark. In the military they say something like “embrace the suck.”. So, I think, that’s what I’ll do. Embrace the dark suck.
Someone just sent me this via Facebook
http://www.naturalnews.com/033244_Rawesome_Foods_gag_order.html
Wow. Interesting article. There is a part of me that is not so concerned about law enforcement profiling those who collect firearms, are affiliated with the KKK and are planning mass murders to summon the end of the world. Then again…
I think the most important point you make, James, is for all of us to get to know our local law enforcement officers. When we become human to each other, it is much more difficult for anyone to act or react out of fear and paranoia. A number of years ago, when a man broke into our home and held my partner and I at gunpoint for a number of hours, we were reluctant to contact the sheriff’s department (we lived rurally, so no police.) We were scared that because we were lesbians we wouldn’t be believed or we would be blamed or discriminated against. As it turned out the deputy who handled our case became our friend and an extraordinary advocate for us, this, in spite of the fact that he had never met before “an alternative lifestyle” couple (his words.) Warren (who is now Sheriff) sports a shaved head, is an avid hunter, a God-fearing Christian, a card-carrying member of the NRA, and votes pretty far to the right. Suffice it to say I don’t believe in God, and if I did, I wouldn’t fear Her. I think the gun lobby is out of control and vote for gun control measures and pro gun control politicians whenever I can. And yet, by the time the man who broke into our house was put in prison, my partner and I had Warren and his wife and daughters over for dinner. We have watched his girls grow up and Warren still drops by, unannounced, for a cup of coffee and good conversation, now and again. We disagree about nearly everything politically and I am glad for his friendship.
My point is that in this time of fear and paranoia, any of us can be wrongfully profiled. And we can, in turn, make wrongful assumptions about people who are not like us. We need our neighbors and we need critically-thinking law enforcement officers. Thanks for what you do, James.
Found it on the web. It’s the Glenn Beck Correspondence School of Revisionist History and Paranoid Propaganda. In six weeks, you too can be a muscular proser and get revenge on those punks who kicked facts in your face. Blackboard and chalk included. Eraser extra. Free delivery in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nicaragua.
In other words, everyone is a potential murderer.
I will comment — but I’m not giving my name.
“Even if that officer has fallen for this propaganda, be sure not to resemble the negative stereotypes labeled to us. After the fifth, sixth or maybe tenth time he deals with one of us, he or she may come to realize we are of no threat to law enforcement or anyone for that matter. Eventually, the officer may attend one of these training sessions, hear the propaganda and say to himself, ‘This isn’t true, I’ve dealt with many people like this, they are God-fearing, liberty loving Americans, they are not the enemy!’”
Seems the audience for this particular article are the very “people like this” known as “God fearing” Americans.
I don’t know whether to feel offended for those “God fearing” people or glad that someone is finally seeing the crazies in their midst for what they are.
As a NON-God-fearing homeschooler (read secular) who doesn’t own guns but who does garden (it helps the environment) and does stock up on sale items in my food pantry (hey there are six of is to feed and we are on a budget), I resemble some of those things. I don’t own a copy of the Constitution (though we saw one this summer at the National Archives) but I like what it stands for and I recently created a bumper sticker that reads ” The Religious Right is neither.”
Call me a lot of things but don’t call me afraid or crazy or even a threat. The only things I am a threat to are low-carb foods. This article shows that the current craziness just keeps on growing.
Oh and electing people is not so easy; too often the candidates are not different enough (or weaned off the corporate teat enough) to be preserving individual liberty anyway.
Wow – talk about strange bedfellows. Politics is getting very twisty. Appealing to fear and manipulation rather than appealing to compassion and service is a clue, but even there the art of distortion is being practiced at a very advanced level. It’s almost like there is a school somewhere that teaches how to write stuff like that (or maybe a correspondence course). It’s a skill, not an accident.
no one’s commenting cause you’ll get put on a list