socialistictendencies:

leftish:

versuschristus:

All Cops Are Bastards.

[NOTE* from Leftish: Wow!  I’m shocked and disturbed by this.

I do not agree with the “Fuck the Police” banner or the above sentiment that “All Cops Are Bastards”…two things I know is that All Cops Are Humans, and All Cops Are Employed…and they want to stay employed…and that, more than anything else, probably motivates the majority of them.

Cops, too, are a part of the 99%, they just do the bidding of the 1%.  Pitting ourselves against the cops is just what the 1% wants.  They don’t want the cops to wake up and realize that they are actually part of the 99%, and btw, expendable.  The 1% are happy to have the 99% fighting amongst ourselves.

I posit that we cannot accomplish anything constructive by taking a stance against the cops, although I understand the sentiment and its easy to see how many people got there.

But even though lots of cops have been vicious and cruel in many of the Occupy arrests, it still does not help us achieve our overall long-term goals to try and fight back in this way.  There is no way to WIN a fight with “Officers of the Peace.”  They’ve got weapons.  Simply put - we cannot win a battle with the cops that takes place on the streets of our cities.

The only way to WIN against the COPS is to use the principles of Aikido…use their own energy to redirect their intentions…join with them, and include them on our side…I’m not exactly sure how to go about doing that yet, but I do believe that it would be way more constructive than the attitude depicted in both the photograph and comment above.

Violence begets violence.  Saying Fuck the Police is an irresistible invitation to them, with very predictable results.

I don’t want to see more and more coverage of cops beating up on peaceful citizens…I want to see REAL change - cleaner air, cleaner water, cleaner energy sources, cleaner politicians…

Combat in the streets can only do so much.

Plus, in truth, the cops need to wake up to their OWN predicament.  Many of them have refused to commit violence against unarmed, peaceful protesters already.  It’s just one step further for them to realize that they are one of us, that they have WAY more in common with us than with their overlords.  They need to WANT to join us…and I believe it could happen over time, but not by taking a belligerent, “Fuck the Cops” stance.

THE COPS ARE NOT THE ENEMY

and focusing on them, and creating volatile confrontations with them is not nearly as valuable or powerful a statement as other actions we might take could be.  (I, for one, would prefer if our actions took on an element of surprise.  I think broadcasting where the dissent is going to be ahead of time can be detrimental to really making a statement, and kind of goes against the whole concept of actual dissent…it is ‘dissent with permission from the government’ - we have to get a permit in advance that tells us where and when we can march - how is that dissent???   Having demonstrations, like the one above, which I’m sure was “permitted”, just gives the cops advance notice, so they have plenty of time to plan their tactics, suit up in riot gear, and properly line up for combat, with us, the unarmed enemy.)  I hope our future demonstrations will be a bit more creative, as well as target the REAL ENEMY, which, imho, is NOT the cops…

I always like to remind myself that it took 80 years for women to get the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony did not even live to see it happen…so patience is the lesson….the Occupy movement is just over 1/3 of a year old…I think, in time, we might be able to influence the minds and hearts of some of the cops and at least bring a few around to our side…

I’m with Gandhi.  I’m for Peace.  I do not like confrontations and I think that statements and actions like these hurt the purity of the movement.

But that’s just me.

P.S. Feel free to delete my commentary when re-blogging this…]

(via solitaryforager)