The Free Talk Live BBS
Free Talk Live => The Polling Pit => Topic started by: Johnny_ on November 29, 2006, 12:56:24 PM
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Recently with all this cop stuff floating around, there's been a lot of opinions expressed on police, and how trustworthy they are, etc. But I'm wondering though if that's really the prevailing opinion, or just a subgroup of particularly loud people (after all, we all have certain issues we're more passionate about than others).
This poll was made to try to get a general census of what members here on the FTL BBS think. I think the options are self explanatory. The question is just "in general" and not what you think of a certain bad cop you may have encountered, but your opinion on the police in general. Police are invited to vote as well (not that I could stop ya).
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I cant imagine how this poll will turn out :roll:
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I cant imagine how this poll will turn out :roll:
I don't know, I think it might be surprising. Either way, I think it would be interesting to get more of a general handle on what people think, instead of assuming that certain posters represent everyone. Then again, people who are indifferent towards police might be avoiding these threads, which means the results could get skewed.
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My problem with the police is that to date, they've never helped me. That is, I've never had some trouble and had an officer of the law solve the problem for me. I know one guy who had his TV stolen from his apartment while he was out of town, and the cops didn't find it. On the other hand, if I wanted to tally up the times they've bothered me either simply by hassling me or ticketing me for something or another, I'd have to use both hands and some toes. This seems to be the experience of most people I know. The funny thing is, I'm middle class and white. I can only imagine what it would be like to deal with the swine as a poor black person. Luckily, I've avoided any serious trouble with the law, although I have two good friends who have done jail time for pot possession. (multiple offenses) The fact that my life has been made worse, not better by these pigs, all while I'm being forced to pay their salaries, is why I hate them.
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They keep some people alive but I'd much rather have hired a private security firm to protect me than this current organization.
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I don't have a problem with police in general. Most of the police that I have run across and dealt with have been friendly, polite and professional. If they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are not a problem. This is the officer friendly peace officer.
It is just that within recent years police have been taking on a different stance towards the people. Instead of being the peace officer, many police are beginning to adopt more aggressive, more abusive attitudes. They behave in a more authoritarian manner more suitable to a prison guard. this is the whole militarization of police that people like that Balko guy talks about.
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I think most of them are too aggressive and get off on busting down doors and causing a ruckus in general. I know a lot of them aren't like that but from my experiences all the cops I've encountered have been.
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I chose "Very Poor". I have had lots of bad experiences with cops and have known plenty of others who have.
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I would say indifferent. I've met cops that r just complete power wanting , buzz cut, dumb ass mofo's. But u cant say there r some that dont want to make a difference. Cus ive been caught with marijuana and all they did was give me a warning.
Dont get me wrong though. The police in general do need to take a good look at what their oath said. To uphold the contsitution i think it was. :wink:
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I chose very poor. While I have never had a horrifying experience with the cops, I have been hassled by them on a multitude of occasions. Also my mother dated a cop for several years. So I was able to get some candid insight on how this particualr group of cops (sheriffs) viewed the general populace. They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
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I chose very poor. While I have never had a horrifying experience with the cops, I have been hassled by them on a multitude of occasions. Also my mother dated a cop for several years. So I was able to get some candid insight on how this particualr group of cops (sheriffs) viewed the general populace. They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
Off topic but...was Neverwinter Nights 2 any good?
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Most police are good, some are bad. Most urban forces are large enough to constitute a general sample of society, so you're going to have a few losers who exploit, distort and ruin the reputation of those who work hard to protect us. I would argue that more of the pencil-pushers in the conglomerate exist to serve the state than those who put their lives on the line--in response to the inevitable "they serve the state, not us!" The pencil-pushers and those seeking desk jobs are the ones who grow the force and experiment with different programs that tend to exceed the rights' of citizens. I believe most policemen are good, hard working folk. I don't round up all libertarians into one boat, and I don't think we should of the force, either.
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Off topic but...was Neverwinter Nights 2 any good?
The development environment is a major improvement over NWN 1. This is the area most important to me as I spend more time building than playing.
The system requirements are very heavy.
Overall I think they did a pretty decent job. A lot of interface improvements.
I don't really like what they did with the inventory screens, I.E. making all items take the same amount of visual space. In NWN1 armor took up like 6 squares, in NWN2 eveything is the same.
I've heard the official campaign is good, but I don't every play the OC, so I can't comment on it. But if you like online role-playing in custom worlds there is no other option.
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They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
Hell yeah they do. :x
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They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
Hell yeah they do. :x
Yeah, it's not us that have that mentality, it's them!
:D
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They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
Hell yeah they do. :x
Yeah, it's not us that have that mentality, it's them!
:D
When people with guns tell you what to do there's always going to be an 'Us vs. Them' mentality.
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They have a very strong 'Us vs Them' mentality and viewed the public as thier pawns to mess with.
Hell yeah they do. :x
Yeah, it's not us that have that mentality, it's them!
:D
When people with guns tell you what to do there's always going to be an 'Us vs. Them' mentality.
As long as it's them and not us.
/ enjoys word humor.
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Mine opinion is mixed because it's clear that when a police department focuses on the true crimes [of force and fraud] that pervade the world, then their function is good, but the problem is that politicians often misuse them as toy soldiers to bully people and attempt 'social engineering' projects like prohibition, anti-narc laws, and 'moral' laws. What's worse is that some police officers are taught, before they go to police academy or whatever, that some how the State must 'tame' people like we were all taught, so those ideas coupled to their station result in disastrous consequences. If an officer of the law understands that his function is not just to act as a meat bag to enforce what he assumes to be the law [regulations], rather that his function is that of guardian and arbiter of justice [of negative liberty] then he will be able to do his job with minimal concern [insomuch of not being a target of popular criticism and stereotype].
-- Bridget
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I thought back over my life to answer this one, I voted good. I too have had problems with the police when I was young, but it is like any other group, "bad people" come in all walks of life, so yes there are "bad people" who are cops or claim themselves to be....they shouldn't be cops and joined the ranks for bad reasons and so they tarnish the image of police in general.
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Yeah, it's not us that have that mentality, it's them!
<tattling>
They started it!
</tattling>
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I thought back over my life to answer this one, I voted good. I too have had problems with the police when I was young, but it is like any other group, "bad people" come in all walks of life, so yes there are "bad people" who are cops or claim themselves to be....they shouldn't be cops and joined the ranks for bad reasons and so they tarnish the image of police in general.
Wouldn't that be indifferent?
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I voted good.
My personal experiences with cops have all been uneventful or successful (they found the people who broke into my house).
Sure I've been stopped for random breath testing which is annoying but didn't kill me, and I have had the odd speeding ticket which is also annoying but also didn't kill me. The one time I was in a car which got pulled over for a different reason and there was a bag of dope in the open the cops very deliberately ignored it (in fact they were very cool about it and one made a joke about carrying herbs for cooking).
They do a job I wouldn't want to do and I can understand the "us and them" mentality to some extent. I'm sure it would be better without the whole messed up drug war but they would still be dealing with some awful people (murderers, robbers, rapists etc) and I believe you would have to develop a certain kind of personality to be able to face that kind of thing on a daily basis.
I've had some experiences with private security (bouncers, security firms etc) and honestly these people generally scare the crap out of me far more than any cop I've met.
Maybe cops are better in Australia...everything else is better here :D
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I think of police like I think of pit bulls. They might be nice and friendly, but if I don't know them then it's always better to assume that they are dangerous and might hurt me unless they demonstrate otherwise.
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I think of police like I think of pit bulls. They might be nice and friendly, but if I don't know them then it's always better to assume that they are dangerous and might hurt me unless they demonstrate otherwise.
Good analogy.
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I don't like police officers. I don't think they have much interest in actually helping people.
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I don't like police officers. I don't think they have much interest in actually helping people.
Damn right. If they wanted to help people, there's other things they could have done - firefighter and EMT immediately come to mind, as do a myriad of positions at charities.
The one and only reason someone would become a cop is for the power. I do not respect or trust a single one.
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As far as The Police go, I am partial to the "Synchronicity" album which features "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger."