Answering Vox Day, on Dorner

Vox raises a good question:

Another thing that strikes me. It seems as if every drama on television about either doctors or police. I wonder if the constant repetition of the heroic portrayal of the police saving the day and blowing away the perp, who is usually a white men, has not only programmed the target audiences to believe that white men are evil, but has also helped convince older white men to see police as the enemy.

I doubt it, but here’s the thing: in those shows, cops typically go after REAL bad guys. Murderers, rapist, child molesters, kidnappers, etc. You rarely see them address the nuances of the War on Drugs. (Even Miami Vice–which had its big run in the 1980s–focused more on the evils of the big fish in the drug culture, most of whom were non-white, not the little guys on the street who get screwed by it.)

In the real world, cops harass people by pulling them over for speeding when they are low on their monthly quotas. Cops harass people by arresting them on dubious “weapons” charges. Even when they make a legitimate arrest, they often trump up the charges by adding a plethora of lower-level felonies in order to scare you into plea-bargaining to something that gives them a notch on their belt.

In the real world, cops bust into the wrong houses, they claim “exigent circumstances” when breaking into homes, they bolster the fraudulent “child protection” industry, they make criminals out of people who aren’t doing any harm.

I know a few good cops. The problem is they are not the majority. And you aren’t going to find cops like them in the big cities like LA.

That said, I have no sympathy for Chris Dorner. Whatever the merits of his case with LAPD–and I believe he probably got screwed–he had no business using deadly force. His life was not in imminent danger.

I hope the FBI HRT takes him out before he does more damage, if he hasn’t died already. (Given the snowstorm, he could already be dead from exposure or suicide.)

Oh, and here’s a wrinkle: in this debate over drone strikes on Americans, one might ask whether it would be appropriate to use a drone on Dorner. My answer is no. For one thing, he is entitled to Due Process, and we owe it to society to do what we can to afford him that opportunity. OTOH, if he wants to shoot it out, we have the wherewithal to take care of business. Drones are unnecessary and are a big threat to American liberties.

As for the LAPD, they are worse than pathetic. This case has shown why they are thought of so lowly. In the Dorner fiasco, the LAPD has shot two people–wounding one of them seriously–just because the truck they were in LOOKED like it might be Dorner’s. In other words, they fired on people without properly identifying the target.

Those cops need to be fired and prosecuted. If you or myself had done this, we’d be looking at multiple felony charges, and–if lucky–would be allowed to plea bargain to a lesser felony charge. These cops need to be held to at least that standard.

As for Dorner, the media has falsely made him out to be some super-commando. Puh-leeeze!

Dorner was a Naval Reservist. BFD. He wasn’t in SpecOps. He wasn’t a SEAL or a SWCC. He didn’t go to Ranger School, or BUD/S, or Scout Sniper school, or the Q School. He was a “Marksman” with a rifle? All that means is that he shot well enough to qualify with the M-16. EVERYONE IN THE MILITARY HAS TO DO THIS!!!

Looking at his crimes, he has demonstrated nothing of great skill. He shot two people in their car. BFD! All that requires is sneaking up on someone. ANYONE can do that. He shot three cops, but only killed one. If he was any good, he would have killed all three.

In fact, Dorner is an overweight, overrated 270-pound target who, eventually, will be taken down by either suicide, exposure, or a well-aimed single shot from an HRT sniper.

10 thoughts on “Answering Vox Day, on Dorner

  1. In the real world, cops harass people by pulling them over for speeding when they are low on their monthly quotas.

    Here’s an example of such a policy in the county where I live:

    http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-20/local/36473708_1_ticket-quotas-police-supervisors-officers

    The policy has supposedly been abolished. Yeah, right.

    Chris Dorner may or may not have a legitimate beef with LAPD, but I agree that doesn’t justify his actions or completely explain his bizarre manifesto.

  2. The larger significance of all this is not even Dorner’s actions, but that the authorities have acted publicly in the way that they have; thus normalizing their behaviour.

  3. I love cops shows but I hate cops. On cops shows, the police are caring people who work hard to get the right bad guy. Even on Nightline and such news shows, the police are very dedicated. It’s just not been my experience.

    • Cops are a mixed bag. The problem, though, is twofold:

      (1) cops get to carry firearms;

      (2) cops receive latitude from the justice system that the average Joe does not.

      Don’t believe me? Look at the LAPD cops who shot up the newspaper delivery truck. If you or I did such a thing–claiming the truck APPEARED to belong to people who were an imminent threat–we would be RIGHTLY arrested and charged with multiple felonies.

      Like I said, there are good cops out there, and by that I mean cops who respect the rights of citizens. The problem is they are not easy to find in places like LA or Chicago, and they won’t be found in the leadership of said departments.

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