Last week I saw the photos of some young people trying to protect a Romanian Gypsy camp from eviction and carrying a banner saying "fuck the cops", and it made me wonder: do those people not realize that the police exists to protect them from me?
Well, obviously in this particular situation the police is doing something they don't happen to like, and those young people don't consider me much of a threat (and rightly so, since I am not likely to do much except laugh at them here), but do they ever actually try to imagine the world without police? A place without a police force would have a lot of private security services, mostly paid for by middle-class and middle-aged people, and much more biased towards their interests than the police.
The same thought also comes to my mind every time I see some disadvantaged group rioting against the police and other state services: if you think that a security force owned by voters is bad, just wait till you see a security force owned by payers.
Monday, March 28, 2011
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5 comments:
I think there was an article about this in Voima some time ago. You know, the worrying trend of growing use of private security and how cops really weren't such horrible pigs after all.
Herja
In 2008, some anarchist wannabes apparently had their cop-free zone in Rajasaari.
Somewhat mysteriously, soon they were crying for police to catch some street musicians because of acts of surprise love (http://suomaliansanomat.blogspot.com/2008/08/preka-eetu-vaatii-kytti-jahtaamaan.html).
Go figure.
As far as I can tell the only disadvantaged minority groups who are opposed to police as a principle are libertarians and anarchists. I you ask me, both are mainly disadvantaged with regard to common sense.
The rest would be very supportive of a police force that doesn't discriminate against them.
The question boils down on the age-old dilemma: which is to be chosen, the best or the least worst way?
It appears that the public police is the way of the least nuisance compared to total lawlessenss or private security contractors.
The voters - the owners of the security force - are being brainwashed to respect and worship the police. There is more pro-police propaganda in TV than ever before. And there are more police-candidates for parliament than ever before. The police is gaining more privileges, more power and more visibility in the society. The police is becoming more arrogant. Political leaders do not control the police any more. It controls them. It arranges house searches in party headquarters, and even the former prime minister was questioned by the police. Innocent people are being arrested and put to jail, as happened to the owners and employees of the garden shop “Viherpeukku” last year and to Greenpeace demonstrators in Porvoo. There are more safety-related prohibitions and obligations to citizens than ever before. Individual freedom is decreasing. Finland is becoming a police state.
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