ST. LOUIS KID HOLDING SANDWICH (?) KILLED BY COP.

By now,

you may have heard about the St. Louis KID (NO-- NOT MICHAEL BROWN) who was shot and killed by a cop on Wednesday night (October 8th, 2014).

He was 18 year old (KID) Vonderrit Myers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

If you haven't heard about this...  read this article.

Or watch this video:



Okay, now that you're up to date-- the only thing that is clear at this point, is that it is UNCLEAR whether the KID had a sandwich or a gun. The stories differ.

OF COURSE, the cops are the ones saying he had a gun.
They're even saying that a 9mm was recovered at the scene.
But keep in mind-- this comes from the cops. Who just killed another KID. What the fuck else are they going to say?

I will say this-- as much as I loathe the cop culture  and the imbecilic barbarians it embraces... there are certain things that people can do to help themselves  NOT get shot and killed by the cops.

And I say these things not because the victim is at fault here.
I say these things because clearly "THE SYSTEM" doesn't give a fucking shit about the victims.
Clearly, it doesn't.
Otherwise, cops would be severely punished for murder rather than given paid vacations and slaps on the wrist.

If a cop is pursuing you:

1. Don't run.

Why the fuck would you run from a killer with a gun? Running is basically begging them to stop you at all costs-- including putting bullets in you.

2. Drop whatever shit you have in your hands, to the ground, to prevent it being mistaken for a gun.
There's a pretty good chance that no matter what it is that's in your hand, the cops can say they thought it was a gun. It doesn't matter how ridiculous and UNLIKE a gun the object actually is-- drop that shit. To the ground.

And while you're at it, put your fucking hands in the air (like you just don't care).
Sure, putting hands in the air won't necessarily save your life (Michael Brown) but at least you'll have a better chance.

Cops get off on violence.
They get off on being allowed to DELIVER violence to the very fucking people they are supposed to protect and serve.

Don't indulge them by making it easy for them to shoot and kill you.

It will be interesting to see how this NEW tragic case in St. Louis pans out.

Until next time-- protect and serve YOURSELF.

COP CULTURE

Sometimes people ask me "why do you hate cops so much?"

And most of the time I'll give a ridiculous answer that spares us both the agony of a drawn out conversation. Or even a debate.

To be clear, I wouldn't ever use a blanket statement such as "I hate cops."
Because I do believe, as so many other people are tirelessly fond of saying--

"They're not ALL bad. There are SOME good ones."
 Man, if only the people that say that shit knew how much like a fucking parrot they sound.

There's truth to that statement, though. Obviously.
I've even met a few good cops in my lifetime (shhh-- don't tell anyone).

With that said, though, it is impossible to watch the news or to pay attention to the shit going down in your own city, to not see that there's a problem with cop culture in this country. A new video of a cop shooting or beating seems to be going viral at least once or twice a week. And call me crazy, but I think it's time that the issue be addressed.

But first, people must be willing to have the conversation-- instead of avoid it.
I know that avoiding shit feels better than facing it, believe me I do.
But that's exactly how things never get changed.

Profound, culture-altering, mind-shifting changes have never happened through inactivity.
Change requires action.
Movement. Conversation.

One of the first questions that I think we've got to ask is:

What are the roots of this cop culture problem?

Well, I have a couple of theories and here they are:

1. It's too goddamn easy to become a cop.

All it takes is a GED, six months (on average) of police academy training, and very lightweight psychological testing. In most places, you can even become a cop if you have a criminal record (felonies excluded).

With so few requirements, I'm surprised MORE people don't become cops!

Think about it-- the pay is not the best (roughly $33,000 starting out)-- BUT you don't really need experience AND you can have the brains of a fucking squirrel! Hell yeah!

2. The very nature of the job lends itself to control freaks and people with violent tendencies.

It says a lot about a person who seeks out a profession where you:

. Get to carry a gun to maybe shoot people with.

. Get to carry a tazer to maybe electrocute people with.

. Get to carry a stick to maybe beat people with.

. Get to carry MACE to maybe blind people with.

. Get to carry handcuffs to restrain people with.

. Get to have a shotgun in the cab of your patrol car.

. Get to have an assault rifle in the trunk of your patrol car.

. Get to go on a paid vacation if you kill anyone.

. Get to have assurance, in most cases, that your department will back you up if you really fuck up.

. Get to be assured that even if you do fuck up, you probably won't ever have to truly pay for the crime, even if you murdered someone.

All that power.

All in the hands of someone who might be fresh off their high school football team.

Or might have flunked out of high school.

Or might have just barely squeaked by in their psychological testing.

Or might just be looking to have power over people for a living.

 I would argue that over the years, the job of a cop has shifted from a focus of protecting and serving the public, to controlling the public at all costs (even murder, if need be).

So what's the solution?

I know this shit will seem radical to some of you but:

1. Require cops to be educated.

Gone, should be the days when it is acceptable to allow men and women with the brains of apes to carry with them the power that a cop carries.

There should be no acceptable reason to arm an imbecile and send them into the world to lord over others and expect them to somehow have the intelligence to handle such responsibility.

It should be a requirement for cops to hold at the very least a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, to be a cop. And I'm not talking a made to order degree from some bullshit internet college either. I'm talking a full-fledged, accredited university.

Side note: If you think requiring them to get a college degree is ridiculous, how would you feel about a much, much longer police academy?

2. Require EXTENSIVE psychological screening

Just as it makes no sense to arm an imbecile and send him into the city to lord over people-- neither should one be sent whose psychological screenings are riddled with dark spots.

The screenings should be thorough.

A true weeding-out process.

3.  Punish the LIVING FUCK out of the cops that break the law

It's in the news all the time.

A cop beats the holy shit out of someone and gets to go on a paid vacation.

He or she MAYBE loses their job while the person they beat loses their dignity, their privacy, their health, and much, much more. 

PTSD anyone?

Or how about the cases where a cop kills an unarmed person and gets away with it despite widespread public outrage?

I say-- hit these motherfuckers and hit them hard.

Make them sorry they ever decided to become cops and abuse their power by abusing citizens.
If they are to be the enforcers of the law, let them stand under the most intense scrutiny-- as they should be the examples for the public to live by.

Give them prison, not probation.
Weed all of these motherfuckers out of the jobs and positions they are not fit to hold.

*************************

I believe that, eventually, cop culture can be torn down and rebuilt.
Call me naive, but wouldn't it be nice to go back to calling them "Peace Officers" rather than agents of "Law Enforcement?"

It could happen, you know.
But it begins with people having difficult conversations.

Change, begins with conversation.

THE MODERN RADICAL

The Anti-Tyranny Movement is now.