It's Up To You

Police Have No Duty To Protect Individuals

"All our lives, especially during our younger years, we hear that the police are there to protect us. From the very first kindergarten- class visit of "Officer Friendly" to the very last time we saw a police car - most of which have "To Protect and Serve" emblazoned on their doors - we're encouraged to give ourselves over to police protection. But it hasn't always been that way. Before the mid-1800s, American and British citizens - even in large cities - were expected to protect themselves and each other. Indeed, they were legally required to pursue and attempt to apprehend criminals. The notion of a police force in those days was abhorrent in England and America, where liberals viewed it as a form of the dreaded "standing army."
England's first police force, in London, was not instituted until 1827. The first such forces in America followed in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia during the period between 1835 and 1845. They were established only to augment citizen self-protection. It was never intended that they act affirmatively, prior to or during criminal activity or violence against individual citizens. Their duty was to protect society as a whole by deterrence; i.e., by systematically patrolling, detecting and apprehending criminals after the occurrence of crimes. There was no thought of police displacing the citizens' right of self-protection.
Nor could they, even if it were intended."

"Now it's time to take off the gloves, so to speak, and get down to reality. So the police aren't duty-bound to protect us, and they can't be expected to protect us even if they want to."

That is the cold, harsh reality and people had better wake up to it very quickly. Add the fact that all security forces are now charged with protecting the status quo along with creating the very elements in our society that they are supposed to be out apprehending, and we shouldn't for an instant think we can or should depend on cops. Except maybe to draw a nice chalk outline.

American society is collapsing like a slow mo train wreck. Civilization's fabric is being torn to shreds and it's only accelerating. Sure, you can turn on the tube and the sitcoms are still there, the endless commercials try to hawk their junk while lulling you into that warm happy comfy place and mostly the daily grind proceeds apace. But still those jarring info blurbs from the well coiffed, endlessly nodding newsfakers don't sit too well, something about the shrill politicians isn't right and things seem a little more urgent even though you do a pretty good job ignoring stuff that doesn't concern your daily routine, like Iraq.

As the adage says, as goes California so goes the nation. If you're from that state you're a little more in tune with the real status of the country. You're now getting IOUs instead of checks and tax refunds. You paid the highest gas prices. You're finding tent cities springing up, you're seeing more racial tension, crime, cops wantonly murdering citizens. It's about to get much, much worse.

American society has always been a thin veneer of civility masking a seething cauldron of pent up hostility. H Rap Brown's famous quote "violence is as American as cherry pie" (and not "apple pie") was always right on the money no matter how much fluoride our overseers dump in our drinking water. As more banks and states go bankrupt and as more jobs go poof and the fear and tension rise that violence is going to manifest big time. As people get more desperate property crime will come first and then the violence. For the most part cops seem to have gone over to the Dark Side, so we're on our own as the breakdown continues.

If you haven't already done it, prepare yourself and get personal protection. Now, while paper dollars haven't yet gone all Zimbabwe and things can still be bought and sold. Guns are best but pepper spray and baseball bats will do if they have to. Buy a few extra pounds of rice and beans, get a water filter, pick up stuff you know you'll need and use in emergencies. Find like minded individuals you can resonate with to help and protect each other in rough times. I'll once again suggest this excellent essay by Dmitri Orlov where he compares the Soviet demise to the coming american disintegration, which he thinks will be permanent. The collapse is ongoing but the stores are still open.

But to me it's mainly your attitude in successfully weathering the oncoming storm. You have to be prepared the best ways you can and if you exude confidence in your ability to protect yourself you'll stay out of a lot of trouble. And the cops won't help if you do get into it.