Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Techdirt

from the plenty-to-talk-about dept

This week, both our winning comments on the insightful side came in response to the FBI’s new “study” of the so-called Ferguson Effect, in which police become afraid to do their job when faced with supposedly undue criticism and scrutiny. A better definition comes from Uriel-238 in the first place winning comment:

When I think Ferguson Effect I think of the lines of officers which I got to see in real time from cameras on the ground during the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. To the last guy, and contrary to every firearms safety regimen I’ve known, they had their rifles and shotguns trained on the (unarmed) public, and I was turning blue in fear that someone was going to accidentally discharge his weapon and set off a massacre.

Later on, they’d climb in/on their bearcat mine-proof transports and go to town raining tear gas cannisters all over the neighborhood for no discernable tactical reason, except to show they can piss anywhere they want. Rebel yelling was involved.

For me, the Ferguson Effect is when I looked at all this and asked myself what the fuck happened to the police to turn them into this?

In second place, we’ve got That Anonymous Coward, who reacted with well-deserved fervor to the idea that this is all just because political and media narratives have “made it socially acceptable to challenge and discredit the actions of law enforcement”:

Stood on a hood and emptied a weapon into innocent people – No Charges.
Peppersprayed unarmed detained women, later claiming magic ninjas had appeared threatening him & then vanished as he sprayed – No Charges.
Handcuffed suspect in a patrol car managed to bend the laws of physics producing a gun from another dimension & bending his arms to shoot himself in the head – No Charges.
Rolled up on a child with a toy weapon & shot him dead before issuing any commands – No Charges.
Asked for drivers ID after driver informed them he was permitted to carry a weapon, shot driver as he reached for his ID – No Charges.
Shot a suspect, left him on the ground bleeding while comforting the shooter & not rendering aid or calling for aid – No Charges.
Stole from a pot dispensary & cried rights violation because they missed 1 of the cameras which caught them abusing citizens & theft – Still waiting for charges.

Often when they dare to bring charges, there is no justice. If an officer is punished, the Union demands arbitration and FORCES the force to take back an officer who was found guilty of breaking the law… with back pay.

Police are being trained to be terrified of citizens, that black citizens especially, have secret powers ala Dragon Ball Z where they can power themselves up & need to be shot before their power gets over 9000.

They claim everything is a plot to get them, that its just a narrative to discredit them… yet they often turn a blind eye to their brother officers breaking the law because their code requires them to protect the image over citizens.

Pulled over many women & demanded sexual favors – Only charged after he picked the wrong black woman who wasn’t a hooker to abuse.
Molested children – Only charged when they went to an outside agency.
Trafficked in CP – Only busted when an outside agency catches them.
Locked someone in a room and left them to die – No charges.
Boiled a human being ALIVE for shitting on the floor – No Charges.
Cut off a prisoners water for over a week resulting in death – they MIGHT charge them.
Dash & Bodycam videos disappearing or the machinery not working or being activated – No Charges.
Cams being disabled on purpose – No Charges or repairs.

Perhaps if they stopped acting like a gang more interested in playing the victim while raping, robbing, murdering & covering those events up people might have a different view of them.

They are not above the law, but you wouldn’t know it from how things play out. Prosecutors warned to not bring charges or the gang will tank other cases. Prior bad acts locked from view of Juries, who might suspend the cop halo effect to know the officer testifying has been busted multiple times for lying on the stand.

But yes, there is no basis in reality for why people film police actions as offical recordings often vanish. There isn’t a bodycount of citizens (notice they didn;t have those numbers to put in the report because they ignored the rules about finally reporting them) to go next to the officers because we matter less.

When the LE mentality is US vs THEM, why are they shocked that THEM are very worried at any interaction with them because they know US can kill, lie, destroy evidence, and walk with a repurposed military ribbon?

For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we’ve got a pair of comments on our post about the reporter who was arrested for asking questions of some Trump administration officials. Many people claimed that his insistent approach went beyond the rights of the press, and Roger Strong had a good response:

Nonsense. Media scrums are a standard part of reporting on government. It was a public building, not a private residence. Otherwise:

“How would you like it, sir,” if government officials only answered to the public at press conferences where they could personally pick who got to ask a question, favoring those with little or no credibility who will ask softball questions?

Granted, it seems you’d like exactly that.

One commenter went even further, and decided that the reporter’s actions must have been even more egregious than what people who were actually there have reported, because “I find it hard to believe any eyewitnesses, because I’m assuming they’re on the media side of this war.” PaulT was not exactly impressed:

A war between the government and a free press? I know partisanship is getting ridiculous, but they’ve managed to convince you that the fourth estate is an enemy combatant now?

Interesting that you assume that people who were actually there cannot be believed, so you have to believe the testimony of people who weren’t…

Over on the funny side, the first place winner is an anonymous commenter who noticed the same line that many other people quickly latched onto in Trump’s letter firing James Comey:

“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation”

What a HyperNormal thing to say.

In second place, we’ve got a comment from Stephen T. Stone on our post about Cloudflare fighting back against patent trolls, though I admit I had to Google the reference, myself:

Important lesson: Do not taunt Happy Fun Cloud.

For editor’s choice on the funny side, we start out with a comment from Danny B that took the form of a telephony script:

You have reached Comcast technical support.

Please press 1 if you are calling about your slower internet speeds since the new FCC chairman was appointed.

Please press 2 if you are calling about your higher prices since the new FCC chairman was appointed.

Please press 0 if you would like to be routed to a call center in a third world country.

Your call is important to us. Comcast wishes to apologize for any convenience you may have experienced.

And finally, we’ve got one more nod to Roger Strong for a solid knock-knock joke:

Knock, knock
Who’s there?
Massachusetts State Police!
Don’t be silly – the Massachusetts State Police doesn’t knock.

That’s all for this week, folks!