Whenever you're faced with an explanation of what's going on in [government], the choice between incompetence and conspiracy, always choose incompetence.
As one might imagine, police reform has been a hot topic among the Bikecopblog Family of readers. There is some agreement, some dissention, an allegation on the part of another police officer that I am, in fact, an idiot (he's not the first) and the real possibility that my alter-ego is the Underminer.
I generally put on either: A fitness workout from GCN Network, or; Dan Bongino. Dan is a dose of red meat, with a bit of My Cousin Vinny thrown in. Today was an interview, which ended before my countdown clock expired. So I got to watch Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge talk to NY Times columnist Ross Douthat.
Think what you will about the NYT. They may be obnoxious partisans, but no one ever said they are stupid. The fellow made an especially interesting point about The 'Rona that I think carries over to what is happening across our country. It might be a way - just one way - to bridge a few gaps.
Mr. Douthat explored - in a long and meandering interview - the role of competence in government. He employed the "You had one job" methodology (this about the CDC) to explain that people's animosities toward government aren't entirely that government is corrupt, but that government isn't competent even to deliver basic services. Think about it. I did, in the context of the "Defund the Police" movement.
I'm with former US representative Trey Gowdy - defunding the police is the single stupidest idea expressed during the recent turmoil. Public safety is a basic role of government ("Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure those rights governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."). Law enforcement is a core duty, a core role, of governments...like, for forever.
In 1969, citizens of a section of Jefferson County (Colorado) decided to incorporate for the purpose of...wait for it...creating their own police department. They wanted to create a model of excellence, capacity, character and competence. Whether they did or not (I think they did, but I'm not objective - I worked for them for thirty-three years) is beside the point. Americans see protection by their police department as a right endowed by their Creator. With me?
The defunders have a plan - community members trained to intervene in disputes using proven methods of... Blah, blah, blah. It's all very pre-Sir Robert Peel. Eventually, we are right back to what we have now. Okay, but peel (I know, right?) back their naivete and they may be saying something worth considering.
Let's look past the rhetoric, and the anger, and the emotion. What are they saying to police departments, these people who want to defund the police?
"We don't trust you to do the basic job of protecting us, of respecting us. We'd rather give it a whirl ourselves."
Maybe that's silly. But, wait! Remove the anarchists, the common criminals, the opportunists and the pimply guys just trying to get laid and what do you have? Very angry, very emotional people who don't just think four cops in Minneapolis let them down, they think cops everywhere are letting them down. Cops may be great dancers, they may look cool when you pour a bucket of water on them, but if you have to call them for something, well... It's like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. No, it's Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. You might get something that makes your day brighter. You might easily get ear wax, or vomit.
You call the cops and who shows up? A caring, empathetic, talented man or woman (who probably went to our academy) or do you get "Mr. Perpetual Bad Day?" People understand that cops have to be able to meet violence with some level of violence, but... Shouldn't the citizen be, I dunno, violent? They understand the cops didn't make the 'Rona laws, but could they at least read the sign whose dictates they are enforcing?
Folks, before you get all defensive, let's play a game. You call out on an occupied suspicious vehicle at three in the morning, and dispatch sends you a backup. You think...them? Your friends all the way across town think - "Them?" - and start your way. Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong.
Poor training, non-existent leadership, crappy standards, politicians catering to the mob. The overwhelming majority of cops, and I say this based on experience in five decades (three days short of a sixth), are courageous, intelligent and caring people. They want to do the best job possible.
Yes, this includes the Minneapolis cops. They work in a tough environment, with minimal support from even their own command staff. They've stayed because they want to do a good job. You try it sometime, when the training money isn't spent on core competencies.
The protesters are saying, in theory if not in fact. "We pay our taxes and we get you. Brilliant."
I spent three years working for the housing authority in Syracuse, while I attended law school. I met hundreds of people living on government assistance - public housing, food stamps, welfare. They were, almost without exception, honest, intelligent people who were trying to make their way in life. They wanted safe communities, they wanted the best for their children and they wanted Syracuse PD to arrest criminals, keep the peace and treat them with respect. Does that sound familiar?
Before you think this is a leftist idea to throw us all into turmoil...how many guns have you bought this week? And, where are they?
We owe it to ourselves as citizens, but we also owe it to our cops, that when police departments ask the questions of how to gain and maintain the trust of our communities, we make a commitment to them, that we support excellence in the core competencies. Support we will back up at the ballot box, at city council meetings and at tax time.
The best cops I ever met are the ones (you know who you are) who were always asking themselves, pushing themselves, demanding of themselves - how can I be better? When someone calls the cops, and I get there... Will I make a positive difference? If not, where do I go to get what I need?
Because they always want to be competent.
Oh yeah. "Behold, the Underminer! I'm always beneath you, but nothing is beneath me!"
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