Homeland Security Was Destined to Become a Secret Police Force

Re:Homeland Security Was Destined to Become a Secret Police ... by SpicyLemonZest on Saturday July 25, 2020 @02:47PM (#23951480)

I don't believe I've abandoned any middle ground. I can come to the defense of those arguments. They just don't seem relevant to the urgent question of how to get rid of the mobs trying to burn down the courthouse. I'm sure we can agree that federal agents manning siege defenses every night isn't a workable long-term solution.

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Re:Homeland Security Was Destined to Become a Secret Police ... by armada651 on Saturday July 25, 2020 @03:20PM (#23951671)

It certainly is not a workable solution, but given that the protests are about police abuses, perpetuating those abuses will only exacerbate the problem. The arguments might not seem relevant to you right now, but to the protesters they're fundamental to everything they stand for.

There is no easy fix for the problem, because any solution requires both the protesters and the police to come to the middle ground.

The police and federal agents need to show respect for the peaceful protests during the day and the protesters need to respect a reasonable curfew so police can do their work stopping rioters and arsonists at night.

Showing up in militarized uniforms and teargassing/shooting peaceful protestors doesn't bring us closer to that middle ground. Neither does destruction of property and defending rioters/arsonists.

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Re:Homeland Security Was Destined to Become a Secret Police ... by armada651 on Saturday July 25, 2020 @03:41PM (#23951806)

> The police and federal agents need to show respect for the peaceful protests during the day and the protesters need to respect a reasonable curfew so police can do their work stopping rioters and arsonists at night.

That was the hard fix. I don't believe the feds will be able to solve it this time by doing what they did in LA in 1992.

And if we simply restore the status quo using a show of force then these riots will happen again and again.

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Re:Homeland Security Was Destined to Become a Secret Police ... by SpicyLemonZest on Saturday July 25, 2020 @03:36PM (#23951783)

Entirely true, but what's the hard fix? I'm skeptical of the federal plan to arrest a bunch of people until the problem stops, but it's at least a plan - if no one else can come up with one, I don't see much choice but to accept it.

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