#warrior cop by radley balko is a good book about police militarization

[angryisokay]

Police militarization? That ball got really rolling with Nixon iirc, with the whole War on Drugs nonsense. Every president since has added to the problem. I guess you could hold Biden double accountable, since he was a key figure pushing the ‘tough on crime’ attitude as a Congressman. Republicans and Democrats have been trying to outdo each other in the ‘who can suck cop dick harder’ contest since the late 70s at least.

Which American president can be fully, or get the most blame, for the over-militarization of the US police?

Because I want to be bet money that it’s a Democrat.

[mintybreakfast]

Ok, so for starters, these riots/protests (cus let's not ignore the idea that both these protests and the riots are stemming from similar grievances).

George Floyd is just the latest in a chain of people who have been killed due to police impunity. This one was just so blatantly unjust that it lit the powderkeg.

Now, people all over the entire country are up in arms because of police abuse.

Good. It's about fucking time.

Years ago, on fact, decades ago, this issue was brought up in books such as The People's History of the United States and more recently in The Rose of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko.

The militarization of the police, through psychological training or by way of outfitting has been a huge problem for years.

The police have increasingly, especially through validating avenues such as COPS and other such popular TV shows, tried to prove themselves as selfless heroes for the camera.

Actually... I'm losing my focus here and I have to stop. If I were writing this on a private computer and I could hide this until it was finished... Well, good for me. But I don't know how to do that here without publishing it.

So I apologize for not having this entire thing perfectly fleshed out. It's not because I don't want to, but because I'm stupid and I don't know how to

[theprettynerdie]

A great deal of my knowledge of history, politics, and international affairs comes from the books I read. I highly recommend them, especially in the age of Trump:

A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn: By my junior year of college, my politics had shifted from relatively conservative (yup, I leaned Republican for most of my life) to moderately liberal. After reading this book, I was firmly liberal. The sheer amount of information Zinn presents that you never learn in school is incredible. I consider this essential reading for every single American.

The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy, Howard Zinn: An indispensable collection of Howard Zinn’s writings on everything from race, to war, to social justice. Some of the best essays: Machiavellian Realism and US Foreign Policy: Means and Ends, Law and Justice, The Problem Is Civil Obedience

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky: Written in 1983 after the Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanon, Chomsky utilizes primary sources (translated from Hebrew and other languages by Chomsky himself) hardly, if ever, presented to an American audience to reveal the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Any Jews who support the Israeli government would do well to read this, and then try to justify themselves.

Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, Michael Isikoff & David Corn: An indispensable book about the failures and crimes of the Bush administration that led the US into a costly, unnecessary war in Iraq. Everyone needs to read this book. Absolutely jaw-dropping.

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003-2005, Thomas E. Ricks: Written in 2006 in the wake of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, this book gives extraordinary military insight to complement the focus on the political end of the Iraq War. A good companion piece to Hubris, and great insight into military strategy for those of us who haven’t studied it before.

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces, Radley Balko: Astonishing and infuriating, and absolutely essential. This book is no liberal anti-cop smear: It is a bold and honest look at the government’s dangerous practice of preparing our police across the nation to violate all of the constitutional rights we hold dear, and denying accountability. 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander: A companion piece to Rise of the Warrior Cop, focusing on the racism that underlies nationwide law enforcement.