Street Gangs With Badges

Ed at Gin and Tacos uses the above phrase to describe the police in reference to this video of police arresting a bunch of white college kids.

In some of the handwringing over recent protest actions by college students at Yale and Missouri, one thing missing is the idea of common cause.  For the students, especially at Yale, who are wrapped up in their own hurt feelings and their refusal to engage in dialogue with those they disagree with, they are missing an opportunity to create change.

Once you engage in "my victimhood is bigger than your privilege" you've effectively walled off the opportunity to create a true political movement.  You've, in fact, divorced yourself from politics in favor of group introspection.

The issue of police violence towards the population is a real issue.  I've been absolutely reamed out by a cop for driving 60 in a 55 on the Hutchinson Parkway.  I sat there and took it, because I didn't want to pay the fine, but I'm sure if I had said anything, I was going to wind up hand-cuffed by the side of the road.  This guy came to my window to pick a fight, and he knew he had the force of the badge to back him up.

And this is only going to get worse. As cops feel more and more under siege, they are going to lash out more and more at the civilian population.  Every citizen is going to be seen as a potential enemy.

In the video, there is a clear line between a few of the cops who are looking to de-escalate the situation and a few who are looking the beat the shit out of some people.  These were white kids who were playing music too loud.  And for that they got the shit beat out of them and tazed.

The libertarian impulses of many Americans could be strung together across party lines, if we allowed any cooperation across party lines anymore.  There are some who crave the authoritarian society that this sort of policing represents, but I doubt the majority of Americans do.

Rand Paul might have been a voice on this issue, but he's lost it.

Can Hillary Clinton reconcile BLM with white libertarians?  Or will she get shouted down for denigrating the the unique struggles of black people in America?  That's a key test for her and a key test for BLM.