(no subject)

[thebitterguy]

nightvisionad An ad for nightvision goggles aimed at policemen.

This morning, someone posted a link to an article on a police oriented website about how the 21 foot rule is being re-evaluated. I took at look at that, and on the side was the above ad. 

Now, I never took any fancy university courses on semiotics or  other 'higher meaning", but I know that, personally, the thought that night vision companies want beat cops to think of themselves as similar to the boots on the ground in Iraq, well, that scares the fuck out of me. 

Aside from the fact that civilian bodies are, in fact, hitting the floor over there like a Neil Peart drumbeat, I'm pretty sure the attitude Constable Jim needs to have is pretty much a planet away from that Cpl.  Jim requires for his job.  

I mean, seriously, do the dipshits selling this stuff not realize that there's a difference in the attitude between Lock n' Load and community policing? Is that not 'cool' anymore? Or have things down in the Holy Republic turned into a John Carpenter movie and I just missed a memo?

Comments

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I remember a few years back a fairly prominent and well-respected retired businessman from Hamilton was shot and killed in a random attack while vacationing in Phoenix, Arizona. There was some local outcry for the killers to be found, which the Phoenix police chief addressed by explaining that there had been 200 shootings in his city so far that year. So, maybe they are dealing with something approaching a state of constant civil unrest in some places.

Though you'd think it'd be too damn hot in Phoenix to shoot anyone.

[caias.livejournal.com]

If you ever come to New Jersey, I will drop you off in Camden or Newark sometime.

While you are running for your life, you can think about the difference between 'Lock n' Load' and 'community policing'.

Some people actually live in those areas that you only see on TV or movies, boss.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Much of the perception that the US is a violent nation only getting worse comes from gangsta rap, sensationalist news reports (and this is, lest you think me some form of libertarian twit, a decidedly bipartisan endeavor), bad TV, and foreign nations (like the French and British) all too eager to cluck their tongues at America.

The reality is that violent crime has been declining in America for two decades and just keeps dropping. Even the worst locations, like Detroit and Baltimore, have substantially improved. Even at their worst, most people didn't realize that the "sensational murder rates" mostly meant every couple of days, some drug dealer shot another drug dealer and the US was actually only the leader in homicide; the French, British and other industrialized nations had similar (or worse crime rates) once you started looking at all violent crime.

Even at the worst, breaking down the odds, the chances of your average US citizen being killed in a violent crime were far lower than, say, getting cancer or dying in a car crash. But that, of course, doesn't pull in the votes like terrorizing the populace.

And writing all that, I realize that my links are dead and I can't find my damn statistics, so feel free to doubt me, or you could look up the FBI and Census reports and do the math yourself.

[thebitterguy]

So why are they trying to sell night vision goggles to cops like they're in a combat zone?

[caias.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is. Rates are dropping.

I still invite anyone to come to Camden or Newark at 11 PM and walk around. They you can see what I say...

[thebitterguy]

There's a difference between 'high crime area' and 'war zone', and it's irresponsible to sell equipment to people by equivocating the two.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Nah. It's in Jersey. It smells funny there. :-)

[caias.livejournal.com]

You live in MA, it smells like Lobster Bisque and Yuppies.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Heh, go to Western Mass sometime. You think the urban criminal is scary? Meet his inbred pig-raping cousin sometime. There's a charming bar in a town called Athol (and yes, it's pronounced the way you think) named The Hollywood, and I believe I have the distinction of being the only individual unarmed and with a college degree to go in and come out alive.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

On another note, I keep thinking your avatar's eyes are moving and it's freaking me the hell out. :-)

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Sure, what's the nice part of Newark? :-)

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

This always annoys me; Carpenter is not a fiction filmmaker, goddamnit, he's an ingenious documentarian! Jesus! Get it straight, people!

[thebitterguy]

Man, LA is even more screwed up than I thought.

They really need to send a rescue party to get Steve Buscemi out of there. Send Jack Burton!

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I find it both funny and horrifying that in the decades I've been living in the NYC area (both in the city itself and in the neighborhood), I've seen the city itself grow that much cleaner, more liveable and less violent (and that much more homogenized), and watch the rest of things get a lot worse.

[lowercaseem.livejournal.com]

What's the twenty-one foot rule? This is not the time for some sort of penis joke.

[thebitterguy]

The article was here.

"the "rule" states that in the time it takes the average officer to recognize a threat, draw his sidearm and fire 2 rounds at center mass, an average subject charging at the officer with a knife or other cutting or stabbing weapon can cover a distance of 21 feet."

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

My motto is "It's always time for a penis joke!"

Which might explain why I was punched out at that funeral last weekend, come to think of it.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

I'm not even a cop and I had to drop 4 gangstas with my shottie last week. Los Angeles forever!

Erm.... excuse me. Actually, most of the country's facing a lowering violent crime rate, and several of LA's most notorious gangs are either running scared or in pieces right now. There's still more than there should be, and politicians exploit what there is to encourage a culture of fear, while foreigners exploit them so they can point out how bad America is.

I don't think the average beat kop needs the lock and load mentality or military hardware, though. Maybe if he's patrolling Watts at 3AM.

Now, the police do use nightvision gear for certain SWAT operations, though. That's probably more what this product is really aimed at.

[thebitterguy]

Well, yeah. Swat teams I can see needing that kind of equipment. That ad, though, seems to suggest it's hardware the average constable on patrol will need to pull out.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

The ad does seem horribly mis-targeted. Though I've met cops that would go on patrol with a boom gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitter_Boy) if they were allowed to.