6 ms·

The oddly beautiful and sometimes disturbing artistic talent of drug cops (2015)

59 points by tlrobinson 8y ago

dTal 8y ago
It's a very interesting article, particularly the observation that whimsy in law enforcement patches is giving way to military imagery. Not a happy trend. But I don't think it's appropriate to call them beautiful. Disturbing, yes, but sophomoric, and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.
- TwelveNights 8y ago
  It's a little interesting to see the contrast between the DEA as a straight-laced government agency, and the patches they make. Frankly speaking, there's an "edginess" to it that's hard to reconcile with their public image.
  - pmoriarty 8y ago
    This is similar to the extremely serious, straight-laced image doctors and other medical staff present to the public and their patients compared to the gallows humor expressed by them in private. Many patients would probably be absolutely shocked by what gets joked about.
  - intuitionist 8y ago
    There’s a reason the “dirtbag leftists” at Chapo Trap House use the cocaine patch as their logo.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  >and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.// Isn't that just because of the limited pallet and resolution available with an [cheaply] embroidered badge. Are there examples of cloth badges produced this way that have better design?
  - extra88 8y ago
    There are many NASA mission patches that are much better designed and produced in the same medium as these narc patches. The wobbly lines seen most of these drug patches are not inherent to embroidered patches.
    - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      Examples? https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sNNKQk3uL._SX425_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sNNKQk3uL... are ones using the same tech (by my eyeballing), they don't look so far off.
      - extra88 8y ago
        That's not a very good picture but they still look less crude than those drug patches. Google image search for "nasa embroidered mission patches" has better images than that for comparison, basically all look better than the drug ones, many by a wide margin.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  I've designed a few patches over the years (military). The image submitted to the printer often varies wildly from the look of the finished patch. The forgotten part of this article is the artistic input from those actually building the patches. They take the vision and make it work in thread. (FYI, the patches that really matter don't come in bright colors. Patches worn by actual operators, the people who put their lives on the line, use only muted colors, certainly not white or silver anything.) What makes me laugh is seeing how these cops throw around military or legal symbols without any idea of what they mean. The lightning bolts mean something in the military. So too the skulls. And I don't think cops should be using the scales of justice. That is something reserved for judges. By adopting it they are basically declaring themselves judge and jury.
tyingq 8y ago
Paywall workaround: http://archive.fo/ny5td http://archive.fo/ny5td
phjesusthatguy3 8y ago
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me[0] is one of the books dedicated to these sorts of patches. My library still doesn't have a copy. [0]https://www.amazon.com/Could-Tell-Then-Would-Destroyed/dp/193555414X https://www.amazon.com/Could-Tell-Then-Would-Destroyed/dp/19...
- matthewwiese 8y ago
  My girlfriend got me this book for Christmas! It's an absolute trip. Some of the Area 51 patches (for black site tech development, etc) have such surprising on-the-nose humor regarding aliens. It's nice to know that even people that work on top secret stuff have a sense of humor!
- quakeguy 8y ago
  Trevor Paglen is an awesome artist.
sigmaprimus 8y ago
Just more proof that the drug enforcement community is nothing more than a glorified gang who's members make their living off the misery and pain they inflict upon addicts. Put a bottom rocker patch and a 1%er patch next to those "badges" and they are no different to the emblems currently worn by criminal biker gangs. Law enforcement or criminal drug gang matters not, they are just two sides of the same coin and unless the laws change the general public will continue being victimized by both groups.
- jayar95 8y ago
  I used to take a similar view on the war on drugs- now it's more nuanced given my immersion into the problem. It's hard to say wasting countless lives and millions of dollars to combat organizations illegaly smuggling harmless product (marijuana) into the states is hardly worth the mess left behind. Take a step back and it's easier to justify when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems such as the meth epidemic in california or the opioid crisis across the country. And to facilitate the delivery of these criminalized products, criminal organization have no hesitation of delivering those packs covered in the blood of poorest class of people in the hemisphere (the consumers are dying too, but from consumption, another problem entirely). Lots of people against the war on drugs will say "yeah but if it was decriminalized..." A lot of things would be different if it was decriminalized, but good luck selling that pipe dream to the traditional base of america that has a strong influence across the nation. Not happening anytime soon. In my opinion everything sucks here and I haven't heard a viable solution yet to this very complicated issue Edit: I do want to say that decriminalization is probably the most hopeful option of them all, I just think it's going to take forever, generations probably. This is really a public health issue in my opinion, it's just not treated as one :/
  - thatcat 8y ago
    Decriminalization is not a pipe dream. It happened in 2018 in Ca.
  - gerbilly 8y ago
    > when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems But that's just it, they wouldn't be criminal organizations if you didn't criminalize it in the first place. To me, the war on drugs is a proxy for unpopular geopolitical actions or even domestic race wars that the US wants to fight.
default-kramer 8y ago
Reminds me of that classic Mitchell and Webb sketch. "They've got skulls on them." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU
fasdetwaew 8y ago
I liked looking at these patches. They remind me of the kind of imagery they used to print on pogs. Lots of skulls and swords. At the same time, if I saw an officer wearing this, I'd be inclined to take them less seriously. The cultures of some police forces are weird. I don't claim to understand it, as an outsider. And yeah, the drug war is out of control, yatta yatta all that jazz.
blaze33 8y ago
Interesting while also reminding me of those weird society rules. Free access to booze, tobacco and guns: ok, but you're the only one in charge of whatever happens next. Now: thc, mdma or lsd: no way! Not only illegal, but if you're ever caught somehow transfixed by the shear beauty of your couch surroundings, be sure we'll fuck up your life ;)

59 points by tlrobinson 8y ago

dTal 8y ago

It's a very interesting article, particularly the observation that whimsy in law enforcement patches is giving way to military imagery. Not a happy trend. But I don't think it's appropriate to call them beautiful. Disturbing, yes, but sophomoric, and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.

TwelveNights 8y ago
It's a little interesting to see the contrast between the DEA as a straight-laced government agency, and the patches they make. Frankly speaking, there's an "edginess" to it that's hard to reconcile with their public image.
- pmoriarty 8y ago
  This is similar to the extremely serious, straight-laced image doctors and other medical staff present to the public and their patients compared to the gallows humor expressed by them in private. Many patients would probably be absolutely shocked by what gets joked about.
- intuitionist 8y ago
  There’s a reason the “dirtbag leftists” at Chapo Trap House use the cocaine patch as their logo.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
>and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.// Isn't that just because of the limited pallet and resolution available with an [cheaply] embroidered badge. Are there examples of cloth badges produced this way that have better design?
- extra88 8y ago
  There are many NASA mission patches that are much better designed and produced in the same medium as these narc patches. The wobbly lines seen most of these drug patches are not inherent to embroidered patches.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    Examples? https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sNNKQk3uL._SX425_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sNNKQk3uL... are ones using the same tech (by my eyeballing), they don't look so far off.
    - extra88 8y ago
      That's not a very good picture but they still look less crude than those drug patches. Google image search for "nasa embroidered mission patches" has better images than that for comparison, basically all look better than the drug ones, many by a wide margin.
sandworm101 8y ago
I've designed a few patches over the years (military). The image submitted to the printer often varies wildly from the look of the finished patch. The forgotten part of this article is the artistic input from those actually building the patches. They take the vision and make it work in thread. (FYI, the patches that really matter don't come in bright colors. Patches worn by actual operators, the people who put their lives on the line, use only muted colors, certainly not white or silver anything.) What makes me laugh is seeing how these cops throw around military or legal symbols without any idea of what they mean. The lightning bolts mean something in the military. So too the skulls. And I don't think cops should be using the scales of justice. That is something reserved for judges. By adopting it they are basically declaring themselves judge and jury.

tyingq 8y ago

Paywall workaround: http://archive.fo/ny5td http://archive.fo/ny5td

phjesusthatguy3 8y ago

I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me[0] is one of the books dedicated to these sorts of patches. My library still doesn't have a copy. [0]https://www.amazon.com/Could-Tell-Then-Would-Destroyed/dp/193555414X https://www.amazon.com/Could-Tell-Then-Would-Destroyed/dp/19...

matthewwiese 8y ago
My girlfriend got me this book for Christmas! It's an absolute trip. Some of the Area 51 patches (for black site tech development, etc) have such surprising on-the-nose humor regarding aliens. It's nice to know that even people that work on top secret stuff have a sense of humor!
quakeguy 8y ago
Trevor Paglen is an awesome artist.

sigmaprimus 8y ago

Just more proof that the drug enforcement community is nothing more than a glorified gang who's members make their living off the misery and pain they inflict upon addicts. Put a bottom rocker patch and a 1%er patch next to those "badges" and they are no different to the emblems currently worn by criminal biker gangs. Law enforcement or criminal drug gang matters not, they are just two sides of the same coin and unless the laws change the general public will continue being victimized by both groups.

jayar95 8y ago
I used to take a similar view on the war on drugs- now it's more nuanced given my immersion into the problem. It's hard to say wasting countless lives and millions of dollars to combat organizations illegaly smuggling harmless product (marijuana) into the states is hardly worth the mess left behind. Take a step back and it's easier to justify when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems such as the meth epidemic in california or the opioid crisis across the country. And to facilitate the delivery of these criminalized products, criminal organization have no hesitation of delivering those packs covered in the blood of poorest class of people in the hemisphere (the consumers are dying too, but from consumption, another problem entirely). Lots of people against the war on drugs will say "yeah but if it was decriminalized..." A lot of things would be different if it was decriminalized, but good luck selling that pipe dream to the traditional base of america that has a strong influence across the nation. Not happening anytime soon. In my opinion everything sucks here and I haven't heard a viable solution yet to this very complicated issue Edit: I do want to say that decriminalization is probably the most hopeful option of them all, I just think it's going to take forever, generations probably. This is really a public health issue in my opinion, it's just not treated as one :/
- thatcat 8y ago
  Decriminalization is not a pipe dream. It happened in 2018 in Ca.
- gerbilly 8y ago
  > when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems But that's just it, they wouldn't be criminal organizations if you didn't criminalize it in the first place. To me, the war on drugs is a proxy for unpopular geopolitical actions or even domestic race wars that the US wants to fight.

default-kramer 8y ago

Reminds me of that classic Mitchell and Webb sketch. "They've got skulls on them." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU

fasdetwaew 8y ago

I liked looking at these patches. They remind me of the kind of imagery they used to print on pogs. Lots of skulls and swords. At the same time, if I saw an officer wearing this, I'd be inclined to take them less seriously. The cultures of some police forces are weird. I don't claim to understand it, as an outsider. And yeah, the drug war is out of control, yatta yatta all that jazz.

blaze33 8y ago

Interesting while also reminding me of those weird society rules. Free access to booze, tobacco and guns: ok, but you're the only one in charge of whatever happens next. Now: thc, mdma or lsd: no way! Not only illegal, but if you're ever caught somehow transfixed by the shear beauty of your couch surroundings, be sure we'll fuck up your life ;)