5 ms·

For what it's worth -- and here I have to wonder how much it's worth to criticize someone's point of view based on a photograph of them -- that's a dress unifor

by GHFigs 12y ago

For what it's worth -- and here I have to wonder how much it's worth to criticize someone's point of view based on a photograph of them -- that's a dress uniform. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dress_uniform http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dress_uniform

Zigurd 12y ago
Dress uniform for police? That's not quite as bad as the paramilitary BDUs, but, really?
- freehunter 12y ago
  Police do have official events to attend. In my state capital there is a yearly event to honor fallen officers where representatives from every police force in the state show up in their dress uniforms for a mass memorial service.
  - Zigurd 12y ago
    They could wear suits. That might remind them they are of the people, and their first priority is to serve the people. They might also consider attending the memorial service for Mike Brown. In suits.
    - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
      They'd have to only attend if off-duty then wouldn't they? One point of police uniform is to identify a person as being a warranted police officer on duty (then there's the appearance of officialdom and the sense of inferiority it breeds in others, the camaraderie, ...). You'd probably need to change the law if you want to allow regular warranted officers to be on duty in civilian clothing, jurisdiction dependent of course. I don't really understand why you don't want to be able to identify your police officers though - even the UPS drivers wear uniform.
      - fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
        Thank you for making this point. The very last thing we need is to have police disguise themselves as regular folks. It creates a number of dangerous conditions for both the police and the public. "Who is this random person yelling and waving a gun?" Should I pull over for this random person with flashing lights in their grille?" It's already bad enough having some traffic enforcement types in unmarked cars or in cars with "ghost" decals. OTOH, her uniform is very "Aladeen" and while fussing about her uniform is a mostly trivial distraction, having a uniform that is a bit less "Aladeen" would probably short-circuit such criticism. If there weren't more important problems with this person, I would fully support mocking her ridiculous uniform.
    - psykovsky 12y ago
      The ones who work at NSA/CIA wear shorts and suits. I don't think they are reminded of who they are and what their priorities are, by it.
CamperBob2 12y ago
Sometimes a photo tells you all you need to know about a person: e.g., http://i.imgur.com/4CIFpFe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/4CIFpFe.jpg . Modern American law enforcement: a gang of wannabe tinpot dictators with weapons they have no business with, and that they probably have no idea how to use. Finger off the trigger, Sheriff.
- GHFigs 12y ago
  "Instead of criticizing one person based on a picture, I criticize thousands of people based on a picture! That'll show him!"
  - CamperBob2 12y ago
    Yeah, stereotypically speaking, it's the 90% of bad cops that give the 10% a bad name. Funny, though, the "good" 10% don't seem to have a problem with that.
    - GHFigs 12y ago
      I understand where you're coming from. I have an uncle that feels the exact same way about black people and Muslims. Wait, what?
      - CamperBob2 12y ago
        To the extent police work is someone's religion, I'd submit that these are exactly the police I'm talking about.
        dragontamer 12y ago
        So you're a bigot against Police _and_ Muslims. Got it. At least you're consistent.
        CamperBob2 12y ago
brandonmenc 12y ago
I agree that her uniform is largely irrelevant to the discussion. She also likely has no choice in it. I'm trigger happy pointing out police militarization, which manifests in overt ("tanks") and subtle ways (military dress). Perhaps it's a stretch, but I believe that militarization doesn't ease the tendency of the police to desire and acquire powers they shouldn't have.

by GHFigs 12y ago

Zigurd 12y ago

Dress uniform for police? That's not quite as bad as the paramilitary BDUs, but, really?

freehunter 12y ago
Police do have official events to attend. In my state capital there is a yearly event to honor fallen officers where representatives from every police force in the state show up in their dress uniforms for a mass memorial service.
- Zigurd 12y ago
  They could wear suits. That might remind them they are of the people, and their first priority is to serve the people. They might also consider attending the memorial service for Mike Brown. In suits.
  - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
    They'd have to only attend if off-duty then wouldn't they? One point of police uniform is to identify a person as being a warranted police officer on duty (then there's the appearance of officialdom and the sense of inferiority it breeds in others, the camaraderie, ...). You'd probably need to change the law if you want to allow regular warranted officers to be on duty in civilian clothing, jurisdiction dependent of course. I don't really understand why you don't want to be able to identify your police officers though - even the UPS drivers wear uniform.
    - fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
      Thank you for making this point. The very last thing we need is to have police disguise themselves as regular folks. It creates a number of dangerous conditions for both the police and the public. "Who is this random person yelling and waving a gun?" Should I pull over for this random person with flashing lights in their grille?" It's already bad enough having some traffic enforcement types in unmarked cars or in cars with "ghost" decals. OTOH, her uniform is very "Aladeen" and while fussing about her uniform is a mostly trivial distraction, having a uniform that is a bit less "Aladeen" would probably short-circuit such criticism. If there weren't more important problems with this person, I would fully support mocking her ridiculous uniform.
  - psykovsky 12y ago
    The ones who work at NSA/CIA wear shorts and suits. I don't think they are reminded of who they are and what their priorities are, by it.

CamperBob2 12y ago

Sometimes a photo tells you all you need to know about a person: e.g., http://i.imgur.com/4CIFpFe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/4CIFpFe.jpg . Modern American law enforcement: a gang of wannabe tinpot dictators with weapons they have no business with, and that they probably have no idea how to use. Finger off the trigger, Sheriff.

GHFigs 12y ago
"Instead of criticizing one person based on a picture, I criticize thousands of people based on a picture! That'll show him!"
- CamperBob2 12y ago
  Yeah, stereotypically speaking, it's the 90% of bad cops that give the 10% a bad name. Funny, though, the "good" 10% don't seem to have a problem with that.
  - GHFigs 12y ago
    I understand where you're coming from. I have an uncle that feels the exact same way about black people and Muslims. Wait, what?
    - CamperBob2 12y ago
      To the extent police work is someone's religion, I'd submit that these are exactly the police I'm talking about.
      - dragontamer 12y ago
        So you're a bigot against Police _and_ Muslims. Got it. At least you're consistent.
        CamperBob2 12y ago

brandonmenc 12y ago

I agree that her uniform is largely irrelevant to the discussion. She also likely has no choice in it. I'm trigger happy pointing out police militarization, which manifests in overt ("tanks") and subtle ways (military dress). Perhaps it's a stretch, but I believe that militarization doesn't ease the tendency of the police to desire and acquire powers they shouldn't have.