4 ms·

The oddly beautiful artistic talent of the nation’s drug cops

16 points by dmazin 12y ago

excitom 12y ago
I'd be more inclined to appreciate this art if I didn't think the "war on drugs" was such a misguided failure.
- mindslight 12y ago
  The grim reaper could be fitting on some kind of edgy pro-drug patch, but as a serious reference to eg cocaine it's just ridiculous. These patches really illustrate what is going through the thugs' heads as they go about ruining people's lives. Propaganda is the worst drug of them all.
- systemtheory 12y ago
  no doubt. much respect for the police, except when it comes to the "drug war" (i.e. war on poverty / race / ...). in the case of the drug war, eff the police.
- barbs 12y ago
  I reckon it could be reclaimed to turn it into a pro-drug statement. Sort of like how that "Reefer Madness" movie is now a stoner classic.
mucker 12y ago
Heraldry will never go out of style. It will just get updated. We love showing our tribal affiliations.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
sandworm 12y ago
I wonder whether they put as much information into the patches as the US military does. For instance, many programs operating out of a certain base incorporate some variation of the number 51 into their patches. Patches for space launch have even been known to leak classified information. But the badges in the OP seem far less creative. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/creepy-kitschy-and-geeky-patches-us-spy-satellites-180953562/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/creepy-kitschy-... Example "51" badge: http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/04images/Patches/015.png http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/04images/Patches/0...
pyrocat 12y ago
Real hard hitting journalism there, WaPo.
Fando 12y ago
The ironic point is that the art looks to be a product of drug-influenced creativity.
nostromo 12y ago
With so many skulls, someone working at the DEA should ponder, "are we the baddies?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU
- afarrell 12y ago
  Fun fact: Those skulls originate not with the SS, but with a regiment that rose to fight off Napoleon. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Brunswickers http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Brunswickers Also, this painting: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Brunswicker_%28Millais%29#/media/File:John_Everett_Millais_The_Black_Brunswicker.jpg http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Brunswicker_%28Mill...

16 points by dmazin 12y ago

excitom 12y ago

I'd be more inclined to appreciate this art if I didn't think the "war on drugs" was such a misguided failure.

mindslight 12y ago
The grim reaper could be fitting on some kind of edgy pro-drug patch, but as a serious reference to eg cocaine it's just ridiculous. These patches really illustrate what is going through the thugs' heads as they go about ruining people's lives. Propaganda is the worst drug of them all.
systemtheory 12y ago
no doubt. much respect for the police, except when it comes to the "drug war" (i.e. war on poverty / race / ...). in the case of the drug war, eff the police.
barbs 12y ago
I reckon it could be reclaimed to turn it into a pro-drug statement. Sort of like how that "Reefer Madness" movie is now a stoner classic.

mucker 12y ago

Heraldry will never go out of style. It will just get updated. We love showing our tribal affiliations.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

sandworm 12y ago

I wonder whether they put as much information into the patches as the US military does. For instance, many programs operating out of a certain base incorporate some variation of the number 51 into their patches. Patches for space launch have even been known to leak classified information. But the badges in the OP seem far less creative. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/creepy-kitschy-and-geeky-patches-us-spy-satellites-180953562/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/creepy-kitschy-... Example "51" badge: http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/04images/Patches/015.png http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/04images/Patches/0...

pyrocat 12y ago

Real hard hitting journalism there, WaPo.

Fando 12y ago

The ironic point is that the art looks to be a product of drug-influenced creativity.

nostromo 12y ago

With so many skulls, someone working at the DEA should ponder, "are we the baddies?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU

afarrell 12y ago
Fun fact: Those skulls originate not with the SS, but with a regiment that rose to fight off Napoleon. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Brunswickers http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Brunswickers Also, this painting: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Brunswicker_%28Millais%29#/media/File:John_Everett_Millais_The_Black_Brunswicker.jpg http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Brunswicker_%28Mill...