Political Hey Cop Haters, I’m Not One of You. You Should Be One of Me…

I’ll often describe my political writing as leftist, liberal, or progressive. And sometimes those labels carry the implication of people that hate cops, authority, and the system of law by default.

Despite all my ideals, I’m a realist and a strategist. Whenever I can, I teach young leftists, particularly the ones that spout off thinking they’re going to have some revolution, that the system is designed to crush violence, and that their best bet at effecting change is to use their first amendment rights, same way I do. I mean, look at what I was able to do, send corporate fraudsters running faster than the FTC could. Love or hate my politics, I’m always going to try to be a moral man. Educating young people on the fact that they can be successful in the current system through hard work and smart investment is paramount. My arguments are much more from a policy perspective and making that route as palatable as possible for the widest range of incomes and individuals. More people participating in the system means the system will be stronger. Let me not get too far off track here. (PRO TIP: Check out Verizon’s dividends.)

The bottom line is that I believe in the system and, as a general rule, trust the people that uphold it. Or at least am able to understand there’s good and bad everywhere. When I saw two cops had prevented a suicide on the Staten Island Ferry, it really made me think about some of the darker things I’ve written about police in the last few weeks. Was it unfair? Don’t ever let my criticism of systems reflect poorly on the good men, women, and otherwise that serve our counties, cities, states, and countries (I have readers outside the USA). There are many who feel public sector incomes are a waste. But how much value do you place on a human life? Obviously we can’t financially retire everybody that saves a life, there’d be too much incentive to fabricate. But can we please acknowledge that there ARE good people in government?

And those good people are cut down. Rest in peace, Jonathan Diller. I’ve read and watched tragedies like yours before. I will not forget if ever I’m in a position to effect change.

Those that believe government is a waste should step back and realize how ridiculously interconnected everything in this country is. Gutting things on the grounds that the government is too expensive to maintain is insane. Think through the impacts. A kind of inductive reasoning. It’s clear that government creates winners and losers. Plop a courthouse down and all the small businesses nearby get an influx of foot traffic on lunch hour. Just a single example. So why can’t we start writing policy that creates more winners? If we really did defund the police, would they have been there to save this man?

Will we be able to come up with policy that protects our protectors too?

Not if we continue to trust existing political parties, I feel.

Patriots Against Corporatism?

Fight the big money problem, we’ll have politicians unafraid to do what has to be done to meet the needs of the country. A government by its people and for its people.

And maybe we’ll remember that cops are people too.

P.S.

Never let my admiration of the good people I meet be mistaken for an unwillingness to point out systemic failures or the more bizarre things I see.

Never let my willingness to point out systemic failures be mistaken for an unwillingness to strengthen that system.

Should any of those young leftists I talked about come to this page, the first amendment is your best friend. If the government violates a constitutional right, you have systemic recourse. If you violate the law, the government has the right to interfere with your life. Don’t be like the “YouTube auditors” and use your free speech rights to be a jackass. And especially don’t use your rights to abuse cops. But understand that you’re allowed to organize with large groups of people online and off.

A lot of people hold the opinion that organizing online isn’t helpful or doesn’t amount to anything. This is false. We slew a fraud nonprofit with online organization. And on the right-wing end of the spectrum most of the book ban stuff was being done by like 12 people. Once again, a matter of people confidently spouting nonsense in the same way the AIs we created do. The internet has an impact on the world. That’s why world governments use troll farms to influence us.

Relatively small groups of people can have gigantic impacts on any one moment in time, and any one moment in time can change the course of history.

Fate is malleable. Does that scare people?

Am I afraid?

Evil apes duking it out on a giant ball.

Some apes, it seems, are more equal than others.

You see, it’s true. An ape like me can learn to be human too.

Don’t Let Yourself or Others Endanger Your Life, Career, or Peace

I’ve written before that a great many of us are givers. We’re cooperative. We’re pliable. It’s a soft skill in today’s world. It can open a lot of doors professionally. Let’s face it, when I’m not trying to spark a labor uprising, that’s who I am too, cooperatively working toward the mission of whoever I’m working for. Nobody was more about increasing shareholder value than Christopher Day in the private sector. My public sector work, I’m happy to talk about if I ever separate from service.

Today I’m going to share something that happened to me in the hopes that it’ll open the eyes of others that come across similar experiences and prevent them from making the same mistakes.

Many years ago, a member of the community encouraged me to get into the car with a driver that had been drinking. Without a word-for-word recounting, let’s just say it was a very scary experience that could’ve ended my career or killed me.

And yet I felt immense pressure to do it. This seems to be, from things I’ve read over the years, a quirk in human psychology. We want to be accepted. We’ll do things in groups that we would never do alone. Everything from violence to self-endangerment can quickly be normalized in a group setting. I’d even speculate that it’s partly that group dynamic thing that helps domestic violence thrive, though I’ll save why I believe that for another day.

And you may one day be in the position I was at and say to yourself, “it’s okay. This person has my back. Through thick or thin, we’ll tackle the issues together.” Ask me how I know.

Readers, let me tell you, the first person to phase out contact with me when I had my 2021 medical issue was the community member that had pressured me to get into that car many, many years ago.

I kept it to myself out of shame for a long time. But I realize that there are younger people reading. They will likely face some form of the things we have faced. If we do not share, how can they learn? How many mistakes have I never made in my own life because I had mentors willing to share private moments, thoughts, and feelings?

In the end, my choices were mine. I am lucky. My only real consequence was that I had a front row seat to just how little some people value me. A privilege that most people never experience. It might not swing that way for you. Your choices will be yours. So if you ever find yourself staring down a decision where someone that makes you feel safe is telling you to do something dangerous, my best advice is to pick the safest option for you. Because when the safest option for them is to ditch you, it’s not a discussion, they just do it.

P.S.

If any readers come from a background where drinking and driving was normalized or accepted, then you might understand this on an even deeper level. This is an activity that is dangerous for the perpetrator and others. It’s an activity that can have life-altering consequences even if no one gets hurt. But in some circles its danger is minimized or not acknowledged.

For example, someone close to me many years ago said, “eh, if I get caught I’ll just plead guilty, pay the fine, and it’ll be over with!” At that point in my life I had learned just how dangerous it was, and I explained that, in our jurisdiction, you don’t just pay a fine and get it over with. You get arrested and taken to a special testing area where, on camera, they’ll have you blow into an intoxilyzer and do the sobriety tests. Then you could be waiting up to 24 hours for your arraignment, at which time the judge will suspend your license for the duration of the criminal case. You want to plead guilty? Okay. Potentially lifelong criminal record, ignition interlock device mandated on every car you have access to for at least a year, drunk driving program. Your lawyer works out a sweetheart deal? Pretty much the same, maybe you get out of the criminal record. This is all assuming nobody’s hurt and no property is damaged. So even if you can’t stop yourself from drinking and driving on the grounds of “this is a dangerous activity,” at the very least look at it from the perspective of “if I do this, I could be wrapped up in a criminal court case for a year or more, and that can get very expensive in time and money very quickly.” And even if you blow under a 0.08, they might still have a viable case against you under a common law intoxication theory. That’s legalese for “you can beat the RAP, but you can’t beat the ride.”

For some people, driving is like water. They need it. It’s a part of them. Imagine giving the government a legal reason to mess with your ability to drive for a couple of years before you get behind that wheel after drinking.

Every single close relationship I’ve shared this with has told me they will never, ever risk it. As far as I can tell, if “you can put yourself and others in danger,” doesn’t work, “you can blow a whole lot of money and suffer a fairly traumatic experience where you’ll be at the mercy of the government for at least a year of your life” seems to work.

Perhaps public awareness campaigns can focus on the hassle the perpetrator will have to go through even if they “don’t do anything wrong.” I’ve found when you put into concrete terms for people what happens to them, they wise up fast.

And perhaps if any of you know someone at risk of doing any of this, you’ll pass this to them. If they’ve made it this far, they’ll know how deeply you care about them and what you were trying to protect them from, even if they’re not yet ready to acknowledge it.

And if you’re one of those people glancing at this, unready to make the changes that will protect yourself and others, remember the story of the Drowning Man. It’s a story that revolves around a man stranded on a rooftop that refuses help several times because he believes that God will save him. He reaches heaven and asks why God didn’t save him, and God remarks that he sent the help and the man turned it away. If you are religious, then perhaps God has sent some help and you should really take the time to reflect on that. If you are not so religious, perhaps you can still learn a little something from the story and how we, in our very human desires, sometimes overlook what we have for what we want.

You may want this message to come to you in some other way or at some other time, but here it is. I hope it helps.

Governments in America Seizing Journalist Devices and Records…

Recently the case of Tim Burke came to my attention. A journalist charged with no crime as of writing. His devices were seized by the FBI, harming his ability to do his job.

It’s now come to my attention that the Marion County Record had its office raided too. And it’s been reported that a co-owner died from the stress of the raid. It’s also been reported there was no probable cause affidavit attached.

Search Warrant from the raid on the Marion County Record

I did reach out to the police chief there. Though other journalists from the r/journalism subreddit told me it was a pretty standard police response.

Response from Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody

Generally I don’t bring non-court reporting stuff to this blog, but quite frankly throughout these last many years I’ve learned how underpaid journalists are. There are only maybe 50,000 of them according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the occupation is facing a 9% decline this decade. That pretty much means that 1 in 10 journalists is going to be losing their job this decade as the population continues to grow. There will be more and more news with less and less coverage. If you’ve ever wondered why not a single journalist seems interested in the court reporter shortage fraud, it might be because they’re overworked, underpaid, and willing to lap up whatever crap the companies in our field say. But the situation as a whole gives me a natural bias toward supporting journalists.

Of course, I leave my mind open to the possibility that journalists can use their position to facilitate crime, but given the absence of a probable cause affidavit, it’s looking less likely now. I’ll create an addendum if I learn more.

This is a concern. If everyone from small-town governments to the Feds can just come claim journalists’ stuff for “investigation,” then what good is our constitution, really? “We can violate you as much as we want, and you might win in court later, but in the interim, your mom’s dead and your life’s upended.” There were also journalists targeted during 2020, according to one article.

The satire I wrote on this issue may just come to life someday. To the extent I’m a citizen journalist that writes against powerful people, I may one day see unjust retribution. If this style of censorship comes to your municipality, please stand up against it. If the citizens don’t demand free speech, those who uphold the law have shown they don’t mind trampling it.

And when your news is only coming from government-approved sources, are you really free?

Addendum:

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued a letter.

A court later ordered copies of the electronic records destroyed.