Harm? Not Here (Update)

Whether it's proof of entropy (which isn't what it used to be) or a variation of Godwin's Law, SJ has been inundated of late with comments by non-lawyers urging that people "kill the armed thugs," or some similar sentiment suggesting that harm be done to police officers.  You, dear readers, wouldn't know this because I delete the comments and, most of the time, ban the commenter. But I see it, and the problem has grown bad enough, large enough, disturbing enough, that I feel compelled to write about it.

No.

First, the idea of promoting rank hatred and harm is anathema to what I hope to accomplish. If there is a goal here, it is to illuminate.  Sure, there are many posts here that address police abuse and misconduct, but the purpose is to let people know that it's happening in order to illuminate the problem and, hopefully, change attitudes so that such conduct will not be tolerated.

But harm cops?  Harm anyone? Never. The solution is no more doing harm than the answer to murder is to execute people. 

Cops are people. Some cops do some pretty awful things, and like any other person, should be held to suffer the consequences of their wrongs.  But not all cops are evil, and not even the cop who does something wrong, even something terribly wrong, is necessarily a monster. He could well be the same cop who saves a life one day, then violates someone's constitutional rights the day after.

People aren't one dimensional, all good or all evil. That's true of defendants. It's also true of cops. It's true of everyone, and the inability to realize the absurdity of characterizing a human being as a unidimensional entity, with people who love him, with better and worse days, with a bad attitude and good intentions, is inexcusable.  It's wrong when a cop does it. It's wrong when a prosecutor does it. It's wrong when you do it too.

Your simplistic outburst, your anger and frustration, may be understandable, but it will not be tolerated here. No comment urging harm to anyone, cop or otherwise, will see the light of day at SJ.

Bear in mind, this is my soapbox, not yours. You think you're right? You think you're a bold visionary, with the solution to society's problems?  That's fabulous. Start a blog of your own and write anything you please.  I'm a huge free speech advocate, and fully support your right to express whatever stupidity strikes your fancy.  But you have no free speech rights here. This is my home, and I will not allow insanity to be spewed.

The internet is a huge place, perhaps without limits provided government and lawprofs don't fix the place to make sure everybody is happy.  No doubt you will find others who share your views and will cheer you on. There is a dark corner for almost everyone, and if you can't find anyone who believes as you do on the internet, then you win the prize for being the singular freakiest human being ever.

But that doesn't make your anger and hatred right. It makes you nuts, and the hallelujah chorus you hear behind you just as nuts, if only a bit dumber.  The only thing violence begets is more violence, despite whatever bone in your head fails to connect to reality.  Calling for harm to be done to anyone, especially cops, is dangerous, counter-productive and, most importantly, the wrong answer. 

We need police.  There are some bad dudes out there who will harm you and harm your children. Regardless of how you feel about the bad dudes, you really don't want them doing you or your kids harm.  And though you might question the efficacy of the police with some excellent justification, they still do the things that either protect us from the bad dudes or keep the bad dudes in check.  Not always. Not always well. But they're all we have, and we would be worse off without them much of the time.

And then, every once in a while, a cop does something truly heroic and selfless for another person.  Never forget that this happens.

So the bottom line is that while I am happy to have anyone interested in anything that appears at SJ read and, perhaps, think more deeply about the issues raised here, this isn't a blog dedicated to hatred, violence and harm. There are many other places where your views will be embraced, but not here.

Stop it. Don't do it. I will not tolerate it. There will be no mention, ever, of harming anyone allowed in the comments at SJ.  And if you were half as smart and sane as you think you are, you would never want to write such a thing in the first place. 

Update:  A post at WindyPundit provides an excellent complement to the point that the bad cop can do good and the good cop can do bad. As Mark says, "[t]here’s no contradiction here."

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