Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Trump Has Protesters Gassed for Photo-Op
Donald Trump gave orders yesterday for federal police to remove peaceful protesters from the area around the White House so that he could walk to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo op. Tear gas and rubber bullets broke up the protest as Mr. Trump addressed the world in a deranged and rambling series of threats from the Rose Garden. A few minutes later, he walked across the cleared area to the church where he had a photo taken of himself holding a Bible in his right hand. The book was upside down, and the episcopal bishop was upset because no one asked her if the church could be used at all. As TV moments go, it was not as good as a Gilligan's Island repeat, and it was much more dangerous.
The president had not been seen for several days, and reports out of the White House suggest his actions yesterday stemmed from an intense desire to win a news cycle. Apparently, he had taken great exception to being portrayed as a coward for cowering in the bunker under the White house, and unfortunately, that is what he was doing Friday night. So, some chest beating was in order.
After falsely claiming to be an ally of all peaceful protesters, the president said he would use the US armed forces to restore order if the governors of the various states could not do the job. "Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," Mr. Trump said. "If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."
He can not do that. The Insurrection Act of 1807 may give him the legal authority to do that, but the Posse Comitatus Act of 1867 may prevent it. One thing is certain; the military would do just about anything to avoid being put on the streets of the US. They could not pacify Afghanistan. One cannot imagine them pacifying the US, where there are more guns that people and where the troops live. A long fight over disobeying illegal orders would ensure. Local and state authorities would also act to prevent it.
The president seems to think that the problem is that the authorities have been weak. He told the nation's governors yesterday on a conference call, "You have to dominate. If you don't dominate, you’re wasting your time. They're going to run over you. You're going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate. And you have to arrest people and you have to try people, and they have to go jail for long periods of time." He has it wrong.
The problem is that the authorities have been unjust. Police officers have carte blanche to do as they will in many jurisdictions and even in places where their freedom to act is limited, they get every benefit of every doubt.
One does not dispute that the job of police officer in a free society is a difficult and demanding job. Neither does one dispute that many men and women wearing a badge and carrying a gun are genuinely patriotic, caring people. But some are not. And the good police cover up for the bad police, meaning they aren't all that good in the first place.
There are reforms that should be made. The police should not carry firearms without years of service and special training. There should be a separate agency that investigates and tries all police brutality cases rather than the local DA. The police should have to live in the jurisdiction they patrol. They should get out of their cars and walk their beats. They should be paid more. They should be screened for psychological and moral imbalances. Above all, the police must not be the one-stop shop for social ills.
Of course, none of this is going to happen while Mr. Trump is in the White House.
© Copyright 2020 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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