tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post4385862364582675409..comments2023-06-18T04:17:59.375-04:00Comments on Dogslandia: Trying to Make Sense of the Peter Watts conviction...J m mcdermotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16433637277106963701noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-8360747411471071912010-03-22T20:26:16.964-04:002010-03-22T20:26:16.964-04:00I'm thirty and managed never to get arrested e...I'm thirty and managed never to get arrested even once. Admittedly, I'm white, middle class, and spend most of my time in the suburbs built expressly for our somnambulistic shuffle between employment, retail, and respectable housing.<br /><br />Speaking of which, time for some retail.<br /><br />You know, one of us ought to *write* something about this whole mess. You first. (I'm busy with mythic women...)J m mcdermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16433637277106963701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-67077726841940948752010-03-22T20:16:46.620-04:002010-03-22T20:16:46.620-04:00The readers must understand in whatever country an...The readers must understand in whatever country and I've been in many, you must force a smile, make yourself small, follow orders explicitly, use the words officer or sir, apologize for moving slow and try to make them understand you have a bad back, bad balance, etc. Remove all sarcasm from your responses to questions. Say I'm sorry frequently and for those with a white skin, act as if black. Follow this advice, however repugnant and you will get through the situation unharmed(95% chance), Do otherwise and you will get the Skip Gates treatment. In the US and Canada that means arrest. In other counties you may never be seen again. I do not like it. But anytime you encounter anyone with a uniform and a gun, do not be casual. Think something bad may happen and act accordingly. I have followed my own advice and only been arrested twice in sixty years and thousands of encounters at borders and traffic stops.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-59957499315088053822010-03-22T19:10:07.018-04:002010-03-22T19:10:07.018-04:00In my life, I've encountered only one "go...In my life, I've encountered only one "good" cop, who did not seem like he was itching for some action. I've encountered more than one bully with a hard-on for pushing people around. It's all anecdotal, but I hesitate to denigrate an entire profession when there are good people out there - at least one guy out there.<br /><br />I think the problem stems from a cultural mindset of being "tough" on crime. It's very hard for most people, in my experience, to realize that that actually translates to being "tough on citizens", who are just criminals that haven't been caught, yet. People like you and me are easily mistaken for criminals. This is especially true in minority communities that struggle with far worse offenses than what Dr Peter Watts went through on a regular basis. <br /><br />I don't think there's any solution that could be deemed permanent until the laws are written such that they start to assume that bad people are drawn to positions of authority in much the same way the constitution assumes that power is a corrupting influence.J m mcdermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16433637277106963701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-20088559800967255182010-03-22T17:51:42.349-04:002010-03-22T17:51:42.349-04:00This isn't an unusual incident, sadly. Americ...This isn't an unusual incident, sadly. American law enforcement is crawling with people who think of themselves as demigods and regard everyone else as an occupied population to be subdued, and a combination of public sycophancy and government corruption and collusion makes it almost impossible to hold them accountable.John Markleyhttp://www.scifibookspot.com/markley/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-81053132879485370372010-03-21T16:13:49.893-04:002010-03-21T16:13:49.893-04:00I don't know if there is cause for appeal, but...I don't know if there is cause for appeal, but there is certainly cause for concern that there was no attempt at pressing charges against the border agents that roughed up Dr Watts.J m mcdermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16433637277106963701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-49812650473715848742010-03-21T00:28:59.360-04:002010-03-21T00:28:59.360-04:00Show me the bell curve that marks a quantifiable m...Show me the bell curve that marks a quantifiable measure of what 'move fast enough' is.<br /><br />I want to see how this measure factors with individual situational awareness, and physical capabilities. <br /><br />i.e one person is stressed another calm - relationships of time differ given measures of phycological human factors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290475723451787293.post-37016027812276403412010-03-20T22:32:28.583-04:002010-03-20T22:32:28.583-04:00Very sad. I live just outside Port Huron, and have...Very sad. I live just outside Port Huron, and have dealt with the bridge crossing several times. The sarcasm, disrespect, and power mongering is unfortunately the common element in dealing with the border guards. Whether they stop your car and harass you seems to be up to random chance or their whim, more than for any real security suspicion.Jasonnoreply@blogger.com