What lessons have we learned in the past three years?

[jaxson50]

21 minutes ago, Whitefang said:

You mean like the metro Detroit cop who shot the Australian woman in pajamas and armed with a CELL PHONE?  

And if young black men were wary and apprehensive about police before, I guess you pointed out that black kids that are "big for their age" need to beware too.

Whitefang

You are making everything race centered, the kid stood 5' 10" ,  the caller reported a man with a gun. A black officer would have done the same thing most likely.  As for your idea of shooting a warning shot?

Cops are not trained to give "warning shots " for a good reason.  Again remember the officers have not had time to check out the situation,  all they know is a man with a weapon was reported. There may be more than one, giving a warning shot might convince other shooters to open fire, there is another  officer present. Hearing the warning shot, that officer will most likely start shooting.  

You are focused on the race of the suspect, in the case you presented race didn't play a role in the outcome. Guns are not members of any race,  when a 911 call comes in reporting a man with a gun, or a shooting in progress the officers will be focused on the gun period,  if your holding the gun, you become the person on interest.

Just last month an of duty sheriff in Washington State (a white officer) was killed by a on duty police officer when the sheriff's wife called 911 to report a home invasion taking place at the sheriff officers home, the police officer saw the off duty sheriff in street clothes armed with a semi auto rifle and opened fire on him killing him., but i doubt you  care  about the facts because 1, the victim and the shooter were both white, and both were officers and you are cheering that one is dead and the other will most likely end his career.  Your bias/prejudice outweighs your logical ability to comprehend the situation.  

Edited April 3, 2022 by jaxson50

[fortyearspickn]

34 minutes ago, Whitefang said:

You mean like the metro Detroit cop who shot the Australian woman in pajamas and armed with a CELL PHONE?  

And if young black men were wary and apprehensive about police before, I guess you pointed out that black kids that are "big for their age" need to beware too.

Whitefang

I  Googled this to refresh my memory - I was right - the woman killed was white.  The officer was sentenced to 11 years. Doesn't that have zero to do with your claim we are  "  letting the indiscriminate  murder of clearly innocent young black men by police go unaddressed? "   In your home town, too !      I guess some of us haven't learned anything in the past 3 years. 

[jaxson50]

4 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

I  Googled this to refresh my memory - I was right - the woman killed was white.  The officer was sentenced to 11 years. Doesn't that have zero to do with your claim we are  "  letting the indiscriminate  murder of clearly innocent young black men by police go unaddressed? "   In your home town, too !      I guess some of us haven't learned anything in the past 3 years. 

Ever notice police don't riot when someone kills a cop? 

[Whitefang]

23 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

I  Googled this to refresh my memory - I was right - the woman killed was white.  The officer was sentenced to 11 years. Doesn't that have zero to do with your claim we are  "  letting the indiscriminate  murder of clearly innocent young black men by police go unaddressed? "   In your home town, too !      I guess some of us haven't learned anything in the past 3 years. 

It was brought up to address the "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude of many police officers.   And while the woman in question was white, it doesn't diminish the preponderance of young black men and boys killed needlessly by police.    And Jaxson, don't bring up some "police duress when approaching an armed suspect" horseflop.  I'm referring to those incidents when the "suspect" was shot while NOT approaching the officer(s) in question and NOT armed.  And not even in the process of committing any crime.

Whitefang

[jaxson50]

2 hours ago, Whitefang said:

It was brought up to address the "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude of many police officers.   And while the woman in question was white, it doesn't diminish the preponderance of young black men and boys killed needlessly by police.    And Jaxson, don't bring up some "police duress when approaching an armed suspect" horseflop.  I'm referring to those incidents when the "suspect" was shot while NOT approaching the officer(s) in question and NOT armed.  And not even in the process of committing any crime.

Whitefang

So you prefer the be shot first approach?

We have established the fact that we disagree on this topic. No need investing more time beating  a  dead horse,  so let's get back to the subject of the OP which is. " What have we learned in the past 3 years? "

Logistics is everything,  that is a common doctrine of military strategy,  it should be understood by everyone that the same doctrine applies to our everyday life. 

Globalism has just faced it's first great test and resoundingly failed. It may have Bern a noble cause back in the 1990s, but it is abundantly clear that mankind is not ready for that quantum leap. 

Shorter supply chains, energy independence ( for every nation to the best of that nations ability) is going to be the next strategic shift in policy making I believe,.

Not just for economic security of each nation,  but for the security of the world. We see bad actors getting away with invasions of neighboring nations, but because they are a major supplier of energy to others nations nobody is willing to challenge them,  

Edited April 4, 2022 by jaxson50

[fortyearspickn]

5 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

So you prefer the be shot first approach?

We have established the fact that we disagree on this topic. No need investing more time beating  a  dead horse,  so let's get back to the subject of the OP which is. " What have we learned in the past 3 years? "

Logistics is everything,  that is a common doctrine of military strategy,  it should be understood by everyone that the same doctrine applies to our everyday life. 

Globalism has just faced it's first great test and resoundingly failed. It may have Bern a noble cause back in the 1990s, but it is abundantly clear that mankind is not ready for that quantum leap. 

Shorter supply chains, energy independence ( for every nation to the best of that nations ability) is going to be the next strategic shift in policy making I believe,.

Not just for economic security of each nation,  but for the security of the world. We see bad actors getting away with invasions of neighboring nations, but because they are a major supplier of energy to others nations nobody is willing to challenge them,  

Yeah.  Same world leaders who are letting Russia get away with murder (and rape and torture), want to give another oil producing oligarchy (Iran) have nukes.   I fear for my grandchildren 1000x more than I did 20 years ago. 

[tx-ogre]

10 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

So you prefer the be shot first approach?

We have established the fact that we disagree on this topic. No need investing more time beating  a  dead horse,  so let's get back to the subject of the OP which is. " What have we learned in the past 3 years? "

Logistics is everything,  that is a common doctrine of military strategy,  it should be understood by everyone that the same doctrine applies to our everyday life. 

Globalism has just faced it's first great test and resoundingly failed. It may have Bern a noble cause back in the 1990s, but it is abundantly clear that mankind is not ready for that quantum leap. 

Shorter supply chains, energy independence ( for every nation to the best of that nations ability) is going to be the next strategic shift in policy making I believe,.

Not just for economic security of each nation,  but for the security of the world. We see bad actors getting away with invasions of neighboring nations, but because they are a major supplier of energy to others nations nobody is willing to challenge them,  

I tried to hold my tongue (or more accurately my fingers) on this thread, but I just couldn’t resist any longer.  You are wasting your time.  I am a firm believer in the old adage that it’s fruitless to engage in battles of wit with unarmed opponents.  Or as that great American philosopher, Forrest Gump, once said: “Stupid is as stupid does.”

You are correct when you question the “wisdom” of anyone who believes that someone can only defend themselves after their adversary shoots at them first.  Pure crapola.  And as you mentioned, shooting a suspect in the back is permissible under certain circumstance.   Deadly force is authorized in self-defense or in the defense of a third-party.   If I walked up on a situation and a suspect is armed with a deadly weapon (gun, knife, blunt object, etc.) and is about to assault a fellow officer or civilian, I would be totally justified to shoot them in the back.  I couldn’t claim self-defense, but the shooting would still be justified.

I believe I saw some mention of warning shots in earlier posts.  That was a stupid idea more than three years ago and is just as stupid now.  One of the first things my firearms instructors said, (right after telling us that trying to shoot the gun out of suspect’s hand is a fool’s errand), is that we were not allowed to fire warning shots under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.  That policy was based on the simple theory that “what goes up, must come down.”  If we were to fire an unaimed bullet in the air, it would eventually stop going up and would reverse course, coming back down to earth, picking up speed/velocity on the way down.  And that bullet is going to hit something, or worse yet somebody, on the way down.  Kinda like how you hear stories every New Years after the usual idiots go outside at midnight and start shooting their guns in the air.  And inevitably some poor schmuck (or schmuckette), who was unfortunate enough to be standing in their yard or walking down the street, has one of these stray bullets come down, striking them in the head and killing them.   Can you imagine the tongue-wagging and mouth breathing the media, politicians and other usual suspects, would be doing if some 5 year old kid on a playground was killed after being struck in the head by an errant “warning shot?”  Would they be praising the wisdom of the officer for firing the warning?  Or would they be calling for that officers head on a pike?  I’m pretty sure I know the answer to those questions.
 

Okay, my rant is over for now.

[jaxson50]

Tex, I couldn't say it any better.  I have to ask, how many of these negative encounters for lack of a  better term, would not end up on the news is suspects were compliant?

That one word, one frame of mind, compliance.  

[tx-ogre]

1 hour ago, jaxson50 said:

Tex, I couldn't say it any better.  I have to ask, how many of these negative encounters for lack of a  better term, would not end up on the news is suspects were compliant?

That one word, one frame of mind, compliance.  

There are a lot of factors in each of these individual cases. The common denominator in many cases is the  resisting arrest.  There is always the possibility of bad things happening anytime a suspect resists arrest.  If you have a problem with what’s going on, contesting it on the street at the time of arrest , is not going to end well.

I can speak of this from a personal perspective.  While I was on active duty with the Marine Corps, I was stationed in Okinawa for one year.  One night, I was off-base, so under local jurisdiction.  I was standing on a sidewalk, with my head inside a patio door, talking to a mama-san, that is was visiting.  The next thing I know, I see two guys running up the sidewalk toward me with flashlights blazing.  Turned out the two guys were JPs (Japanese Police) and they were there investigating a report of a local Japanese woman who was assaulted by an American male.   The JPs demanded that I follow them down to a vacant lot, where they sat me down.  A few minutes later, another JP vehicle arrived with the crime victim for a “show up.”  The victim got out, took one look at me, advised that she knew me and that I was not the perpetrator of the crime.  The JPs told me to go back to the base, which I complied with without hesitation.  
 

Now, I knew from the first minute, I was innocent of any wrongdoing.  And I also knew that the JPs did not have a habit of “bum rapping” anyone for things they didn’t do.  So, it was just a matter of cooperating and I would be okay.  Many of the “locals” knew me and came to my defense.  Had I got “froggy” and chose to leap, I would have had a very bad night.  Although I was a foot taller and about 60 lbs. heavier than each of the JPs, and had I been able to channel my “inner Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal,” I still would have experienced a very bad day.  Despite the JPs being required to be a certain degree of black belt in karate to be hired, they were also equipped with nightsticks and firearms.  So as you might expect, I would have lost that particular fight.  And possibly ended up being shipped home in a pine box.  At the end of the day, it’s their country.

And you have to keep in mind that there was no “police brutality” in Okinawa/Japan.  You could piss and moan all you wanted, but it wasn’t going to accomplish anything.   So, choosing to act a fool and attempt to prove a point, was futile.

So, as you can imagine, common sense prevailed that night.  Rather than act a fool, I went back to the base uninjured and not in custody.  As it should have been without any acts of stupidity.  Perhaps some other people would benefit from learning from my experience.  Yeah right.  Wishful thinking.

Edited April 5, 2022 by tx-ogre

[fortyearspickn]

The media  will also jump on the 'shot him in the back' cliche without considering whether the suspect was shooting over his shoulder, or had shot at the officer and then spun around to run as the officer was returning fire.   There was a case in Atlanta in June 2020- that caused some 'protests'   - because it fits the narrative  which WhiteFang is claiming is common:    "who do we blame for letting the indiscriminate  murder of clearly innocent young black men by police go unaddressed?  "  If you Google that Wendy's Shooting -  you'll find dozens of results that all state 'White cop shoots unarmed black man in back.".   But you will not get any answers to the final legal outcome.  Because it didn't fit the narrative. 

So - to return to the thread ---  What have we learned in the past 3 years?   We've learned a lot about  'peaceful protests'    Of business, church and school lockdowns.   Of 'national scientific experts' who tell us  'no masks' then 'yes  masks' then 'two masks'    We're still learning about covered up 'laptops' .  But,  I would hope at least we all here could at least agree on One Single Solitary Learning -    that the Media is dishonest. Dishonest to the point of being the cause of most of the problems and divisiveness we've seen spring up  - glaringly in the past 3 years - but going back at least 20. 

[jvi]

some media is bs, not all, just avoid cable news and select your media with some thought 

[NighthawkChris]

I find I am much happier when I don’t tune into the “news”. It makes peoples’ blood boil when they watch certain issues and that can’t be good, right? And I’m mostly pertaining to current world event or political garbage. 

[Nifty]

Anyone notice people in general, are more aggressive today than before?  There is an anger I haven't seen.

My commute to work is like a case study in defensive driving.  I'm not the slowest driver and I have the citations to prove it.  But what I am seeing now on the road is downright insane.  There is a difference in driving fast and then driving like a total a-hole.

Social media - the amount of  arguing has increased.  The one-upsmanship, the back and forth.... good night people take what someone else posts to a point they get physically mad.   The social media tech giants don't help either because they have shown their own fact checking abilities are far from accurate. 

Restaurants - I know many who work in the industry.   They have complaints too.   Short tempered customers,  stiffed on tips,  customers with a disregard for other customers.   It's just not what it was.   A friend of mine manages one place and she said it's nearly impossible to keep everyone who works there happy because it can be so contentious at times.  And with shortages, the attitude spills over to overworked staff.

Schools - violence is on the rise.  I won't say much more other than I deal with this daily. 

 

I dont know what it is, but something has happened.

 

[fortyearspickn]

18 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said:

I find I am much happier when I don’t tune into the “news”. It makes peoples’ blood boil when they watch certain issues and that can’t be good, right? And I’m mostly pertaining to current world event or political garbage. 

Happier. Yep. And sleep better.  I've found that's how I can tell when I need to tone it down. 

[Whitefang]

1.  If y'all are going to always take what I post WAY out of context,  or misinterpret it, I  guess further debate is pointless.

I never said anything about a "shot first approach".  One case I brought up referred to a young black man walking in the direction of a group of officers,  but at least ten yards away, and on a course that was progressively widening the distance between him and them.  The officers opened fire on the unarmed young man anyway.

Back to what we've learned in the last three years.....

That some will believe what their favorite iNet or radio "pundit" says, or an elected orangutan  over an experienced specialist in a specific field.

   But gladly(and hopefully) people are getting around to learning that bearded beer guts wearing army surplus camo and sporting assault weapons are NOT REALLY the defenders of our freedom they like to pretend to be.   And what's up with those earlobes? 

That more people care more about being allowed to do what they like to do and not the health and safety of their other loved ones or the people around them. 

That people will SAY they wish to unite the country, but not if being united means it has to be with people that don't think or act the way they do.

32 minutes ago, Nifty said:

Anyone notice people in general, are more aggressive today than before?  There is an anger I haven't seen.

My commute to work is like a case study in defensive driving.  I'm not the slowest driver and I have the citations to prove it.  But what I am seeing now on the road is downright insane.  There is a difference in driving fast and then driving like a total a-hole.

Social media - the amount of  arguing has increased.  The one-upsmanship, the back and forth.... good night people take what someone else posts to a point they get physically mad.   The social media tech giants don't help either because they have shown their own fact checking abilities are far from accurate. 

Restaurants - I know many who work in the industry.   They have complaints too.   Short tempered customers,  stiffed on tips,  customers with a disregard for other customers.   It's just not what it was.   A friend of mine manages one place and she said it's nearly impossible to keep everyone who works there happy because it can be so contentious at times.  And with shortages, the attitude spills over to overworked staff.

Schools - violence is on the rise.  I won't say much more other than I deal with this daily. 

 

I dont know what it is, but something has happened.

 

1.  There's been a "Me first" and "look out for #1"  attitude in this country for quite some time now.  Where ya been?

2. Since I'm retired I've no more "commute to work" issues anymore.  But both my daughters agree with me in that I'll gladly pay any property tax increase if it's proved  the money will go towards returning driver's ed courses back in the high school.  NIFTY;  That you're not the slowest driver would be a Godsend to my girls.  They both constantly gripe about idiots getting into the left lane on the freeway( AKA; the "fast lane") and barely reaching 20 below the speed limit(70mph in MI.)  

I myself find a lot of driver idiocy on just the main roads.  Like, what's up with this trend of seemingly counting to 20 after the light turns green before finally locating the gas pedal?    Or the other trend I see where many feel the need to stop THREE CAR LENGTHS behind the car in front of them at a light?    OR coming to damn near a complete stop before turning from the main road onto a side street, or into the parking lot of a convenience store?

I can go on, but just thinking of this stuff has my breakfast churning.

3. Social media( or what Rat in "Pearls Before Swine" calls "unsocial media") has always seemed to think it's better than it ever really was.  I got out after a few months and when it was clear if you didn't go along with the majority or joined in on the like minded "circle jerk" you're not really all that welcome.  And there are more phonies than in RUPAUL'S "drag race".  

4.  My Grandmother, Mother, Brother and I have all worked in the food industry.  Mom and Grandma for years as both waitresses and cooks.  There's always been contentious customers, cheap tippers and unruly customers disregarding other patrons.  But you're right.  I've noticed even back when my wife and I would go out to eat there's an untold increase in them.  I even have a sister in law who'll forego tipping the waitress with the complaint that the food wasn't any good.  And all of us reminding her that the waitress didn't cook it doesn't  matter to her.

And don't get me started on school violence.  That is, if it was all the school shootings you were averting to.

Whitefang

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Whitefang

[jaxson50]

As some have observed,  I believe media plays a much larger role in our behavior than ever before, Twitter and TicTok,  included in the media mix. 

Those of us born before 1990 grew up in an era when the nightly news was delivered in 30 minutes by reporters who spent a career giving us facts with out personal opinion or political spin,  Walter Cronkite knew informed us of political affiliation,  just the facts.  Today we can't get away from "news." 

I wonder if the human mind is just reaching the point of overload. 

[Nifty]

41 minutes ago, Whitefang said:

1.  If y'all are going to always take what I post WAY out of context,  or misinterpret it, I  guess further debate is pointless.

I never said anything about a "shot first approach".  One case I brought up referred to a young black man walking in the direction of a group of officers,  but at least ten yards away, and on a course that was progressively widening the distance between him and them.  The officers opened fire on the unarmed young man anyway.

Back to what we've learned in the last three years.....

That some will believe what their favorite iNet or radio "pundit" says, or an elected orangutan  over an experienced specialist in a specific field.

   But gladly(and hopefully) people are getting around to learning that bearded beer guts wearing army surplus camo and sporting assault weapons are NOT REALLY the defenders of our freedom they like to pretend to be.   And what's up with those earlobes? 

That more people care more about being allowed to do what they like to do and not the health and safety of their other loved ones or the people around them. 

That people will SAY they wish to unite the country, but not if being united means it has to be with people that don't think or act the way they do.

1.  There's been a "Me first" and "look out for #1"  attitude in this country for quite some time now.  Where ya been?

2. Since I'm retired I've no more "commute to work" issues anymore.  But both my daughters agree with me in that I'll gladly pay any property tax increase if it's proved  the money will go towards returning driver's ed courses back in the high school.  NIFTY;  That you're not the slowest driver would be a Godsend to my girls.  They both constantly gripe about idiots getting into the left lane on the freeway( AKA; the "fast lane") and barely reaching 20 below the speed limit(70mph in MI.)  

I myself find a lot of driver idiocy on just the main roads.  Like, what's up with this trend of seemingly counting to 20 after the light turns green before finally locating the gas pedal?    Or the other trend I see where many feel the need to stop THREE CAR LENGTHS behind the car in front of them at a light?    OR coming to damn near a complete stop before turning from the main road onto a side street, or into the parking lot of a convenience store?

I can go on, but just thinking of this stuff has my breakfast churning.

3. Social media( or what Rat in "Pearls Before Swine" calls "unsocial media") has always seemed to think it's better than it ever really was.  I got out after a few months and when it was clear if you didn't go along with the majority or joined in on the like minded "circle jerk" you're not really all that welcome.  And there are more phonies than in RUPAUL'S "drag race".  

4.  My Grandmother, Mother, Brother and I have all worked in the food industry.  Mom and Grandma for years as both waitresses and cooks.  There's always been contentious customers, cheap tippers and unruly customers disregarding other patrons.  But you're right.  I've noticed even back when my wife and I would go out to eat there's an untold increase in them.  I even have a sister in law who'll forego tipping the waitress with the complaint that the food wasn't any good.  And all of us reminding her that the waitress didn't cook it doesn't  matter to her.

And don't get me started on school violence.  That is, if it was all the school shootings you were averting to.

Whitefang

 

 

The pause at the light - usually someone on their phone (texting or whatever) not paying attention.

 

[Nifty]

39 minutes ago, jaxson50 said:

As some have observed,  I believe media plays a much larger role in our behavior than ever before, Twitter and TicTok,  included in the media mix. 

Those of us born before 1990 grew up in an era when the nightly news was delivered in 30 minutes by reporters who spent a career giving us facts with out personal opinion or political spin,  Walter Cronkite knew informed us of political affiliation,  just the facts.  Today we can't get away from "news." 

I wonder if the human mind is just reaching the point of overload. 

 I worked for an NBC affiliate - in the studio -  back in the 80s.    At the time I didnt much care about anything other than trying to hook up with one of the reporters. 

We had two producers who ran the show.   One of them hated Reagan with a passion.    So any national feed that reported something negative he made sure aired.   We'd get national stories fed to us all day and used any of those to fill time,   The other guy was friends with ppl in the mayor's office.   He was also shacking up with the asst news director.   So you see things on the news but knew there was always something else going on.   The local paper would create problems.    The entire place was a zoo to work in and somewhat entertaining.   But looking back, it was incredibly bias.  

The problem news has now is, there is so much that people can find out for themselves.     But I think it's more about ratings, money and an agenda now.  

[NighthawkChris]

Here’s my semi-incoherent rant I had to blurt out. Going to Angryville again haha!

@Nifty it always has come down to money.  When in all of humanity has there been action that has not benefited the rich and powerful?  Media is driven by this. 

Think back about say, 2009-ish...  People were JUST getting their "smartphones".  I being a huge nerd saw the implications of this.  I spend my life setting up computer networks and setting up tech.  I even know low-level programming - again SW/Electrical engineer.  I remember the first smartphone I had - Samsung Moment with a v.1.6 Android.  I was happy that I got the GPS thing because I was tired of printing up all the MapQuest garbage - which was better than highlighter and gas station maps, haha!  But the GPS was AWESOME - literally my favorite thing about the "smartphone".  It had a browser which was actually usable compared to the other crap that was around then. 

So these phones made or world A LOT smaller.  We had leaps and bounds of advancement on just tracking the population and now this data collection mess comes into play.  I mean, the world today is going at light-speed compared to pre-2000s. 

But like everything, take the good with the bad.  Social media, ease of accessing sensitive data that corporations/establishments now need a counter-cyber program of sorts (IT support and such)...  This stuff never existed then like it is NEEDED today.  We have spy devices littered in our homes - Alexa, Google Home... - and our phone, the biggest spy device that eliminates the need for microchipping each one of us, and we all are putting in the data faster than the corporate powers can handle.  I mean, data collection as there before, but it's scaled up - WAYYY UP - today.  Our privacy and such online is nonexistent.  You can VPN all you want or TOR browse, you're done for if you bought a phone with some identifiable payment source. 

Overall, the division was exploited by this tech-network that communications have brought to our world.  We can seek ANYTHING at our fingertips in a moment's notice.  We can even seek information we like to see to affirm some of our beliefs - which being objectively true or not is not relevant.  All I do today (try to) is not contribute to anything corporate controlled, I run Linux, I have a password manager that makes passwords I cannot even explain what they are...  Just improve your OPSEC and quit being a sheep when you go online.  And by sheep, I mean there are wolves out there looking to eat the sheep - i.e. people who don't know jack s*** about computers and understand nothing about what the internet actually IS - lol!  So I don't buy into the garbage that's out there in corporate structures.  They care about profits, not letting me know what's there.  They want to put out stuff that makes money and if inciting division is that profiteering-tool, then so be it they say.  They want to be INCLUSIVE because why shut out people of color that have the same money that spends the same...  Does anyone think that the corporate powers CARE about inclusiveness?  Well, yes, if it makes them money.  It's basically the same as it always was but the tools to reach you and invade your privacy is abundant - and even installed in your home WILLFULLY!  You wouldn't catch a flipping Alexa device in my house...  No my house is a great DUMB house.  No WiFi refrigerators, washing machines, Ring doorbells, nothing...  If I have a security system in my house, it's running on a Linux system that I control.  I pay for the hardware, I don't want sneaky, spooky Alexa 900MHz radios inside it without my knowledge creating mesh networks with my neighbors' Alexa.  I value privacy more than convenience.  But again, I have a phone, so how much am I actually protecting myself I wonder...  Rhetorical question for myself...  Hence, people have a great way of making stuff suck.  Rant over.  I learned this a few years back and continue to learn of the corporate assault on us as my ISP plans change and what I have to sign up for with identifiable information, etc.  They want to own you to sell YOU.  Literally FB's model.  Have fun liking all those racist uncle comments that call Obama some pretty unkind things (not defending Obama, he's an "elite" who bailed out the banks back in 2009, but the racist crap was uncalled for).  Fueling the engine... 

Edited April 5, 2022 by NighthawkChris

[jaxson50]

2 hours ago, Nifty said:

 

The pause at the light - usually someone on their phone (texting or whatever) not paying attention.

 

I have witnessed the following many times, I would love to hear an explanation of why this is happening.

I'm at a signal light,  first in line, next to mne is a police car,  our light turns green, three cars run the red light,  the cop does nothing, nada, zip.  Once I was at a red light and a school bus blew through a red light,  officer in car next to me, nothing, then a few months ago I was at a signal light,  there was one motorcycle cop in front of my, and four (4) behind me,  our light turned green and five vehicles blew through the red light.

The five officers did nothing..... so what I learned by witnessing these events is that it is legal to run a red light.

[Whitefang]

18 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

The five officers did nothing..... so what I learned by witnessing these events is that it is legal to run a red light.

Until YOU blow through one that is.  

I've never witnessed anything like that.  What I usually see are the COPS running through red lights.  And often by flipping on the lights and giving a quick blow of the siren that gets people to move aside or the  green lighted traffic to stop and let them through, then once through the light they turn off their flashing blues and slow down to the limit.  

20 hours ago, NighthawkChris said:

Here’s my semi-incoherent rant I had to blurt out. Going to Angryville again haha!

@Nifty it always has come down to money.  When in all of humanity has there been action that has not benefited the rich and powerful?  Media is driven by this. 

Think back about say, 2009-ish...  People were JUST getting their "smartphones".  I being a huge nerd saw the implications of this.  I spend my life setting up computer networks and setting up tech.  I even know low-level programming - again SW/Electrical engineer.  I remember the first smartphone I had - Samsung Moment with a v.1.6 Android.  I was happy that I got the GPS thing because I was tired of printing up all the MapQuest garbage - which was better than highlighter and gas station maps, haha!  But the GPS was AWESOME - literally my favorite thing about the "smartphone".  It had a browser which was actually usable compared to the other crap that was around then. 

So these phones made or world A LOT smaller.  We had leaps and bounds of advancement on just tracking the population and now this data collection mess comes into play.  I mean, the world today is going at light-speed compared to pre-2000s. 

But like everything, take the good with the bad.  Social media, ease of accessing sensitive data that corporations/establishments now need a counter-cyber program of sorts (IT support and such)...  This stuff never existed then like it is NEEDED today.  We have spy devices littered in our homes - Alexa, Google Home... - and our phone, the biggest spy device that eliminates the need for microchipping each one of us, and we all are putting in the data faster than the corporate powers can handle.  I mean, data collection as there before, but it's scaled up - WAYYY UP - today.  Our privacy and such online is nonexistent.  You can VPN all you want or TOR browse, you're done for if you bought a phone with some identifiable payment source. 

Overall, the division was exploited by this tech-network that communications have brought to our world.  We can seek ANYTHING at our fingertips in a moment's notice.  We can even seek information we like to see to affirm some of our beliefs - which being objectively true or not is not relevant.  All I do today (try to) is not contribute to anything corporate controlled, I run Linux, I have a password manager that makes passwords I cannot even explain what they are...  Just improve your OPSEC and quit being a sheep when you go online.  And by sheep, I mean there are wolves out there looking to eat the sheep - i.e. people who don't know jack s*** about computers and understand nothing about what the internet actually IS - lol!  So I don't buy into the garbage that's out there in corporate structures.  They care about profits, not letting me know what's there.  They want to put out stuff that makes money and if inciting division is that profiteering-tool, then so be it they say.  They want to be INCLUSIVE because why shut out people of color that have the same money that spends the same...  Does anyone think that the corporate powers CARE about inclusiveness?  Well, yes, if it makes them money.  It's basically the same as it always was but the tools to reach you and invade your privacy is abundant - and even installed in your home WILLFULLY!  You wouldn't catch a flipping Alexa device in my house...  No my house is a great DUMB house.  No WiFi refrigerators, washing machines, Ring doorbells, nothing...  If I have a security system in my house, it's running on a Linux system that I control.  I pay for the hardware, I don't want sneaky, spooky Alexa 900MHz radios inside it without my knowledge creating mesh networks with my neighbors' Alexa.  I value privacy more than convenience.  But again, I have a phone, so how much am I actually protecting myself I wonder...  Rhetorical question for myself...  Hence, people have a great way of making stuff suck.  Rant over.  I learned this a few years back and continue to learn of the corporate assault on us as my ISP plans change and what I have to sign up for with identifiable information, etc.  They want to own you to sell YOU.  Literally FB's model.  Have fun liking all those racist uncle comments that call Obama some pretty unkind things (not defending Obama, he's an "elite" who bailed out the banks back in 2009, but the racist crap was uncalled for).  Fueling the engine... 

I'm on the same boat.   Except I'm the one who doesn't know Jack sh!t about computers.  Coming online and getting into forums like this and being able to post and send e-mails and browse a few interesting sties is about all the moxie I possess.  

My phone?   I still have an old LG  flip that does nothing but receive phone calls or can make phone calls.  That's all I wanted anyway.  I don't text, tweet, snapchat, instagram surf the web or have any interest in watching TV shows or movies on a screen the size of a business card.   And I prefer to have conversations ON my phone, not WITH it( hear me, Siri?)   And nothing irks me more than going to visit someone and while trying to talk with them noticing they're too preoccupied with their phones and can't go ONE MINUTE without seeing what's going on in "my facebook".    I guess I'm just an old curmudgeon.  I get tired of everywhere I go of seeing people too busy "nosediving" into their phones(or pads or tablets or whatever gadgets they're whores to) oblivious to the real world going on around them.    And in some ways the old  Peter Allen song  "Everything old is new again"  is true in some cases.  For example...

When I was much younger, in my teens( in the '60's)  it wasn't odd to see some applications of other forms asking for information like race, but by the '70's the question had disappeared from such forms.  But now I see it's returned by the late '90's with some variants too.  Like "ethnicity" , "religion" and such.  And mostly in cases where none of that should matter. So I've taken to, whenever a form I'm filling out asks such things, answering the "race" query with "human" or "rat"  and the "religion" query with "the true one".    I mean, what does it MATTER that I'm white, Polish or Episcopalian to an eye doctor?  But I guess this world is changing too much too fast for me.  I mean, 

I thought I was ahead of the game by being OK with men that wanted to be women, or women that wanted to be men.  But NOW we have men AND women who don't want to be EITHER!    Used to be if anyone referred to somebody's baby as "it"(  "Cute kid.  What's it's name?") the parents would get all snooty and strongly point out that HE'S a boy, or SHE'S a girl.   So I guess we'll soon be seeing "reveal" parties where some balloons will burst or rockets will explode to emit purple or clear plastic sequins due to the parents feeling they prefer to wait until the CHILD is old enough to decide what IT wishes to "identify" as.  

OK.  Old fart rant over.  Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!!  

Whitefang

[jdgm]

In the last 3 years I have learned that Western society in general (and USA society in particular) desperately needs a "can we all just get along?" movement to start among ordinary, sane people. 

I am sure it will come eventually, but it is needed right now.

[tx-ogre]

11 hours ago, jdgm said:

In the last 3 years I have learned that Western society in general (and USA society in particular) desperately needs a "can we all just get along?" movement to start among ordinary, sane people. 

I am sure it will come eventually, but it is needed right now.

Yep, we are in desperate need of more great modern philosophers like Rodney King (“Can’t We All Just Get Along”) or Forrest Gump, or even going back a few years, Yogi Berra.   It’s our only hope.  Now, we only have mindless media talking heads and politicians who are so worthless they couldn’t buy a clue with an unlimited line of credit.

Edited April 7, 2022 by tx-ogre

[Whitefang]

And of course, the theme song for the last couple of generations-------

Whitefang

[fortyearspickn]

4/5/2022 at 1:35 PM,  jaxson50 said: 

The five officers did nothing..... so what I learned by witnessing these events is that it is legal to run a red light.

WHITEFANG wrote

Until YOU blow through one that is.  

I've never witnessed anything like that.  What I usually see are the COPS running through red lights.  And often by flipping on the lights and giving a quick blow of the siren that gets people to move aside or the  green lighted traffic to stop and let them through, then once through the light they turn off their flashing blues and slow down to the limit.  
 

NOW  I  UNDERSTAND !  
Somebody got a ticket ! 

Edited April 7, 2022 by fortyearspickn