Is Corruption Inevitable?

Written by a friend of mine.

"I'm going to piss off EVERYONE today.
Let's talk about de-funding the police.
First off, I understand why people would be demanding this.

The police as a group are corrupt.  If they aren't themselves receiving money for illegal activities, or directly involved with illegal activities, then they're ignoring the illegal activities of the other police around them, which is just as bad.
Allow me to justify those statements.
My first real adult job was as an ambulance technician at a clinic [in my home city].  My supervisor was a police officer of high rank.
On my first day at work I would learn some important lessons.

1. My supervisor was a coke addict.
2. My supervisor was a drug dealer.
3. Police are above the law. Police don't arrest other police.

In my first week at work I would learn another lesson.
4. My supervisor, a police officer, was a pedophile.

Everyone knew it, but see lesson #3.

Over the years, I would learn more and more how corrupt the police are. If you aren't aware of that then you simply haven't had the experience to know better.

Now, let's address the main problem about why the police are so corrupt.

Police aren't paid enough. Police officer has always been a fairly low pay job, but at least you could barely manage to support a family. It was never a path to great wealth.  Unfortunately, this job like most has suffered from inflation. Everything has become more expensive while salaries have stagnated.

Because of the nature of police work, it should really pay enough that they can adequately support their family, and the risk of getting caught being corrupt should far outweigh the risk of losing a well paying job. As it is the only way to support a family properly is to be corrupt. That's wrong.

We should do four things.

1. Acknowledge that there's a problem with police corruption. The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem.
2. Forgive all police for past mistakes... if they admit to it and agree to walk the straight and narrow from now on.
3. Raise their pay to where it should have been in the first place.
4. Monitor police effectively. If there is any further corruption it should be stamped out hard. Loss of job, prison time, loss of savings and property. Body cams should be on at all times and the should be reviewed by an independent body at random.

To add: Starting pay for a police officer in [my province] is $44,000.  For a position of responsibility and a certain amount of risk, that's ridiculous. 

We also demand a certain amount of education for our police officers.  The typical path is a 3 year training course at [junior college] followed by 15 weeks of practical training at [police school].
I wonder how that compares with police in the States.

I keep saying this, that there is [also] a huge problem when the [provincial] police union is called "The Brotherhood" - that in and of itself points to a mafia-type culture.  It has to stop."

Dinosaurs in F-14s

The title refers to a Calvin and Hobbes strip.  6-year-old Calvin draws a picture in which dinosaurs, being fed up with how some of them aren't perceived as being as dangerous as they should be, get into F-14 jets.

It's a good metaphor for what's happening in the U.S. right now.  There are people, particularly white men, who believe they're becoming irrelevant and are resorting to using words and weapons to get their point across.  The trouble is, their choice of targets have stirred up the country against them.

Think about it.  Several major sports organizations have cancelled their seasons.  Not because of Covid, but because of the recent shootings and killings of unarmed people.

Multiple governments and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. appear to be corrupt.  In addition, they are being taken advantage of by young radicals and white supremacists so they can target others, particularly people of colour, with near impunity.  Almost every time a person of colour is shot, the officers involved are placed on "administrative leave" or otherwise get a mere slap on the wrist.  It's extremely rare that criminal charges are laid.

When protests gather, so do the instigators and vigilante wanna-bes so they can stir up trouble.  The night after yet another Black man was shot for a spurious reason, a 17-year-old illegally obtained an assault rifle, crossed state lines with it, and committed murder as he marched into a protest.  The local police appeared to ENCOURAGE HIM.  He wasn't arrested until the next day.

The parents of ANY young person who does something like this, parents who are still legal guardians and responsible for their child, should be charged as accomplices and accessories to murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Anyone in the media who publicly defends such actions should be sued for publicly inciting violence and hatred.

Also, homegrown militias should be legally disbanded and labeled as terrorist groups.  More often than not, they lack the experience and the training to hold weapons of any kind.  "Second Amendment" notwithstanding.  If they want to play cowboy for real they should join the army and see if they can handle basic training.

Chances are they won't or can't, because they're too cowardly, out of shape, or not the right age to do it.  They'd rather congregate at State legislatures and yell in the faces of politicians they don't like instead of risking ACTUAL death to serve the country they claim to love.  The country doesn't need their ilk, they are the dinosaurs who want to self-justify with the F-14s.

Many of my ancestors went to war.  Not all of them came home.  They'd be rolling in their graves if they saw what's happening now.

Rant in the Knight

 

With thanks to Nick Nugent, author of The Knight Rider Companion.

Recent news reports have teased that there will be a new Knight Rider film coming, produced by James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring, Aquaman), and written by T.J. Fixman (Ratchet and Clank).

Many fans are ecstatic.  But more are highly skeptical.

Contrary to what many media sites claim, having a "treatment" is not a green-lit script. Even having a completed script is not proof a film will go into pre-production or production itself.

Fans have been teased with a Knight Rider revival for years.  David Hasselhoff himself has claimed that Robert Rodriguez was making a movie, then it was James Gunn, John Cena allegedly starring in a comedy version, then Justin Lin and Machima/WB Entertainment making a series, then it was Netflix. Every year the story changed.

All turned out to be broken promises that have kept this property in development hell. The only one to actually attempt and to revive the series was NBCU itself in 2008-9 with the Mustang KITT.  The show runner was Gary Scott Thompson who created The Fast and the Furious.  (In my opinion it was okay, but the writers weren't given enough of a chance.)

Having familiarity with the Furious brand isn't an asset for James Wan.

The vague description of Knight Rider being an "anti-establishment" tone doesn't give much hope either.  No fan in their right mind would ever describe Knight Rider like this.

T.J. Fixman seems to have a bit of a smug attitude too.  He was briefly communicated with via Twitter to confirm the treatment, and has asked fans to not present him with ideas or badger him about it.  For most fans, posting a photo of yourself as a kid seeing KITT over the water at Universal Studios does not validate your understanding of the classic series or the mythology that made it a pop culture hit.  What they need is a writer/director team who were true fans who understand the premise of what Knight Rider was really about.

After many years of involvement with the Knight Rider hobby and intimately studying every aspect that makes it tick, I believe I am qualified to say I know what makes it work.  I understand what fans will and will not accept with changing the brand and why it continues to inspire people to still care about one man's dream today.  And I understand how Glen A. Larson wanted to update his classic concept to fit in with today's modern era.  (I've seen both the original and the 2008-9 series three times, and I've researched and written fan-fiction about it.)

I'm not sure how to feel about this announcement just yet, but as with the previous announcements I'll believe something is really happening when there are teaser posters, casting announcements, and other pre-production procedures. There's a treatment that exists, a studio with the theatrical rights, and discussions.

Beyond that, Knight Rider is still stuck in neutral.

Modesty Culture

Post written by Josh Weed @The_Weed in 2017 and is still relevant today.

"I am a gay man who was raised in a hetero-normative world.  A part of this world I've always been baffled by is "modesty" culture.

The main premise of "modesty" culture is that women need to dress in a way that doesn't provoke sexual response in men.  Which is insane.

I think it is absolutely crazy that a man can look at a woman and say "I think you should wear something else, because seeing your skin makes me feel aroused. And that arousal is strong and I haven't learned how to appropriately manage it. So please change your clothes."

This is BONKERS. Especially when men then start to claim that a woman is *worth* more if they dress a certain way. As if covering flesh somehow earns a woman value, all because it doesn't evoke a sexual response in men.  And then, if a woman DOESN'T do this?  Well, now a man has the right to chastise a woman, call her names, say she is slutty and wicked.  All because *he* is having a sexual response!

News flash: women's worth is STATIC.  It is inviolable.  It doesn't change with what she does or doesn't wear.  It doesn't change with sex.

And a man's sexuality is HIS OWN RESPONSIBILITY.

Wanna know how I know this?  It's because in my whole life I have never told another man how to dress even though a man's body arouses me.  I have never told a man he should put his shirt on on a hot day when he is on a summer run.  I have never demanded modesty from a guy.  I have never expected men to stop wearing loose basketball shorts just because they might be revealing to me and turn me on.

In fact, I have had, my entire life, been in situations where men take ALL THEIR CLOTHES OFF IN FRONT OF ME (locker rooms, etc.).  And guess what?  Even though I have felt aroused, I have never EVER blamed another man for that arousal.  My arousal is about ME.  Not him.

I have never assaulted another man for this.  I have never raped another man for this.  I have never claimed a man was "asking for it".

A persons's worth is static, inviolable, and begins the day they are born as a baby until the day they die.  Clothes do not change this.

And a man's arousal is HIS OWN DAMN RESPONSIBILITY.  It is NOT the responsibility of the body that evokes that arousal. Ever.

Straight men blaming women for their own sexual responses degrades women. And it disempowers men. It excuses them from taking ownership of their own bodies.  And it allows them to build fury towards what they covet.  It's dangerous.  It leads to assault.  It IS rape culture.

My four daughters deserve better than this.  They deserve to be safe.  They deserve to wear what feels good to them on a summer day.  And they deserve to relish knowing that they are valuable no matter WHAT they wear.  (You know, the same message men get from birth on!)"