[Vincentsdream]

Originally Posted by Coolingwhiteboy ↗

Resisting arrest and following ice all day is why this happened to him.

Those aren't executable offenses.

[StrategicNuclearMoose]

Gangland-style killing of a VA nurse less than a month into 2026? Insane start to the year

[Vedderman]

Originally Posted by Rugboot88 ↗

At this point, an attempt at peaceful political discourse, the kind our forebears clearly intended, may simply be futile here. That realization makes Vedderman’s lack of bedside manner and occasional abrasiveness easier to understand. He may be speaking the only language that reliably gets through to this mindset. On that note, Mr. Vedderman, I yield my time.

Shit, man. If you can point to one single instance where my barking, sensibly or otherwise, actually changed a single human being's mind in this forum or any other, I'd happily stand you a drink of your beverage of preference.

It's been a fundamental impossibility to change codified/calcified behavior with e-communication rhetoric since about 2008 or so. Arguably since that pumpkin-headed philandering shitmonger Gingrich fired the shot that killed all civil discourse back in '94, but there weren't so many of us arguing online back then as there are now.

There are reasons why my public-facing persona here is what it is. They're the reasons Chris asked me to be a Moderator more than a decade ago. But I seldom labor under the delusion that I am changing hearts, minds, or even bedpans around here.

Most of my discourse is largely without joy, as I don't actually take genuine pleasure in conflict. I do it because it's my 'job' and because I have seen too many sites like this turn into cancerous cesspools due to demographic imbalance. So the more one side gets louder and meaner, the more I get invested in reminding them that their vocal minority/majority here will never out-bullshit me. I'm still what passes for 'law enforcement' on this privately owned webpage, enough to get constant entertainment from watching how butthurt these fascist-simps get every time I treat them the same way they applaud LEOs treating 'suspects' or dissenters in the real world.

I have never really deluded myself into believing just because I speak 'their language' that I am breaking through the sloping brows protecting the curdled pudding that passes for brains in most of them.

I will take a moment to opine that it sure would be nice if more silent lurkers would pop up unlimbered by the shadows and prove to be balanced, even-handed, educated, and intelligent in the way that you have. Most of the time it happens, they're barely able to string a cogent sentence and they rarely offer more than trolling stabs at off-color humor. I notice that despite your protestations of a cameo, you've opted to stick around and share your thoughts several times now. Appreciated. You won't win anyone over to rationality with it, unfortunately, but for those of us already inclined that way, it's a bit of a breath of fresh air. I know that we likely differ on more than a handful of social, political, or ethical value tenets. But I appreciate that you're one of the (relative few) people I have encountered here who would probably be able to sit and have a conversation in spite of or even celebrating many of those contrasts.

Sorry for waxing bromantic. I get very few breaths of fresh air on this site anymore, so it's nice when one blows in.

I also personally appreciate that you've been here long enough and have been attentive enough to clock my pattern. I am not exactly circumspect about it, but most people miss it nonetheless.

That said, regardless of the actual surprisingly balanced and moderate position of my personal 'sociopolitical compass' and my preference for harmony over conflict, I am definitely a pretentious asshole with a very low trigger point for morons, bullies, and cruelty. And the bulk of why I communicate the way I do with the people that I do is no deeper than that. ;)

[Rugboot88]

Originally Posted by Vedderman ↗

Shit, man. If you can point to one single instance where my barking, sensibly or otherwise, actually changed a single human being's mind in this forum or any other, I'd happily stand you a drink of your beverage of preference.

It's been a fundamental impossibility to change codified/calcified behavior with e-communication rhetoric since about 2008 or so. Arguably since that pumpkin-headed philandering shitmonger Gingrich fired the shot that killed all civil discourse back in '94, but there weren't so many of us arguing online back then as there are now.

There are reasons why my public-facing persona here is what it is. They're the reasons Chris asked me to be a Moderator more than a decade ago. But I seldom labor under the delusion that I am changing hearts, minds, or even bedpans around here.

Most of my discourse is largely without joy, as I don't actually take genuine pleasure in conflict. I do it because it's my 'job' and because I have seen too many sites like this turn into cancerous cesspools due to demographic imbalance. So the more one side gets louder and meaner, the more I get invested in reminding them that their vocal minority/majority here will never out-bullshit me. I'm still what passes for 'law enforcement' on this privately owned webpage, enough to get constant entertainment from watching how butthurt these fascist-simps get every time I treat them the same way they applaud LEOs treating 'suspects' or dissenters in the real world.

I have never really deluded myself into believing just because I speak 'their language' that I am breaking through the sloping brows protecting the curdled pudding that passes for brains in most of them.

I will take a moment to opine that it sure would be nice if more silent lurkers would pop up unlimbered by the shadows and prove to be balanced, even-handed, educated, and intelligent in the way that you have. Most of the time it happens, they're barely able to string a cogent sentence and they rarely offer more than trolling stabs at off-color humor. I notice that despite your protestations of a cameo, you've opted to stick around and share your thoughts several times now. Appreciated. You won't win anyone over to rationality with it, unfortunately, but for those of us already inclined that way, it's a bit of a breath of fresh air. I know that we likely differ on more than a handful of social, political, or ethical value tenets. But I appreciate that you're one of the (relative few) people I have encountered here who would probably be able to sit and have a conversation in spite of or even celebrating many of those contrasts.

Sorry for waxing bromantic. I get very few breaths of fresh air on this site anymore, so it's nice when one blows in.

I also personally appreciate that you've been here long enough and have been attentive enough to clock my pattern. I am not exactly circumspect about it, but most people miss it nonetheless.

That said, regardless of the actual surprisingly balanced and moderate position of my personal 'sociopolitical compass' and my preference for harmony over conflict, I am definitely a pretentious asshole with a very low trigger point for morons, bullies, and cruelty. And the bulk of why I communicate the way I do with the people that I do is no deeper than that. ;)

I appreciate the thoughtful reply. Your earlier reference to the idea often attributed to Edmund Burke, commonly paraphrased as “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” stuck with me. I understand the wording is a paraphrase rather than a direct quote, but the sentiment landed and probably nudged me out of a long habit of mostly observing rather than engaging.

Another part of what pushed me out of the shadows was the lack of serious contemplation that a fellow American citizen, acting within constitutionally protected rights, was killed by the state. Regardless of political leanings, the absence of pause or reflection around that fact felt unsettling and worth responding to.

I don’t have any illusions about changing minds or elevating discourse by sheer force of will. I’m generally more comfortable lurking than posting. Still, when discussions stay anchored to the Constitution, law, and justice, even amid sharp disagreement, it feels appropriate to step in. That common ground matters more to me than agreement on outcomes.

We likely differ on plenty, but I respect the emphasis on evidence, restraint, and principled standards. Exchanges like this make it easier to set aside my own introversion and engage when the conversation is substantive rather than performative.

If you were ever looking for a single instance where your barking, sensibly or otherwise, actually made a difference, this would be one. No dramatic conversion, just enough movement to speak up. I’ll take you up on that Irish whiskey, neat, if our paths ever cross.

[Daishan69]

Notice how in Charlie Kirk's link, the comments are turned off for people's safety, because the fascists among us are... well... Evil. Left wingers getting shot by the Gestapo is a lot safer to comment on. We all know wat they are, we all know who they are, we all have them in our schools and work and families. It's time our society starts putting this thrash we're it belongs.

[foxfantastic]

Originally Posted by Rugboot88 ↗

At this point, an attempt at peaceful political discourse, the kind our forebears clearly intended, may simply be futile here.

Not until a weapon is raised.

Tell that to your fellow compatriots in the video .

[pervM]

Originally Posted by Vedderman ↗

None of the ones hired in the last six months got 16 weeks of Basic. Most got 6. Several thousand, due to an alleged ‘algorithm glitch’ in their onboarding paperwork got zero. One orientation and then assignment. Welcome to the machine.

Given the pushback on my comments about police procedure, I doubt better training would change yours or other anti-government minds here. Because 3-4 year training only means ICE would act even more in a military fashion and cordon off much larger areas while arresting people for far smaller offences. Precisely to de-escalate the tension with brutal precision.

It would undoubtedly prevent chaotic shootings from happening but you screaming of Gestapo wouldn't change, because the methods of de-escalation are not about police giving everyone flowers, singing kumbayah and letting crimes happen in front of their noses, its about overwhelming perps and protests with so much force and shock troop-like action that nobody ever has any chance to use lethal weapons.

Again lets use the example stellar "good cops" of Scandinavia. They pre-emptively invade the tour bus or the premise of notorious anarchists and criminals few hours before a protest and confiscate any and all items that can be used as a weapon or to break windows with. A line of protesters decide to block the road, police tell them to get back to the street and they refuse. The "good cop" calls off the entire protest and arrests and throws every single bystander in jail who refuses to disperse and leave the area on command.

Why do the north european or say japanese street seem so much cleaner and safer? Because the police over there have a very low tolerance for any public disturbance, merely being too aggressive in public can be reason enough for you to earn a night or two in the slammer. Thats what the properly trained "nice cops" are all about. They have as much tolerance for aggressive behaviour as an average bar bouncer.

I wish for your safety that US ICE and police in general would have 3-4 year training but americans themselves have gotten used to so lax rules that the sheer brutal efficiency of a well-trained police officer would come as a shock to you guys, you would probably be against it and call it nazism or something.

[Briarknit]

A lot of you justifying this need to face what you’re normalizing. For years, law enforcement and the right have leaned on “feared for my life” as a convenient excuse when violence is directed at the left. That precedent does not stay one-way.

Just look at all of the videos here involving police and read the replies yourself.

There will be a point when people start fearing for their lives simply being around law enforcement and the right. And if you’re arguing that “fear” is enough to excuse indiscriminate killing, then you’re endorsing a standard that works for everyone, not just your side.

[Rugboot88]

Originally Posted by foxfantastic ↗

Not until a weapon is raised.

Tell that to your fellow compatriots in the video .

I want to make sure I’m understanding you correctly. When you say “my fellow compatriots,” are you referring to law enforcement, the citizens in the video, or Americans more broadly? I’m a prior LEO, but I’m speaking here as a citizen concerned with constitutional limits and the use of state power, not as a representative of any group.

I don’t dispute that once a weapon is perceived, the situation changes and officers move out of a dialogue posture. I’ve lived that reality. What I’m pushing back on is the idea that this moment should also end reflection or scrutiny. In my experience, that’s exactly when restraint and accountability matter most.

I’m not here to excuse chaos or assign tribal blame. I’m trying to understand how we talk about these situations in a way that’s consistent with law, responsibility, and the rights that should apply to all of us.

[M.F.D.B.]

Originally Posted by Rugboot88 ↗

I want to make sure I’m understanding you correctly. When you say “my fellow compatriots,” are you referring to law enforcement, the citizens in the video, or Americans more broadly? I’m a prior LEO, but I’m speaking here as a citizen concerned with constitutional limits and the use of state power, not as a representative of any group.

I don’t dispute that once a weapon is perceived, the situation changes and officers move out of a dialogue posture. I’ve lived that reality. What I’m pushing back on is the idea that this moment should also end reflection or scrutiny. In my experience, that’s exactly when restraint and accountability matter most.

I’m not here to excuse chaos or assign tribal blame. I’m trying to understand how we talk about these situations in a way that’s consistent with law, responsibility, and the rights that should apply to all of us.

Then you know that the most likely contributing factor, was that these agents had difficulty hearing exactly what was going on, because of the very people creating this situation.

The irony....PALPABLE