by Sean Orr | Newly minted B.C. Conservative candidate fired. And they’re off!
Meanwhile, a vote for Harper is a vote for Nickelback! Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to be a huge deterrent for most people.
Don’t let fat tax expand gov’t waistline. Maureen Bader is a waste of space. Why the fuck wouldn’t you tax things that are bad for you and cost the health care system billions of dollars? She’s so anti-tax that she’s forgotten what taxes are for.
Victims of fatal police shootings may have been suicidal: expert. You could just tell that he wanted that bullet by the way he dressed, man. He was asking for it: expert.
Fort Nelson residents keen to see ‘town bully’ get his day in court. When photos on news articles accidentally double as contemporary art.
Pro tip: If you’re going to make a satirical news story, try and make it more unbelievable than “Republicans Introduce Legislation Redefining Pi as Exactly 3“. Why? Because the majority of internet commenters think it’s real.
Actual headline: ‘Sexy noises, too much, all the time’.
Open Letter to Globe and Mail. Oh snap!
Another one bites the dust: A Vancouver nightlife institution (Lotus Hotel) is set to close. Plus W2 Storyeum closes on May 1st. So that sucks…
There are 20 comments
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I find it very offensive that you make light of the police having to resort to lethal force in the face of what may well be sucide by cop. Even if that was not the case, to be confronted by some one who is seriously imbalanced brandishing a weapon (in one case firing a fully auto assault weapon and was previously documented as having attempted to do the exact same thing) is a very serious sitiuation that represents a real danger to both the police and the public which has to be dealt with by force. What would you have them do, shoot the weapon out of their hand, wound them perhaps, how about a fire-side chat?
your dislke of the police as completely blinded any objectivy that you have and frankly why are you spouting political rhetoric on this blog. Surely their are more appropriate places?
And, yes I’m a cop having been faced with equally ‘terrifying’ situations. Such actions on the part of the police are equally damaging to them. We don’t high five each other after something like this and I have ulcers to prove it.
you really need to find some middle ground on your world view, it is tiresome.
Well, I’m sorry, but the police record in this city, this province, and this country speaks for itself.
I rest my case and note that you have not addressed my comment at all and in fact I’ll take your comment as an admission that you are indeed lacking in any objectivity. You have decided to abandon all objectivty and paint all coppers with the same brush.
The vast majoirity of us, don’t beat on the citizens, rarely have to shoot them, don’t taser, hit with big sticks or infact, contrary to your sensationalist world view, rarely have to resort to any violence and when we do, we take it very seriously. In close to two decades as a copper, I have can count when i have had to resort to violence on two hands. I am typical of most of us.
And more than half the stories in the media are justified uses of force. i don’t expect you to understand, but it’s easier for you and others, (Eby comes to mind) to take a potision that supports your view. In the police world we call that tunnel vision.
Right, right. The whole “one bad apple” theory. I suppose you’re right in some cases, I am quite biased. I haven’t had many good experiences with the police. Nevertheless, it’s not really on a personal level that I approach this- it’s more how the media looks at it. I mean, just because some expert says a guy that the police just shot was suicidal is the equivalent of here-say. This would be a non-point if there was a regulatory body that publicly investigated these individual acts, but there isn’t. The police investigate themselves. And so trust has been abused. You can’t tell me that the majority of people in Canada are happy with the RCMP, or Vancouverites with the VPD. That’s what I meant about the police record. My concern is who do the police protect from whom? Why do they police the addicts and not the dealers? Why is it mostly poor and working class people who are the victims of brutality? Also, how have the police dealt with protesters in this country? Do you think that most people would say it’s positive? I doubt it, but if you believe otherwise it is YOU that has tunnel vision.
I should kbow better than to expect a more balanced view. One of the problems with policing is that we all wear it when ‘one or two bad apples’ screw up. Bit like suggesting all politicians are bad when they screw up…
With respect to policing only the poor….I call BS. From a soci-economic perspective, those on the fringes will always come into greater contact with the police. Take for instances someone smoking crack on the dtes in a doorway, vs a yuppie in thier Yaletown loft….of course the former is more likely to be caught. Its always been that way and always will.
And as for the poor and working class being the brunt of police violence…where is your data? Those that are mentally ill are also likely to be poor. What is causing the attention of the police the latter or the former? Same with street level users….same with sex trade workers….poverty can often create desperate behaviours that by their nature will attract the attention of the police.
You love the image that you foster in line with your left wing liberalism of jack-booted coppers marching through the ranks of the poor and working class……
We, the police are essentially judicial janitors and are an extention of the larger community and political will at the time. Not saying it’s not flawed, which it is, but I feel your perspective of policing is hanging out with Pivot and the Eby lovers on the dtes…. There is much more to policing than the dtes and the social failures that it bears.
yo darren sean is a refreshing voice of reason in an otherwise pro-pig press, so why you gotta come shit all over his nice blog entry? oink oink.
The point I am trying to make is that ‘crime’ is merely a social construct. It is the force of political will on the backs of the public’s majority views that ultimately decide what is criminal and what is not. The flavour of the day will guide the efforts of the police. Be it property crime, domestic violence, or in recent times, terrorism., and specifically here in the LMD, gang activity.
Sean would have us believe that the focus of the police is guided by some sort of agenda against the poor and working classes. Moreover, he selectively chooses an highly visible area of policing (patrol) and spins it to fit his world view . What about organized crime units, homicide, fraud, crimes against children, domestic violence units etc,…..all are reacting to crimes and most certainly are not targeting anyone group.
Areas with higher reported incidents of crime, will have more members thrown at them . Policing is a blunt stick and patrol is really only geared to detecting highly visible low level offences. Take the dtes. Higher incidents of property crime, social disorder, drugs, assaults…etc…so more coppers. Would be silly to send no one to the dtes and have everyone patrolling point grey. Police respond to acts of crime. Given the number of social issues in the dtes and the very nature of the place, those committing various offences are much more likely to be the poor, working class, drug addicted or the mentally ill. Its a case of cause and effect.
As for the media being pro-pig…..i often find the reverse is true…very mature comment by the way….sticks and stones and all that.
I think that the Canadian public perception of our polices forces is that they are not to be trusted. This is evident to me in so far as Greens, and other partys, have listed “Restore faith in RCMP”as a campaign pledge.
Just sayin……….
Perhaps, but i have no interest in entering into a debate with regards to the popularity of the police. It’s a difficult job and we should be held to account and judged accordingly. I have no issues with that, in fact i welcome it. We have nothing to hide.
I do take issue with Sean’s suggestion that the police target those on the fringes. While it is certainly true that the police often come into contact with such members of society (as noted above) it is shortsighed and somewhat bigoted of him to suggest that it is part of an agenda. He asked why the poor and working class are frequently dealt with, I have provided what I think is a logical counter-argument.
Thanks Darren, it’s nice to hear from the working officer side of the story. What we only really see from the media are the affects on the victims, since that’s where the story lies. Cops are just part of the background unless it’s about a nature where the police are at fault. I doubt Sean Orr has ever counted the number of goods v.s bad things the police have done to inform him of his opinions. Plus, it’s always the police error stories that stick in the public’s minds anyways so you have a losing battle to fight.
Did a bit of checking on the RCMP web site:
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/surveys-sondages/index-main-accueil-eng.htm
For those that care.
Did the VPD not apologize to the DTES? Was it not proven that they enforced Civil City disproportionately in the DTES? Did the VPD not come out with a report saying they had become frontline mental health workers? These are all truisms. And they further the narrative of The Lotos Eaters, wherein the police, firemen, nurses etc. are all underpaid and undervalued. Even the Olympic Village made room for these essential service workers. Of course, in a functioning democracy, these big city issues would be at the forefront- instead they are written off as externalities- as pure an expression of Reaganomics as there is. And so the poor- and DTES, are used as moral jumping off point; ‘better behave or you’ll end up on Skid Row”. And that’s were cops play their role, meanwhile blissfully ignorant that the government is gambling their pension funds on the open market.
I think you have lost it Sean. Your comments have nothing to do with the postion that you have taken that we, the police have a campaign of violence against thosue that are less fortunate than ourselves, besdies there is much, much more to policing than the DTES, which is suspect where you seek justification for your stance on the world.
Yes we most certainly are front line mental health workers, in fact, contraty to hollywoods portray of us, we are closer in reality to social workers. That being precisely my point, that the nature of society’s ills and the fact that immigrants, the poor, drug addicted, etc will resort to criminal acts and thus occassion higher contact with the police.
In your typical manner, you skirt the issues, enter into diatribe and spin your polictial rehtoric. Given the lack of interest in your blogs, I think you are falling on deaf ears.
I noted that policing is a blunt stick….what are your solutions then?
My point is larger than yours, not beside it. We don’t treat police officers with respect because they are left to do the front line dirty work of capitalism. It would be lovely to see environmental crimes, corporate crimes, etc dealt with the same fervour as a jay walking drug addict, or an after hours art-party. You seem to blame society- immigrants, the poor, drug addicted- while completely ignoring the class implications of each one of those groups.
I’m not skirting the issues, I’m trying to make you see the larger one. Yet it is yourself who have entered into Ad Hominem logic. You say something like “crime is a social construct” on one hand, then attack me for MY rhetoric. I’m sorry but this whole thing is an exercise in rhetoric.
1. Civilian oversight. No more cops investigating cops.
2. Mental health czar
3. Housing, jobs, etc. so the poor aren’t kept perpetually poor.
4. I think the new community court is a step in the right direction, to deal with repeat offenders sensitively.
Oh and 5. Keep blogging about it and starting conversations with actual police officers….
Sean, you have not offered anything to support your position of police resorting to brutal treatment of the less fortunates.What you have done, as is typical of you, is switch tracks, to what you suggest are larger issues.
I know a lot about the failures of policing, government and the justice system. I have had to come to accept in order to preserve my mental health. I plod along slowley, making small changes here and there.
You fall on the same spin. Cops can investigate cops, but i agree that apperance of it just feeds the fire. Set up an independant agency, probably staffed by ex-coppers.
Seem to rember Jim Chu was suggesting a CZAR for the DTES himself, must aggrieve you that he shares your view.
Yes housing should be a national priority, not sure what this as to do with policing. Are we now being blamed for that too?
Take the time to speak with coppers, you may actually be surprised to learn that we are not all brutes with knuckles baning off the side walk,. Some of us actually have an appreciaton of the issues, some of us are active in our communities.
One last opportunity to do as I asked. Provide credible data that :
oops….pushed the wrong button.
One last opportunity to do as I asked. Provide credible data that :
1. the police here in Canada brutalize the poor and working class
2. that the vast majority of canadians are not happy with the police
And oh, the apology from Jim Chu where is that. Here is a direct quote from him:
The second thing for chronic offenders is our detectives actually sit down with them and talk about their lives and what would get them off their addictions. We have an officer at the community court full-time that does a lot of this as well. If there are other ways to problem-solve about addictions or criminal lifestyles, we’re looking for them, because sometimes jail is not always the answer.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Vancouver+police+chief+solutions+Downtown+Eastside+What+think/1652660/story.html#ixzz1I2vWrb2j
sorry for my horrific spelling and grammer in the previous post
Said all i have to say…..do try and be more open minded. All the best.
God how I wish it was as simple as cops being “brutes with knuckles”. The fact is, they are under equipped, as you admit, to deal with the mentally ill. And in this case the police shot someone who is mentally ill. And I am saying that the cops shouldn’t be dealing with the mentally ill. And you agree. You think I hate all cops equally, but it’s just as wrong as thinking that all cops are “brutes with knuckles”- which was never my point in the first place. Which is why you would think I would be “aggrieved”, and not celebratory of, Jim Chu’s efforts. Which, is the trouble of making one-liners with news captions- the real problem; mental health+ poverty+ addiction + crime= all of which you agree are “social constructs= is often glorified to make the point that those agents exist in the first place! I’m sorry but “subject may have been suicidal: expert” is just not enough. Not given the record of senseless murders committed by the police- and if you are asking to list them, sir, I will not.
Thanks for all the ideas/points/insight, Darren, and for the job you do.
yawn, good thing sean got some other writing done cause mr darren is tapped out.
u want proof the pigs brutalize the poor and working class?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/03/03/man-shot-toronto561.html
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/01/11/16850336.html
not to mention G20, Oka, etc it’s called google, pretty easy to use if you actually wanted to find out some info. BCCLA’s got reports on police misconduct comin’ out the wazoo and let me assure you it’s not against rich folk.
as for this part:
2. that the vast majority of canadians are not happy with the police
that data does not exist. canadians are the most apathetic ppl out there. but just cuz lots of ppl are brainwashed into liking the popo doesn’t mean the popo are good.