Patricia A. O'Malley
Social Policy & Programs Consulting ~ Community Matters
P.O. Box 97803 ~ Pittsburgh, PA 15227 ~ 412-310-4886 ~ info@patomalley-consulting.com
Copyright Patricia A. O'Malley ~ All rights reserved
Established 1993
Patricia A. O'Malley
Social Policy & Programs Consulting
Training and Services for agencies working toward social and economic justice
America's Police Problem: Cause and Cure
Our greatest power is within our grasp.
September 22, 2016
I'm usually a news junkie.
I watch/read/listen all day long.
But lately, I can't bear it.
Everyone is yammering and wailing.
"What do we do?"
"How do we make it stop?"
"We need more/better/longer police training."
The solution is so painfully obvious.
This is not a training issue.
This is a hiring issue.
We are hiring the wrong people to be cops.
And we can see just how well that's working out for us.
The cops we have are temperamentally unfit to wield the power that we give them.
Yes.
All of them.
Every cop covers up the crimes of other cops.
They brag about it.
That makes every cop a criminal.
The psychological tests for potential police officers are designed to identify hyper-aggressive bullies,
crybabies, infantile personalities, and psychopaths.
And instead of weeding out those candidates, we weed them in.
They're mean and vicious.
They're afraid of their own shadows.
And we hire them to police us.
Then we give them weapons of war – tanks, tear gas bombs, semi-automatic weapons.
And we set them loose on our streets to kill innocent civilians for their own entertainment.
And we allow our "justice" system to look the other way.
We Incessantly promote the biggest lie in America.
And it only aggravates the situation.
Corporate executives, the wealthy, and the media have convinced Americans that lobbying is
a corrupt activity, and should be banned.
So they reserve it for themselves.
They lobby elected officials to get what they want.
And they want to control the public.
They deprive Americans of the very thing that makes this a nation of, by, and for the people.
They deprive us of the very thing that makes America great –
our First Amendment right to petition our government for a redress of our grievances.
But most Americans don't know that.
They don't know it because our schools fail us.
Our schools teach civics and government wrong.
They don't teach students how to lobby to get what they want by peaceful means
because they don't want us to know
that we have the power to influence our government.
So people tune out and stop participating in their own government.
Or they riot because they feel it's the only way to be heard.
We ridicule, denigrate, and threaten people who protest peacefully.
We scorn people who exercise the rights that we claim our military protects.
Liking and sharing stuff on Facebook is not lobbying.
Giving buckets of money to legislators is not lobbying.
Lobbying is the act of trying to convince elected officials
to support or oppose legislation and policies that you care about.
Nothing moves in government unless someone pushes it.
Legislators listen to corporate lobbyists because they are the only ones doing the talking.
If the 99 percent would do more lobbying, the one percent would have less power.
LOBBYING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN VOTING.
Everyone can do it.
And it doesn't cost a dime.
Lobbying includes
- Phone calls
- Emails and letters
- Participating in a telephone or online town hall conference meeting
- Attending a town hall meeting in person
- A personal visit with the staff
- A personal visit with your representative
- Speaking during the public comment period at your local city council meetings
- Testifying at legislative committee hearings.
If you've ever done any of these things, you are a lobbyist.
If you haven't done them, start now.
Lobbying is our greatest power.
But we don't use it because our political ignorance breeds our political impotence.
Think about it.
Who benefits from maintaining a poorly educated, disorganized, poor, frightened, and abused populace?
If you want change, tell your police chiefs, mayors, and city council members to stop hiring
hyper-aggressive bullies, crybabies, infantile personalities, and psychopaths to be cops.
Demand that your district attorneys and prosecutors file criminal charges against criminal cops.
If we don't do what it takes to solve the problem, then we don't want to solve the problem.
If you want peace, work for justice.
– Mahatma Gandhi –
For more information:
Learn who, when, where, and how to lobby
There is No Such Thing as a Good Cop
Standing and Pledging: Style Versus Substance
Why We Need More Lobbyists
Public Demonstrations Do Bring Change
Brentwood Officials Are Still Covering Up Police Crimes
The Ten Biggest Lies in America
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