The Watchman And The Slave Patrol…
They aren’t the same.
I read something the other day that resonated with me more than it should have. It said the reason the UK doesn’t have the police brutality issues that we have isn’t the gun issue, of course, gun control groups are something I’ve never agreed with. Look at the percentage of armed citizens vs. the percentage of brutality complaints, and you’ll see where the right gets their basis for an argument against gun control.
The reason is that the police in the US are modeled after the old slave patrols. That is steeped in fact, actually, and here in the South, there isn’t a lot of difference in the way that local patrols operate. However, in the UK, they’re modeled after the old night watchmen.
The difference? One was meant to keep citizens safe, while the other was meant to arrest or worse to violators, or perceived violators, of the law.
I think that might be the most accurate summary of law enforcement I’ve ever heard. A lot of people have asked how I have such a high regard for the military, essentially a love for our service men and women that you probably couldn’t pry from my tiny little black heart with a crowbar. This is true. I do love my military folk, that’s factual. Yet it seems I have ill will toward law enforcement in general.
