Cop Shows vs. Reality
I for the most part avoid TV, and fervently avoid cop shows most of all. There are numerous reasons why I do so. I hate commercials; I hate being forced to watch TV at someone else’s schedule and the morals pushed by such programming is diametrically opposed to my own. One such message that is pushed by almost every single television show and most movies is that the state, and more specifically the police, deserve godlike admiration and the full cooperation of all people at all times. You’ve seen it, I know I have.
Lets drop into a typical episode in CSI:Bumblefuck.
We start the scene with a dead body being found, and the deceased being linked to a notorious drug cartel.
PAUSE – let’s do some critical thinking.
No word whatsoever is ever spoken as to why there is such violence associated with the illicit drug trade. It can’t be because these specific drugs can get you “high”, because I have gotten really high off of over the counter drugs (cough medicine, cigarettes, alcohol, nitrous oxide, pain killers, salvia, ect.) and have never encountered violence in the process of buying these products. Could it possibly be that all the violence associated with drugs is because it is illegal in the first place? Hmmm…
OK let’s get back to our typical CSI scene unfolding before us.
The on the spot police officers have dug through all their files and have come up with a group of suspects to question about the murder they are investigating. The department then sends out their crack team of investigators to get as much information from these people as possible. They go and knock on the door of some nice white walled mansion with stone pillars and a pool. Some fine dressed upstanding Latin fellow comes out to answer the door and to have a nice chat with the police officers. He claims to have known the deceased but has not seen him in many days, and then gives him a list of people with whom the deceased associated with and his alibi at time of the murder.
PAUSE – another critical thinking break.
First off, there is no law written anywhere that states you have to open the door or acknowledge police when they are knocking at your door. None! The police are there looking for evidence, and chances are if they are not breaking in your door, then they don’t have enough evidence for a search warrant and therefore they are looking for evidence AGAINST YOU! Second, if you feel the need to talk to the police, never let them in your house! EVER! Also you are under no obligation to answer any of their questions. You know that whole line that anything you will say can and will be used against you in a court of law, well that is probably the only truthful thing a cop will ever say to you. So when encountering a questioning policeman shut your mouth! The less information you give them, the less they have to use against you in the future.
Back to the show.
The investigators are now bouncing from person to person getting half stories and new leads that are slowing exposing the hideous underbelly of Bumblefuck USA. They catch a huge break and finally believe they have the actual criminal in their crosshairs. They pull up alongside the suspect while he is out on the town and arrest him and bring him in for questioning. We then break into an interrogation room with a two-way mirror and a crowd of on looking cops trying to hear the juicy details. The two cops doing the interrogation start bombarding this fellow with accusations, punishments and consequences. The accused, fearing for his life, starts singing like a canary, telling the officers that he was indeed present when the murder occurred, but it was not him. In a fit of tears he begs the interrogators to allow him to help them find the real criminal. The police then offer him a lesser charge for his cooperation and testimony, then shove him back into a cage, I mean cell. The police then roll back to the white pillared house and arrest that Latin fellow for the murder. All wrapped up cleanly and neatly in 40 minutes of must see TV. Wash, rinse, repeat for 100 episodes.
END
This whole portion of the episode for me is usually the most mind-boggling. First of all, this scenario would not even be possible if it were not for the Latin guy talking to the cops in the first place. Second, if you do get brought in by the police, you still have no obligation to answer any of their questions. Third, get yourself a damn lawyer that can understand the legalese that is being thrown at you and to tell you whether or not the cops are full of BS. Because chances are they are lying to you to get you scared so you can incriminate yourself.
This brings me to portion of the article where I try to pull everything together for you the reader. I guess my main point is regardless of what you see on TV, you should never trust a cop. They are not there to help you; they are there to find some “crime” you have committed and arrest you. What these TV shows teach the average dumb complacent viewer is that it is perfectly ok for a cop to question you whenever he pleases. It is mandatory for you to let a cop into your home without a search warrant. It is your duty to answer any and all questions the police ask you, because in the end they are after the bad guy. All of these notions are patently false, and are nothing more than propaganda fed to you by the elites in both the media and government to make people willingly give up their rights (4th and 5th amendments specifically for all those constitutionalists out there). These shows do not represent objective reality in any way, but rather warp the minds of people who sit and watch these programs day in and day out. These people think that cops are some sort of infallible human overlords with the ability to do as they please in search of justice. Basically it is teaching people not to think, which is what most cops want when they are dealing with citizens. Just be obedient little serfs that don’t question authority, just do what you’re told. Don’t worry about internal checkpoints, don’t worry about the growing police brutality, and don’t mind yourself with all the corruption you hear about. You just have to go along to get along. And all other tripe similarly spoken when encountered with a police cheerleader.
I hope that I have helped you see the folly in this line of (un)thinking, and the next time you sit down and watch one of these shows, you can sit back and hit the pause button every once in awhile and use that wonderful organ that separates us from the animals and think for yourself.
One small caveat, I do not support the murdering of people in any way shape or form. And I am not trying to help murderers get away with their crime. I abhor violence in all forms, and try to live my life avoiding aggression in any and all ways. I was merely trying to point out the absurdities in the behavior of the criminals depicted in these shows when dealing with the police, and how it in no way represents the reality of how the legal system is supposed to function and operate within the rules laid out in the government’s own founding documents. So no, I do not support murder, and yes, I support legalization of drugs.
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Author: renniks (15 Articles)
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