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Blazes of Glory: A Simple Analysis of a Prevailing Pattern
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Blazes of Glory: A Simple Analysis of a Prevailing PatternWayne Hicks 09.03.01
In Santa Clarita, CA, just this past weekend, police officers, SWAT teams, ATF agents and Sheriff's deputies surrounded a home, reportedly in an attempt to serve a search warrant. Apparently, the suspect, James A. Beck, was a convicted felon, and as such, was probably prohibited from owning firearms under current law. We say "probably" because there are circumstances under which a convicted felon might have his or her right to own firearms restored. Mr. Beck is alleged to have had no such circumstances.In such a case, a search warrant could be justly issued; however, this time the situation went terribly wrong, when the suspect chose to close himself inside his home and engage the LEO's present in a gun battle. A veteran Sheriff's Deputy lost his life, and the suspect almost certainly died in a burning garage, after tear gas canisters set the home on fire. Police report that they were speaking with Mr. Beck on the telephone at about the time the fire spread to the garage... and there is little chance that he escaped. Remains found in the charred rubble are likely to be identified shortly as his.In Michigan over the weekend, a similar story unfolded, although it has not yet produced such grisly results. A 47 year old man there chose to take up arms rather than surrender to police, firing shots at a news helicopter and a police airplane that flew over his campground. In the past two months, there have been numerous reports of police approaching a home to serve a simple warrant... and being met with gunfire.Across the country, the stories are the same... Americans, many of whom have no prior criminal records, open their doors to find Law Enforcement Officers... and rather than cooperate willingly, rather than try to work within the system, they reach for a weapon... and almost invariably they lose their own lives in the process, regardless of how many they "take with them"In years past, I worked with Law Enforcement, tracking runaways and missing teenagers. Many of the officers I knew I would have trusted with my life... and did on more than one occasion. I infiltrated cults that used basic brainwashing techniques to lead kids into slavery; without the officers who had agreed to work with me and see that I got back out, I might well have been one of those lost souls myself. They were good men and women, and they did their jobs.And most of them are still good men and women, and they do their jobs, and sometimes that job gets them killed.So why are the common people choosing to go out in a Blaze of Glory, rather than just let the officer do his job?Depending on whose polls you want to cite, it seems that something less than half of the American People admit to having any remaining faith in their government, including their local police departments and sheriffs. Reasons include Ruby Ridge, Waco, and other such high-profile scenes, but the most common reason cited is something that is found only on a local level..."The cops think they're in control."It's true. Those good men and women, police officers, deputies, federal agents... too many of them are behaving lately as if we, the People, must act without question to obey any order they give, to obey any rule or regulation handed down by any bureaucracy they take orders from. This is what they are taught, and they are taught that if we do not do so... then we are the enemy, and we must be taken down.Once upon a time, it was common knowledge that the job of a policeman was "to Protect, and to Serve"... today, his job seems to have undergone a transformation. Today, his job seems to be "To Control and To Enforce".And the people are reacting to that new job description by refusing to be enslaved. Rather than submit to an authority that has long ago outgrown its lawful limits, they are choosing to go out in a "Blaze of Glory", taking up arms and meeting force with force. They know that they're going to die... but, for some reason, they've decided that to die in battle is preferable to surrender.What could motivate someone to throw away the rest of his life, when to go along peaceably might mean that he could have that life back someday?Perhaps it's just that the type of people who get police officers knocking on their doors are the types who collect guns and hate unconstitutional authority... if so, how many of us would fit that category? Will the next knock be on your door?Don't answer too hastily...The warrant that started the conflagration in Santa Clarita was based on hearsay evidence that a man who lived in this affluent neighborhood was "stockpiling weapons" and "impersonating a United States Marshal". In fact, it seems to have been based on an unsubstantiated rumor that Mr. Beck may have told a fib or three, and on the report of a neighbor who invaded Mr. Beck's privacy, spying on him out of a personal grudge or dislike.How do your neighbors feel about you?Or, maybe the warrants are lately beginning to be issued more often to permit the search or entry of a home owned by someone who might be what the government labels as "radical"... "extremist"... "right-wing"... "pro-gun"... or the ever-popular "anti-government"...All it takes is a phone call... Strike that.All it takes is for a police officer to go before a judge and swear that he or she has personal knowledge of a crime being committed on your premises... even if that "personal knowledge" is nothing more than a rumor told to that officer by someone who heard it six years ago from someone who used to know the suspect... yes, such a rumor is sufficient evidence for a judge to issue a warrant for police to enter your premises without warning and search it for evidence they can use to justify arresting you. Rest assured that they will find some such evidence... after all, their sources told them it was there... and they swore to it before a judge. Can't look foolish before a judge, can they?And, if you happen to object to having your right to security from unreasonable search and seizure ignored... then perhaps you, too, will decide that it is better to die a free man than live a prisoner of a corrupt system.The officers will understand. And besides, it'll save them the cost of a trial.And your "Blaze of Glory"? Don't worry... within a week or so, they'll have their story firmly in place, explaining to all your neighbors and family how you were the evil monster they had been investigating for years, and proving without a doubt (according to your local newspaper) that you fired first. And if your house burns down on top of you... well, for some reason, it seems that the criminals who "barricade" themselves in their "compounds" have a fondness for setting their own homes on fire. Who can figure?Yes, there's a pattern, here. Americans are taking their stands. As police agencies strike harder and faster in an apparent attempt to frighten those of us whom they've not yet visited, not yet "taken down", into giving up our guns so that we won't end up like Beck or many others... Americans don't seem to be getting that message.They're getting a different message..."When the cops show up, your life is over anyway... so why not go out in a Blaze of Glory?"At least some of them, if not most, die with one comforting thought ... that perhaps their death, brought about by resistance to authority run amok, will be the one that triggers a resolve in the minds of other Americans, reminding them that they are a Free People... and that the government, far from being the master of a free people, is its servant, and must be brought back under that control and limitation.Don't grab a weapon... I am most decidedly NOT advocating violence.When a police officer loses his life in the line of duty, America loses something, no matter how good or bad a cop he might have been. Even if he is doing his job and following orders and assisting as part of an unjustifiably large force executing a search or arrest warrant... his death hurts us all.But so do the deaths of those who make their final stands, rather than "go along peaceably", and they are happening far more frequently today than they ever have.Unfortunately, they're doing it one at a time. And dying the same way
In Santa Clarita, CA, just this past weekend, police officers, SWAT teams, ATF agents and Sheriff's deputies surrounded a home, reportedly in an attempt to serve a search warrant. Apparently, the suspect, James A. Beck, was a convicted felon, and as such, was probably prohibited from owning firearms under current law. We say "probably" because there are circumstances under which a convicted felon might have his or her right to own firearms restored. Mr. Beck is alleged to have had no such circumstances.In such a case, a search warrant could be justly issued; however, this time the situation went terribly wrong, when the suspect chose to close himself inside his home and engage the LEO's present in a gun battle. A veteran Sheriff's Deputy lost his life, and the suspect almost certainly died in a burning garage, after tear gas canisters set the home on fire. Police report that they were speaking with Mr. Beck on the telephone at about the time the fire spread to the garage... and there is little chance that he escaped. Remains found in the charred rubble are likely to be identified shortly as his.In Michigan over the weekend, a similar story unfolded, although it has not yet produced such grisly results. A 47 year old man there chose to take up arms rather than surrender to police, firing shots at a news helicopter and a police airplane that flew over his campground. In the past two months, there have been numerous reports of police approaching a home to serve a simple warrant... and being met with gunfire.Across the country, the stories are the same... Americans, many of whom have no prior criminal records, open their doors to find Law Enforcement Officers... and rather than cooperate willingly, rather than try to work within the system, they reach for a weapon... and almost invariably they lose their own lives in the process, regardless of how many they "take with them"In years past, I worked with Law Enforcement, tracking runaways and missing teenagers. Many of the officers I knew I would have trusted with my life... and did on more than one occasion. I infiltrated cults that used basic brainwashing techniques to lead kids into slavery; without the officers who had agreed to work with me and see that I got back out, I might well have been one of those lost souls myself. They were good men and women, and they did their jobs.And most of them are still good men and women, and they do their jobs, and sometimes that job gets them killed.So why are the common people choosing to go out in a Blaze of Glory, rather than just let the officer do his job?Depending on whose polls you want to cite, it seems that something less than half of the American People admit to having any remaining faith in their government, including their local police departments and sheriffs. Reasons include Ruby Ridge, Waco, and other such high-profile scenes, but the most common reason cited is something that is found only on a local level..."The cops think they're in control."It's true. Those good men and women, police officers, deputies, federal agents... too many of them are behaving lately as if we, the People, must act without question to obey any order they give, to obey any rule or regulation handed down by any bureaucracy they take orders from. This is what they are taught, and they are taught that if we do not do so... then we are the enemy, and we must be taken down.Once upon a time, it was common knowledge that the job of a policeman was "to Protect, and to Serve"... today, his job seems to have undergone a transformation. Today, his job seems to be "To Control and To Enforce".And the people are reacting to that new job description by refusing to be enslaved. Rather than submit to an authority that has long ago outgrown its lawful limits, they are choosing to go out in a "Blaze of Glory", taking up arms and meeting force with force. They know that they're going to die... but, for some reason, they've decided that to die in battle is preferable to surrender.What could motivate someone to throw away the rest of his life, when to go along peaceably might mean that he could have that life back someday?Perhaps it's just that the type of people who get police officers knocking on their doors are the types who collect guns and hate unconstitutional authority... if so, how many of us would fit that category? Will the next knock be on your door?Don't answer too hastily...The warrant that started the conflagration in Santa Clarita was based on hearsay evidence that a man who lived in this affluent neighborhood was "stockpiling weapons" and "impersonating a United States Marshal". In fact, it seems to have been based on an unsubstantiated rumor that Mr. Beck may have told a fib or three, and on the report of a neighbor who invaded Mr. Beck's privacy, spying on him out of a personal grudge or dislike.How do your neighbors feel about you?Or, maybe the warrants are lately beginning to be issued more often to permit the search or entry of a home owned by someone who might be what the government labels as "radical"... "extremist"... "right-wing"... "pro-gun"... or the ever-popular "anti-government"...All it takes is a phone call... Strike that.All it takes is for a police officer to go before a judge and swear that he or she has personal knowledge of a crime being committed on your premises... even if that "personal knowledge" is nothing more than a rumor told to that officer by someone who heard it six years ago from someone who used to know the suspect... yes, such a rumor is sufficient evidence for a judge to issue a warrant for police to enter your premises without warning and search it for evidence they can use to justify arresting you. Rest assured that they will find some such evidence... after all, their sources told them it was there... and they swore to it before a judge. Can't look foolish before a judge, can they?And, if you happen to object to having your right to security from unreasonable search and seizure ignored... then perhaps you, too, will decide that it is better to die a free man than live a prisoner of a corrupt system.The officers will understand. And besides, it'll save them the cost of a trial.And your "Blaze of Glory"? Don't worry... within a week or so, they'll have their story firmly in place, explaining to all your neighbors and family how you were the evil monster they had been investigating for years, and proving without a doubt (according to your local newspaper) that you fired first. And if your house burns down on top of you... well, for some reason, it seems that the criminals who "barricade" themselves in their "compounds" have a fondness for setting their own homes on fire. Who can figure?Yes, there's a pattern, here. Americans are taking their stands. As police agencies strike harder and faster in an apparent attempt to frighten those of us whom they've not yet visited, not yet "taken down", into giving up our guns so that we won't end up like Beck or many others... Americans don't seem to be getting that message.They're getting a different message..."When the cops show up, your life is over anyway... so why not go out in a Blaze of Glory?"At least some of them, if not most, die with one comforting thought ... that perhaps their death, brought about by resistance to authority run amok, will be the one that triggers a resolve in the minds of other Americans, reminding them that they are a Free People... and that the government, far from being the master of a free people, is its servant, and must be brought back under that control and limitation.Don't grab a weapon... I am most decidedly NOT advocating violence.When a police officer loses his life in the line of duty, America loses something, no matter how good or bad a cop he might have been. Even if he is doing his job and following orders and assisting as part of an unjustifiably large force executing a search or arrest warrant... his death hurts us all.But so do the deaths of those who make their final stands, rather than "go along peaceably", and they are happening far more frequently today than they ever have.Unfortunately, they're doing it one at a time. And dying the same way
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