Dave Chappelle Tells the Truth

Here you go. 

Caitlin Flanagan is a Treasure

Caitlin Flanagan is your friend's mom that is low-key the most savage person you know. 

Consider this understated gem: "Say what you will about Charles Manson; he really empowered women to pursue excellence in traditionally male-dominated fields."

That mix of brutal truth and wild understatement is a hallmark of Flanagan's writing, and if you liked that, and also if you like thoughtful, intelligent reporting, then you can review much of her work over at The Atlantic. I recommend it. 

What's Wrong with America: Police and Police Unions

It is easy to look at the widespread protests at the murder of George Lloyd and wonder how we got here. 

We got here because people are dumb as shit, and that includes police officers. The problem with dumb as shit police officers is that they get to inflict excessive violence without any consequences. (They get to do a lot of other things without consequences, but the violence is the main problem right now.) 

As anyone who has ever had a dog or tried to teach a child something knows: actions must have consequences. If you allow someone to act without any consequences, then you cannot be surprised when they do something ugly, like take a shit on the floor, or throw food in your face, or, in the case of this aggressively stupid and arrogant collection of clowns at the Buffalo PD: knock a 72 year old peace activist to the ground and send him to the hospital with a brain injury. Congratulations, America! You have a police department, and a police union, that is objectively more dumb than my friend's 4 year old. 

Watch the video and tell me if you think that is good policing. According to the NYT report, the officers were 'simply following orders', per the local police union. That the local police union defends this kind of thing is part of the fucking problem! Also, it bears mentioning that if the goons are too stupid to be able to recognize that by 'simply following orders' they will hospitalize an old man who had the temerity to try and speak with them like adults then they are not qualified for the job. 

It turns out that when two of the officers were suspended, the other 55 members of this team of assholes all resigned in support. I am not a fucktard moron that works for the Buffalo PD, but even I know that mayyybe knocking a peaceful old man around is not an action I want to 'support'. 

I may have been in the minority if I did work there, because around 100 people showed up to protest the fact that the two officers were charged with assault. I guess it's cool to nearly kill someone if they try and talk to you when you have your orders? What the actual fuck is wrong with these people? Are they truly so aggressively obtuse that admitting any wrongdoing will cause them to disintegrate in a cloud of bitterness and testosterone? 

It is very easy to figure out if this kind of action is acceptable. Borrowing (again) from lessons for a four year old: put yourself in the other persons shoes. Would it be acceptable to nearly kill a peaceful old man if it were your dad, or grandfather, or you? I doubt it. 

Why are people supporting a police officer's decision to assault an old man? How do you justify that kind of action? All they had to do was put him in zip cuffs and walk him to a squad car. Instead they almost killed him. 

If you want to know why people are demonstrating across the country, look no further than the Buffalo PD. Protect and serve, indeed.