Comments on Pro Libertate: Darren Wilson and the Reality of "Blue Privilege"

People seem mixed up on this Brown-Wilson thing. “...

2014-12-04T12:07:19.973-07:00

People seem mixed up on this Brown-Wilson thing. “Let’s see, who to support? The state thug, or the street punk?” In reality this was a case of stupid meeting stupid. No wonder the results are stupid. No wonder the whole damn circus is stupid. Maybe neither of them deserves any support.

I do wish the rioters would confine their burning to cop cars though.

Anything published at Pro Libertate can be quoted,...

2014-12-02T07:12:25.298-07:00

Anything published at Pro Libertate can be quoted, in whole or in part, as long as proper is credit given. A link is much appreciated, but not strictly necessary.

This could be considered my (in)version of the notorious Major League Baseball legal disclaimer. :-)

Thank you.

Anything published at Pro Libertate can be quoted,...

2014-12-02T07:12:24.027-07:00

Mr Grigg, From time to time I quote excerpts from ...

2014-12-02T04:44:33.056-07:00

Mr Grigg,
From time to time I quote excerpts from your written work, with the source(you)cited, and a link to your original piece (when the site allows links to be posted).

The admins at one of the sites where I've posted, get more than a little worried about becoming the target for copyright trolls.

IIRC, you are not a believer in intellectual property.

Could you please clarify (one line would be fine) whether you are ok with being quoted, or whether you intend to pursue sites that contain quotes from your work.

Many thanks

Anarchy

As I've pointed out on numerous occasions, nob...

2014-11-30T17:15:26.921-07:00

As I've pointed out on numerous occasions, nobody should ever volunteer potentially incriminating information to the police. The first -- and preferably only -- word that should be spoken in such circumstances is "lawyer," and any competent lawyer is going to tell you to shut up.

Either as a police officer or as a private citizen, Wilson would be within his rights to say nothing at all during the investigation -- and, if it came to that, during a criminal trial.

The privileges Wilson enjoyed in this respect are two-fold. First of all, since the fatal shooting was committed by a police officer it was presumed to be justified. This wouldn't be the case if he had been a "common" citizen.

Secondly, as he admitted in his grand jury testimony, he worked through his story with the FOP -- an organization that includes everybody involved in the investigation. During the inquiry the public was fed a steady stream of leaks from the prosecutor's office, as well; many of the most important came before Wilson told his story to the grand jury.

LGW, if you don't think that Wilson got specia...

2014-11-30T17:03:50.137-07:00

LGW, if you don't think that Wilson got special treatment during this "investigation", then you are very naive.

I do agree, never talk to cops and always lawyer up. But be prepared to spend some time in jail before your trial and be ready to "not beat the ride".
One very simple change needs to be made to government employee contracts. If any government employee commits an act for which he needs 5th Amendment protection, then he should no longer be employed by the government. Keeping your mouth shut is a right. Living off the tax payers isn't.

"Most importantly, if Wilson had been treated...

2014-11-30T11:22:39.535-07:00

"Most importantly, if Wilson had been treated as a homicide suspect, rather than the “victim” of an “assault on law enforcement,” he would not have had the luxury of composing his story at leisure, in consultation with his attorney, to fit the facts as they emerged from the investigation."

If you read the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution you would know that any suspect has the absolute right to remain silent. The sixth amendment guarantees thee right to counsel.

So the hide-behind-the-badge oinker's life has...

2014-11-29T23:29:45.549-07:00

So the hide-behind-the-badge oinker's life has been ruined? I hope so.

Horse crap. When all is said and done, the oinkers...

2014-11-29T19:39:48.377-07:00

Horse crap. When all is said and done, the oinkers "hide
behind the badge" and get away with damn near anything.

If the Police come down on Blacks and protect prop...

2014-11-29T00:42:14.445-07:00

If the Police come down on Blacks and protect property they will be condemned. If they back down - and both they and the National Guard were ordered to - they will be condemned. They can't win with Blacks. Neither can Whites. Blacks obviously don't accept White authority - thus they need their own country. This is in line with the vision of the Founders who wanted them sent out of the United States.

MLK was a Communist and a master manipulator. His Christianity was about as sincere as Obama's.

It takes time to unravel all the facts of a homici...

2014-11-28T23:55:58.285-07:00

It takes time to unravel all the facts of a homicide or killing.

I find thought provoking observations of fact between Mr Griggs & EB. The fact that they were able to reconcile their differences on this post is extremely satisfying to me, and of the truest Christian spirit.

It was Martin Luther King Jr who eventually required an attitude of nonviolent enemy love from anyone wishing to participate with him in protests, for the greater purpose of winning over these enemies to the truth.

His Mentor was Jesus.

The rioters & looters in Ferguson are helping no one with their arson and larceny; in their folly, they hurt even themselves.

Their mindless rage and fear only opens the gates of hell.

Jesus - in life and death - healed even those who wanted to kill and destroy Him. Mr King understood, and was courageous to follow.

I hope we will be as well. Will we reach out to both the corrupt and the ignorant?

Will we learn the healing power of restorative - instead of retributive - justice? The power of enemy love?

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT ANALYSIS!!! While I know that...

2014-11-28T19:41:51.995-07:00

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT ANALYSIS!!! While I know that the establishment is using Ferguson to divide us with a race wedge and to de-legimitize opposition to the real problem of police brutality, ignoring the cut-and-dried cases and giving attention to this "uncertain" one, I now feel quite certain that the officer was the troublemaker even in this case. After all, as you said, he had the luxury of telling a story to fit whatever facts came out (and when he knew no video existed). AND it seems clear that he WAS tailoring his story since it doesn't add up. I feel sure that Brown "had the stronger case for self-defense".

The Governor betrayed the community of Ferguson. H...

2014-11-28T19:28:59.769-07:00

The Governor betrayed the community of Ferguson. He withheld the Guard presence and refused to provide the honest and lawful citizens of that community due process and equal protection under the law.

Their rights and property of the Ferguson citizens were trampled as the Governor held back, as bad actors were allowed to destroy the property of innocents and wreak havoc on the peace and tranquility of the commons. Let any other "party" or ruckus take place and see then what the law enforcement response would be.

Did not those bad actors deserve the same application of law and order that was applied to Michael Brown? Were not the victims of the bad actors those nights entitled to the same application of governmental intervention as the victims of Michael Brown that fateful day?

Duplicity in due process reasonably includes prosecuting the peace and forcefully intervening to stop violative raging in the commons. Such duplicity is the opposite of ensuring due process in providing for equal protection under the law.

If the Democrat Governor and his cronies were right in withholding intervening government force to control and preserve the safety of the commons and protect the citizen interests and their property, then that refusal to enforce the law in the face of such apparent public wrongdoing would ironically become the strongest basis yet for claiming Officer Wilson was in the wrong and committed a crime against Michael Brown, as the Governor and state policy has been shown to withhold, not intervene and postpone enforcing the law until a politically more expedient moment.

The duplicity of this Governor and his Democrat Party cronies maybe the greater threat to civil society than the hooliganism and deranged distemper of the mobs that swelled the Ferguson streets in protest. Perhaps the raging mobs are right about that; ironically right about the apparent double standard between how they were treated and how Michael Brown was treated.

Is not such official duplicity and resulting lawlessness among the worst, most seditious form of governmental corruption?

They make a lie of all of it. More proof of this view in found in the recorded testimony that were blatant and apparent lies sworn to be truth before the grand jury. The enablers of this lawlessness would not prosecute those lies as perjury either.

Yes, police officer have certain privileges but Li...

2014-11-28T18:37:47.543-07:00

Yes, police officer have certain privileges but Libertarians romance to the time when the police didn't exist and local militias dealt with crime. Since local militias were made up of local volunteers they had no special rights in dealing with criminals

Police don't "deal" with crime today, in terms of protecting property from aggression; this is why there are 3-4 times as many private peace officers (security guards, armored car drivers, "mall cops," and private detectives)than sworn government police officers in this country.

Here's the really interesting fact: None of those private peace officers -- people who actually risk their lives to protect private property -- enjoys any of the privileges of law enforcement officers, including "qualified immunity."

It's akin to currency: for the longest time most societies didn't have monopoly on currency and let the people decide until the last century or so. But that's not how modern society currently works.

I grant that the legitimacy of government police is akin to the value of government-issued fiat scrip, which has depreciated by more than 95 percent since the Fed was created a century ago. It isn't clear to the unprejudiced mind how this helps the case you're trying to make.

Law enforcement is a manifest failure as a means of protecting property from criminal violence; if this weren't the case, Americans wouldn't have spend as much as we do in order to hire people who render the service that the police supposedly provide.

That is a description of what actually is, rather than what government purports to be. Libertarians like myself reside within the reality-based community, rather than cocooning ourselves in state-centered fantasies.

As said Libertarians are patching their view of wh...

2014-11-28T18:26:04.665-07:00

As said Libertarians are patching their view of what should be and ignoring what actually is. It reminds of a fellow who wrote that speed limits are generally slower than most people would like to be however if you go faster than the posted limit you're committing a offence regardless if whether you think it should be an offence.

Yes, police officer have certain privileges but Libertarians romance to the time when the police didn't exist and local militias dealt with crime. Since local militias were made up of local volunteers they had no special rights in dealing with criminals. It's akin to currency: for the longest time most societies didn't have monopoly on currency and let the people decide until the last century or so. But that's not how modern society currently works.

Blue privilige,like white privilege,is like black ...

2014-11-28T12:49:55.795-07:00

Blue privilige,like white privilege,is like black entitilement....a crock of you know what. So PLEASE take a more positive stance and actions to accomplish what you need to w/o the bull.....

Roger V.Tranfagli

Doesn't that DA resemble Jeb Bush? I actually...

2014-11-28T12:11:08.624-07:00

Doesn't that DA resemble Jeb Bush?

I actually thought he was J.R. Ewing's doppleganger.

The police have certain privileges the average person doesn't have? When was this not of a case of "no kidding Sherlock?"

If police were servants of the public, they would have duties, rather than privileges. That was actually one element of Robert Peel's original concept: Police officers were essentially common citizens who did, as a vocation, what any citizen can and should do as occasion requires-- protect others from the threat of criminal violence. Peel was being somewhat disingenuous, but that principle is sound nonetheless.

Yes they do the same way the soldier has different standards on the battlefield than the average person at home.

Police are supposed to be peace officers, rather than members of an occupying military force -- which, as it turns out, is their actual function.

As I understand it, under the laws of warfare, it is civilians who are privileged, not combatants. In domestic law enforcement, police were long taught that criminal suspects are not combatants, but fellow citizens whose rights are to be protected. That ethic -- always honored more in the breach than in observance -- was disposed of entirely when Nixon declared "war" on crime, if not earlier.

What is it about Libertarians that think "I have the right to commits crimes but the police has to treat me with kids gloves and the judge has to give me a proverbial slap on the wrist type of sentence?

No libertarian of whom I am aware believes that anybody has the right to commit a crime of any kind.

Is it because their ideal society assumes PDAs can only engage in seeking to return the stolen goods from the thief?

In an ideal society the store owner who was robbed would have the means and the ability to recover his property at the point of the violation. Government police agencies are flawlessly incompetent at recovering stolen property -- as was the case here. Wilson wasn't investigating a theft at the time of this encounter, and the stolen property was never found, let alone returned.

Doesn't that DA resemble Jeb Bush? Rick

2014-11-28T11:44:59.448-07:00

Doesn't that DA resemble Jeb Bush?

Rick

Another case of "his only 'crime' was...

2014-11-28T00:34:00.128-07:00

Another case of "his only 'crime' was committing a criminal offence." I can think of no sure way of committing suicide by cop then hitting him and going for his gun. Libertarians need to watch Chris Rock's "how not to get your ass kicked by the police" video. Seriously. Find out how the real world works rather than live by how you think it should work.

The police have certain privileges the average person doesn't have? When was this not of a case of "no kidding Sherlock?" Yes they do the same way the soldier has different standards on the battlefield than the average person at home. Why suddenly so surprised?

What is it about Libertarians that think "I have the right to commits crimes but the police has to treat me with kids gloves and the judge has to give me a proverbial slap on the wrist type of sentence? Is it because their ideal society assumes PDAs can only engage in seeking to return the stolen goods from the thief? The PDA officer can only ask nicely if the crook would like to turn up to private arbitration? The private arbitrator can only issue his viewpoint on what should be done and if the crook doesn't abide it then he only risks social shaming?

EB, I won't shed a tear because a government e...

2014-11-27T18:19:43.312-07:00

EB, I won't shed a tear because a government employee has his career and life turned upside down. How many innocents have had their lives ruined by government employees? Face it, the cops do not protect any one but other government employees.

You say they have their lives ruined. But their lives are based upon theft and force, so they deserve to have their lives ruined. I would not voluntarily pay one dime for the services of a cop. But I am forced at gun point to pay their bloated salaries, platinum benefits and to provide them with early retirement. They take food out of my child's mouth to provide for theirs. They are more of a threat to me than any "gang banger". I can shoot the "banger", but to shoot a thug in blue would mean my death.

William, what's your take on this? http://ww...

2014-11-27T18:01:56.323-07:00

William, what's your take on this?

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/11/robert-farago/national-bar-association-statement-michael-brown-ruling/

I would think that the NBA would include District Attorney McCullough in their efforts for "justice", but I have no idea how difficult "censuring" a prosecutor would be.

My apologies on mistaking your ancestry....I apolo...

2014-11-27T17:29:47.268-07:00

My apologies on mistaking your ancestry....I apologize if I have offended you. I should not have allowed my emotional reaction to a term that I dislike to affect me as it did.

I appreciate that gracious gesture -- but I'm hardly offended by strenuous disagreement, and would hardly have cause for offense over a very common misunderstanding about my ethnic background. As Christians we understand that we share the same ancestry (Acts 17:26).

My entire purpose in bringing up the obnoxious expression "white privilege" was to show how irrelevant it is to the events in Ferguson. You might be interested in my most recent podcast, which examines some of the outrages being committed in the name of fighting "racism."

Take care.

In order to protect the property and people of the...

2014-11-27T14:06:45.927-07:00

In order to protect the property and people of the good people of Ferguson the police would have had to use force. They have just seen what has happened to a cop who did just that.

What incentive do they have to do anything? The cops career and any semblance of a normal life is over. He has had his and his family's lives threatened. The Black Panthers have a $5000 bounty on his head.

They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they do they have their lives ruined. If they don't they don't have their lives ruined. Seems like they took the prudent choice to me.

After the LA riots the police decided it was better to do drive and wave police work than it was to get involved. The same will happen in Ferguson.

My apologies on mistaking your ancestry.

The term "White privilege" strikes a nerve with me when it is being used in a country founded by Whites and which was 90% White until the 1965 immigration act.

There is no such thing as "Black privilege" in black countries or "Asian privilege" in Asian countries.

Formerly White countries are the only ones who are having multiculturalism forced on them.

Between "White privilege" and affirmative action my children are second class citizens in a country their forefathers founded.

As a Christian I believe Satan is fomenting wars to bring about his one world government. I can see him stoking a race war in this country. I fear my children will be targeted because of the color of their skin.

I apologize if I have offended you. I should not have allowed my emotional reaction to a term that I dislike to affect me as it did.

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless.

This is an amazingly ignorant post.... Perhaps you...

2014-11-27T12:08:07.509-07:00

This is an amazingly ignorant post.... Perhaps you should give up your "white privilege" and go get some "blue privilege" and police the good folks of Ferguson. Oh wait. You are black. Why aren't you down there helping out your people out instead of whitey having to do it?

It's worth pointing out that the police have done nothing to protect the residents and business owners of Ferguson from mob violence; "officer safety" is always the highest priority, followed immediately by the security of government facilities.

To protect themselves and their property, the good people in Ferguson -- like their counterparts everywhere else -- have to arm themselves, organize privately, and, where possible, hire private peace officers. Police are worse than useless in such situations.

"My people" consist of anybody with human DNA, irrespective of melanin content. I am brown, but I'm not black and never will be. My ethnic ancestry, as I learned from meeting my birth mother a year ago, is Irish/Cherokee on her side, and Hawaiian/Basque on the side of my immediate male progenitor. This is a small matter, but large enough to fill some minds to overflowing. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thank you Mr. Griggs for yet another of your super...

2014-11-27T11:51:57.045-07:00

Thank you Mr. Griggs for yet another of your superb examinations of what you rightly call "blue privilege". Your critique of prosecutorial chicanery and police connivance is an important addition to the body of honest reporting on this unfortunate event.

After making the mistake of listening to the phalanx of nattering neoconservative nabobs on AM radio I was under the mistaken impression that Officer Wilson was pure and clean as new fallen snow. How foolish of me.

Your perceptive criticism has disabused me of any naïve misapprehensions I may have entertained. You are a one man antidote to the craven jackboot lickers of the conservative media (for whom the police are always and everywhere sacrosanct).

PS - Even if I vehemently disagreed with your viewpoint I would still enjoy your Blog posts if only for the clarity, honesty and superb writing style. You are rapidly becoming a national treasure, albeit an undeservedly obscure and destitute one. Such is the fate of those who courageously speak truth to the awful power of our contemptible overlords.