Police: "Forgive us for not arresting bankers and politicians"

[cyu]

First capitalists allow their new religion to trump science if it threatens their revenues. Now it seems their fanaticism is going to trump their personal safety. It's getting kind of hard not to facepalm with own-goals like these.

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-officers-demonstration-latest.jpg

http://rt.com/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-police-officers-union.jpg
(Both parties the same)

5,000 police officers marched through the streets of Madrid to protest government austerity measures. Officers travelled from across Spain to take part.

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-police-part-demonstration.jpg

"Citizens! Forgive us for not arresting those truly responsible for this crisis: bankers and politicians," read one banner.

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-police-officers-latest.jpg

The Spanish government has been met with anger and protests from hundreds of thousands of Spanish citizens.

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-police-officers-vehicles.jpg

The austerity measures are in exchange for a rescue to help the banks.

http://rt.com/files/news/spain-protests-police-austerity-953/spanish-latest-police-demonstration.n.jpg

The rally comes just three days after an anti-austerity strike in Spain rolled out across Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and Greece.

[cyu]

The death of social darwinists

http://truth-out.org/news/item/12175-atlanta-police-occupy-activists-team-up-to-defend-detectives-home

former and current police officers are teaming up with Occupy Our Homes activists camped out at the home of retired police detective Jacqueline Barber, a former officer and cancer patient who is facing eviction after falling behind on medic
al and mortgage payments.

several police officers attended a meeting with activists at Barber's home, and 20 or 30 former and current officers have spent time at the 24-hour Occupy camp there.

Barber worked as a detective and undercover narcotics agent until she was hit by a car and forced to retire. She was later diagnosed with a type of blood cell cancer.

Barber filed for bankruptcy and a judge issued a stay on her eviction. Despite a courtroom packed with Barber's supporters, US Bank and GMAC Mortgage recently convinced a judge to lift the stay, and now the court could order an eviction at any time.

there was little hesitation among Occupy Our Homes activists when Barber showed up at their weekly meeting looking for help. The police are like other working Americans, many are facing home foreclosures.

They get it; they know they're being screwed, and they want to support, but they are afraid of losing their jobs.

[Positivist]

This raises an important question of what role the police will play in any impending unrest. I expect a significant amount of urban officers to defect but overrall anticipate that suburban, rural and state troopers will remain loyal to the establishment (at least in America anyway.)

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

First of all, we ought to recognize that the police are the physical manifestations of the state and therefore our enemy. But of course this is conditional. During a pre-revolutionary period, when a revolutionary party's task is a combination of agitation, activism, and preparing for the revolution by accumulating arms and through clandestine activities, the police are our enemy because they depend on the state for their well-being. However, when the state is crumbling and loses it's authority we should not dogmatically reject their attempts at joining our ranks but we need to keep in mind that these are the police. Which means that they probably won't support an actual revolution due to the fact that their class position depends on the well-being of the state, and that if we actually let them join our ranks they might serve as spies. So while I'm glad to see them protesting, I don't really think anything good will come from it. After all these people are our enemies and nothing will change that.

[Rafiq]

And what? European reactionaries and conservatives always spout garbage about the big bad banks and the corrupt, decadent politicians... It's just cheap conservatism.

[Prometeo liberado]

This raises an important question of what role the police will play in any impending unrest. I expect a significant amount of urban officers to defect but overall anticipate that suburban, rural and state troopers will remain loyal to the establishment (at least in America anyway.)

The pigs by the very nature of what it takes to be a pig makes it an almost certainty that the role they now play will not change when push comes to shove. There is a reason why pork goes thru a curing process. Certain meats just won't go down that easy.

[Ocean Seal]

We'll forgive you the moment you stop arresting us.

[blake 3:17]

This raises an important question of what role the police will play in any impending unrest. I expect a significant amount of urban officers to defect but overrall anticipate that suburban, rural and state troopers will remain loyal to the establishment (at least in America anyway.)

Correct revolutionary strategy requires socialists to appeal to the lower ranks in the police and military. If higher ups defect too, all the better.

That does not require some kind of semi-populist tailism.

When they won't shoot us, we've a stalemate. When they turn their guns in the opposite direction, we've got checkmate.

[DVRA]

Who gives a fuck? The less money going to funding the cops, the better. Anyone who thinks any significant portion of the police are going to defect to "our" side or uphold our programme is kidding themselves, anyway.

[Will Scarlet]

Reminder: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spanish+police+beating+protesters

[Sasha]

can anyone find that brilliant picture of ClassWar picketing a police strike march with some offensive banner and the riotpolice had to form a line facing their own striking colleagues to stop them attacking the CW folk? :D

[piet11111]

The army is trained to protect the country against a foreign threat while the police are trained to police the people and to make us comply with the state.

As such the police tend to be the very last state elements to fight any revolution while the army is far more likely to defect to our side.

The police after all are always trained to see us as criminals who havent been caught yet.

[Sasha]

The police after all are always trained to see us as criminals who havent been caught yet.


and there are even you, someone outright opposed to the cops, falling for their propaganda. in fact only about a third of police hours go to investigating crimes, responding to 112/911 calls is even lower (9% in the netherland).
the fast majority of cop time, and thus also their primary job is protecting the public "order" (i.e. repression)

[piet11111]

and there are even you, someone outright opposed to the cops, falling for their propaganda. in fact only about a third of police hours go to investigating crimes, responding to 112/911 calls is even lower (9% in the netherland).
the fast majority of cop time, and thus also their primary job is protecting the public "order" (i.e. repression)

Im not sure what your saying here but in my experience its when they are out on the streets doing their rounds that they become a pain in the ass.

Fortunately not where i live but some friends of mine have been harassed by cops one of them even spend the night in a cell for supposedly vandalizing a van that he didn't do because he was found in a bar near that van and they just picked him out.

[Sasha]

i mean that cops are not " trained to see us as criminals who havent been caught yet.", as their primary function is not catching criminals but keeping the public order.
I understand what you intent to say but "The police after all are always trained to see us as threats to the bourgeois who havent been beaten into submission enough yet" might actually be more accurate.

[TheRedAnarchist23]

the police are the physical manifestations of the state

What?

You should, first of all realise that the police are humans too, they are not just machines for maintaining the security of the ruling class and the state.
They are people who work as police officers, they may do the work of mindless drones of the state, but underneath the uniform, and riot shield, there is a human being. You must realise that the cops don't want to be defending parlaiment when a demonstation happens, they want to join the people, but they are afraid to lose their jobs if they fail.

[DVRA]

What?

You should, first of all realise that the police are humans too, they are not just machines for maintaining the security of the ruling class and the state.
They are people who work as police officers, they may do the work of mindless drones of the state, but underneath the uniform, and riot shield, there is a human being. You must realise that the cops don't want to be defending parlaiment when a demonstation happens, they want to join the people, but they are afraid to lose their jobs if they fail.
50% of pigs voted for Golden Dawn in the Greek elections. Most police officers that I and others I know have talked to in an unofficial capacity express joy at beating down strikers and protesters, for example. The cops are among the most ardent defenders of the bourgeois order, and that's something which comes with the job.

[Grenzer]

This idea that Cops are just "workers in uniform" is extremely harmful and should be combatted. Cops aren't workers because they don't do productive or socially necessary labor. Their sole purpose for being is to deal with the social excess caused by capitalism and enforce the bourgeoisie's will.

[Veovis]

If the police beat and arrest the people when the people demonstrate and protest, who beats and arrests the police when they demonstrate and protest?

[bcbm]

if they are sorry they will stop being cops or jump off a bridge


If the police beat and arrest the people when the people demonstrate and protest, who beats and arrests the police when they demonstrate and protest?

other cops or the army though they reserve this for usually the most 'dire' situations

[cyu]

First of all, we ought to recognize that the police are the physical manifestations of the state and therefore our enemy. But of course this is conditional. During a pre-revolutionary period, when a revolutionary party's task is a combination of agitation, activism, and preparing for the revolution by accumulating arms and through clandestine activities, the police are our enemy because they depend on the state for their well-being.

Reminds me of this

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/301/b/0/leverage_by_autogestion-d5j70sa.png

[Buitraker]

Fuck them



Gga8h4i5GCk

[Thirsty Crow]

And what? European reactionaries and conservatives always spout garbage about the big bad banks and the corrupt, decadent politicians... It's just cheap conservatism.
I don't know about that, this seems like a too easy rejection of a possibility to intervene in and maybe influence some sections of the repressive apparatus, perhaps up to the point when policing of struggles will face some problems. This all might come off as naive with regard to the situation in Spain, but the basic point is of course not to argue that cops are workers in uniform but that actions aimed at provoking instability in the rank-and-file of the repressive apparatus is desirable if viable.

[Luís Henrique]

If the police beat and arrest the people when the people demonstrate and protest, who beats and arrests the police when they demonstrate and protest?

That's the problem... for capital. But, for us, it is not a problem, at all.

Luís Henrique

[Luís Henrique]

Cops aren't workers because they don't do productive or socially necessary labor.

Neither are bank clerks, state school teachers, or shop assistants.

If cops aren't workers, it must be for a different reason.

Luís Henrique

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

Neither are bank clerks, state school teachers, or shop assistants.

If cops aren't workers, it must be for a different reason.

Luís Henrique

Teachers don't do necessary labor?

[Luís Henrique]

Teachers don't do necessary labor?

They don't do productive labour, if they aren't employed by a private school.

And bank clerks and shop assistants certainly don't do "necessary" labour, if we abstract the fact that we live in a capitalist society. Neither do workers in ammonition plants, or automobile factories, by the way. Aren't they workers?

Luís Henrique

[Delenda Carthago]

And what? European reactionaries and conservatives always spout garbage about the big bad banks and the corrupt, decadent politicians... It's just cheap conservatism.
Whoever in the times of imperialism points figures on the banks, giving a pass to the "good" indutrial Capital, is not to be trusted.