Former cop myself. I remember getting chewed out at police academy because we were told to write an essay explaining whether we thought of ourselves as a warrior or a guardian. My response was neither as we are not at war against the public so we can't be warriors, and we are not above the public, so we cannot be guardians. I argued that I see myself as a servant, as what I do serves the public. I got yelled at and forced to rewrite the essay. It took me a few years after I quit the force to realize that, no, actually, they were 100% correct. Cops really are always either fighting a war against the public or lording over them.
I knew a guy (don't know what ever happened to him, it was years ago) who wanted so badly to be a cop. He went to academy & got hired at one of the local police depts (rural area with a lot of small towns) & he quit after less than 6 months & chose another career entirely.
Ill never forget the time on patrol I found a dead unhoused person. As I rolled him over to check vitals/start cpr his friends 20 feet away saw me moving him. They thought I was just trying to mess with him/harass him. My partner had to fend them back as I tried to work on this guy. It was that day I knew I was on the wrong side of things. Police had treated them like shit for so long that the thought of a police officer was trying to help was alien to them.
@@SchizohandlersMost people have moved away from it as “homeless” is a flattening/ dehumanizing term whereas “unhoused person” acknowledges that a) they are a fellow human and b) they are without housing; something the UN considers part of basic human necessities. Its like not calling and addict an addict: saying they have a substance use issue can actually help to engage them in care.
@@gsgaming6976no, i used to homelessm This unhoused shit is infuriating. Stop trying to pretty up how shitty the situation is. Nothing is gonna change if we try to make it out to be this nice, comfy, safe thing
@@chistinelane Edited to add this - I thought this reply was to a conversation in a different thread. I'm not sure why you're angry with me over this. What about my comment made you think I am trying to pretty up the situation? Btw the episodes I mentioned at the end of this comment originally were "The War On Vagrants" by the podcast series Behind the Bastards. As a homeless man myself I am well aware of my own struggles, thank you very much. While I appreciate your concern for the people who are distressed and in danger, I would like to point out that you are literally dismissing my own feelings on the matter. I would appreciate it if you didn't do that. It is my choice to not engage in the system as it is, except by helping others when and where I choose to however I can. This life satisfies me. I really do recommend listening to those episodes btw. At least part of the point is about how terrible it is that when homeless people do things like build actual houses for themselves they often draw complaints from wealthier neighbors, or the city/state come in and demolish them. I'm well aware of the atrocities done in the name of progress.
@@jordanmurray410thats because they technically not unions, they are fraternal orders. When Id argue this with a cop I knew he'd whip out the "not a union" line and explain that Fraternal Orders are not legally unions, so union crackdowns dont effect them. Its a distinction that allows police to have their own "union" without having to be loyal to the idea of worker unions.
I feel that your former life as a cop has led to contextualization and perspective that many don't offer on this platform. You are unique and appreciated That Dang Dad. I am glad you are who you are; you are a force for humanization of all people.
I think with all animal-analogies the 1:1 metaphor will inevitably break down in certain places, but the human connotations still ring 100% true regardless. For example "fleecing" literal, actual sheep is a benefit to both the animal _and_ whoever's sheering them for human gain. Their wool grows so fast, it hurts their quality of life to *NOT* remove excess layers from their coats (which easily build up contaminants & hinder their sight/movement when overgrown). But, specifically with the _human_ connotations of fleecing, the wordplay makes a staggering amount of sense: - To obtain by coercion or intimidation - Depriving someone of something by deceit - Defraud, swindle, or charge exorbitantly It *especially* works in the context of legal processes like strip-searches, asset seizure, property confiscation, and police auctions. 10/10 incredibly solid wordplay
I'm a Black-American woman, and when I called 9-1-1 about a physical health emergency, I was handcuffed in my dining room. They took me to phych department holding area, which I have been thrown into several times. Instead of being taken to the emergency room, I am being intimated.
I'm a trans teenager who lives in Michigan, thank you for bringing up the point of not compromising on things like trans rights. I'm tired of being a political issue, I just want to be a goofy teenage girl.
hey girl, im metaphorically taking you to the mall so we can go to claires, maybe get our nails done, stop by spencers and hot topic, and grab some ice cream. maybe we can swap some clothes too lol -trans guy, minor, tx
As an Australian trans woman, please know that our brothers, sisters and siblings in the U.S are not forgotten and we love you. I wasn't out until I was already a legal adult, I couldn't imagine the strength it takes to be an openly trans person let alone TEENAGER in the U.S. They're not going to win, because we won't let them.
@@originaljokegaming2948 hey there I know it might not seem like it given how political the issue has gotten but I promise both sides just want to protect and do what they see as what’s best for y’all. That’s why emotions are so high and try and see it from where there sitting where they believe it’s gender dysphoria and I understand you think there wrong but just from there prospective they are dont want for y’all to take these drugs or have surgery that is permanent while your brain is still developing the part of the brain that controls judgement doesn’t develop fully until 25 and for me I’m still waiting for mine at 29 lol but at under 18 we don’t have the ability to make good judgement and that’s what they are fighting so hard against not to keep y’all from being who you are just to wait until 18 so you don’t do something you’ll regret
Post 9/11 America has had a rapidly growing culture of dehumanization. When we started militarizing police, we became more of a police-state than what the signers ever imagined.
@@suhsnowpolice protect against enemies of the people. Military protect against enemies of the state. When you combine the 2, the people themselves are treated as enemies of the state.
A visual example is just how police look. Use to be sky blue boy scout look - very public and proud to be public servant. Now it's all black military hidden undercover secret. I remember laughing at how silly like star wars storm troopers the 1999 Seattle Riot Police dressed. Sadly it's so 'normal' now no one notices.
As a cis white dude, I don't really have to worry about flattening in any of the more serious ways, but what I do have a very right-leaning brother. Whenever we get into a debate about anything remotely political there's a very clear moment where something in his brain clicks and now he's not talking to his brother anymore. He's talking to an effigy of the left wing apparatus. Things rapidly go south from there. It's driven us apart repeatedly. It's a rare situation where you can actually witness the moment that flattening occurs.
Me and my brother have argued days in about things and he has been insistent on his right wing beliefs. In his defence as his brother he does try to come to the party and consider the narrative from the other side at times rather than blindly uphold his loyalty to his respective political spectrum. I can't count the number of days we fought over things we disagree on but I can only hope he gets it without my influence but him looking within. So I do get where you coming from. Also we are South African residing in Johannesburg where our politics are an ambiguous mix of conservative and liberal sensibilities.
My mom and dad are completely lost to it. Like we fight about it but that’s not the worst of it. I just - they really think they’re better than other people. They think they are part of the Good Guys, and so any suggestion that what they’re saying is racist and potentially dangerous is treated with offense. It’s a personal insult instead of - a fact, that I need them to realize. They think they are better than others. If it’s us or them, it must be them. This is how fascism happens. This is how, this is how. The emotional knowledge looms in me; the terrible moment when you understand, at least a little, that the people you know could and would be the ones sitting in town downwind from the containment facility, pretending they can’t smell the smoke.
I've been working really hard over the last few years to stop flattening people like this and it's so nice to hear someone put it into words like that. I grew up mormon, white, and fairly well off (at least in childhood). I didn't know I was queer, I didn't know I was disabled, and my parents taught me to flatten people like that and poor people and 'dumb' people and 'criminals'. I don't think they were trying to make me cruel, we never actively attacked those communities, but the language we used about them didn't make me inclined to be kind towards people who had it worse off than me. And now that I'm an adult, I've learned a lot about myself and that seed of empathy, that 'I'm just like you', grew into a flower of compassion, an active thought to stop when I find myself flattening people and to try and think of them as human beings living hard lives. I'm proud to say that I even extend that compassion to people who I am politically opposed to. Like phil said, I'm not interested in making peace with the right or anything, but now when I see someone say something terrible, I try to think about why they feel that way and what has led them to believe what they do instead of putting them in 'the bad person box' and writing them off as dumb evil pricks. I can't say I'm perfect at it - this kind of thing is a life long struggle and I still fall for the tempting satisfaction of disgust and anger sometimes - but I am better than I ever have been and I'm going to keep trying to extend kindness instead of judgment to the people around me.
"Have you ever been flattened?" I'm trans. Most people will only ever see me as a flattened caricature, even when they think they are coming from the best possible place of support they still stumble into blindspots, or misinformation they never knew was wrong. It is extremely limiting, and isolating. I haven't had a job since before the pandemic started. It's prolly gonna kill me sooner or later at this rate.
I’m trans too, I got addicted then trafficked I tryed too call for help, they referred me too an lgbtq support group. Evil ppl get too do anything and cops don’t care.
I'm trans too. I live in a good town in California and it's still scary to talk about who I am to other people. Who knows how they'll react, how they'll treat me. Once they learn, I might not be a person anymore, just a trans looking to hurt them or their kids. I want fuck all to do with your kids, I just want to be left alone
Maybe because your community is unappeasable and every time people try to appease said community it comes up with some mentality that paints said appeasement as bad. If someone gets your pronouns wrong the outspoken among your community assert that they are bad. If someone asks you what your pronouns are, your community asserts they are bad. If someone apologizes for getting it wrong your community asserts that they are bad. If someone tries to avoid those “stumbling blocks” and refers to you by name exclusively your community asserts that they are bad. If someone says you look nice they are bad. If someone says you look bad they are bad. If someone buys you clothes that fit your gender expression they are bad. If someone dates you for your looks they are bad. If someone defends you they are trying to rid themselves of guilt and make you appease their ego, and are bad. If someone supports your demographic and expects, not even positive treatment, just treatment that isn’t negative, they are bad. If someone thinks others shouldn’t be legally forced to appease you, they are bad. If someone thinks that you are mean and could be nicer to them, they are bad. If someone says they would like to understand your community better, they are fetishizing and objectifying you and are bad. If someone isn’t attracted to you, they actually totally secretly all are but because they’re not open about it they are bad. Because that makes sense somehow; lambast the supposedly confused members of your demographic for not having figured themselves out like you have. Even though a major talking point in your community is how people have to “find” themselves. If you don’t completely ignore any kind of scientific thought that have even a minute connection to queerness you are bad. The outspoken members of your community make being even within an arms length of it a mentally draining experience. Those things I said are not talking points from some far-right podcast. Those are real life experiences. And it’s getting to the point where I’m starting to think the outspoken among your community aren’t some small minority of people with extreme opinions. But are actually just the ones who are willing to voice how the majority of your demographic think and feel. Because life experience, anecdotal as it is, would point to that being the case. That or members of your community feel they MUST tow the line for fear of being outted and or appearing uncertain and weak.
I was holding a sign that said south to Florida near the exit of a truck stop, trying to hitch a ride. A cop showed up and asked me for my i.d, when I refused, I was tackled, he called for backup, and when the backup showed up, they held me down and tased me 4 times. Afterwards they put me in jail (county prison). Fortunately I had friends trying to find me, they discovered I was locked up and contacted another friend whom bailed me out. Sometimes I wonder if I should've taken legal action, but I didn't. All charges (disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing) were dropped.
I do wonder what the hell went through their minds and how they would explain their actions. They would probably not see amything wrong with their actions, despite assaulting someone out of nowhere.
I've spent my life being "flattened" to such a degree that I started seeing myself and my friends in the flat descriptive, pigeonhole of "criminal", and had a very hard time justifying that we were good people with the fact that we were referred to as and referred to ourselves as criminals. It has been difficult to get the outside world to see me as much other than a criminal even though I've stopped being inherently illegal since the changed the cannabis laws in VA
Israel made a Ghetto out of East Jerusalem and Gaza. A legit 1940s Warsaw-style ghetto. And the US has been desperate to do the exact same thing with the Mexican border. As has been mentioned so many times now. The Cruelty is the point. And.. wrestling against that overwhelming amount of callous disregard for humanity has been exhausting. I'm thankful you have the emotional reserve to make videos like this.
"The US" has been? The same people you first mentioned make up 88% of Bidens cabinet and bafflingly the now current president of Mexico. This is no longer a world of nation states, we live under a global war of ideologies and a particularly subversive and nasty one is lying about its actions on the levers behind the curtains.
Not surprising since they committed gen O cide against my people to steal our land and form the so called “USA!” Gen O cide is written in the DNA of the USA!! Hell Hitler used the gen o cide of Native Americans as playbook for the holocaust!!
Living in Texas - Thank you for bringing your "flattening" caution home. Every time my state is brought up, I have to inform people that our state government doesn't really represent the majority of the population thanks to voter suppression and gerrymandering.
@@brandonwilliams6221 How? They just said there own experience You can disagree but the 'flattening' is in reference to other ppl not your self and your own situation It's reductive but it's not nearly the same thing at all I think you have massively misunderstood what is meant by 'flattening'
@brandonwilliams6221 If I had to guess, this person, much like myself, feels trapped under draconian laws written by unethical lawmakers and enforced by untrustworthy cops. They said nothing of the people in the state. Decent Texans are about the only good thing about living in Texas.
One of my best friend's dad was a cop... he was fully indoctrinated into the mentality you so aptly describe BUT he was honest enough to describe to us how policing had perverted his humanity. Great video! Free Palestine! 🇵🇸
It's so strange how little empathy there actually is in the world. So many people seem to think empathy is a problem that must be crushed and rooted out, so the flattened world can be forced and beaten into submission. But....what would actually paradoxically make the world a better place is MORE empathy. More soft values, as it were, rather than being as cruel as possible. People caring about one another. I do not understand why so many people feel like force, violence, domination, subjugation, humiliation, dehumanization, death, destruction, walking over others are the tools that make anything better because they just can't. And yet here we are with people not only supporting but begging for more, more, MORE violence and fighting for some odd monstrosity that is a "right to hate" like that makes anything better. That option has already been seen to its end regardless. One of my personal frustrations with the state of the world is that the tools and systems that produced all of its problems as logical consequences and outcomes keep getting applied again, again, again, and again rather than people collectively just trying something else. It's like we are stuck beating our heads into a wall because of just an inability to notice it ain't working, so it's time to stop and try something else. The old ways, the old world failed. Its age is done and over. Time to pack up and move along towards different and better alternatives.
Because the types of people that subscribe to the whole might makes right BS don't want to make the world a better place. They want it to mirror their reactionary delusions.
I was born without the ability to empathize. I don't care how other people feel because I don't feel it. So I am constantly flabbergasted and blown away by the amount of empathy in the world. Just a dissenting opinion.
@@cascadianrangers728 A valuable one at that. Thank you for offering it. I suppose I just feel like what there is does or goes for too little right now. It makes me question why people just choose to be horrible to others when there is that waning empathy which could just be followed to not be. And that enough people choose or want to choose to be horrible by oppressing others that it is starting to regress things into a far more horrible state.
As a Jewish guy and a former Zionist, the way that me from the past might have attacked you would be to say that Jews are the true indigenous people of Israel, that we have been living there for 3,000 years, that Muslims didn't show up until they violently invaded the area during the seventh century, and that Jewish settlers are not colonists, but members of a diaspora returning home. I might also equate the Muslim conquest of the Levant and their subjugation of Jews (and Christians) with the later European practices of colonialism and imperialism. Were I operating in extra bad faith, I might then continue on to say that your assertion that Jews are colonists in our own homeland plays into the antisemitic trope that we are always foreigners, no matter where we live. While many of the things I've outlined are true, there are key facts or pieces of context that undermine my point which I've left out. You could spend a bunch of time gathering those up and proving me wrong, but let's cut to the chase. Those arguments entirely sidestep the civilians currently being massacred. I never had a good answer for that, so I've changed the subject. Even if all the things I outlined above were completely true, the slaughter of Palestinian civilians would still be an inexcusable atrocity. Don't let anyone drag you away from that central point.
I had a discussion on this with an israeli coworker of mine and i'm curious what your perspective is. I told him about the number of civilians killed and how the IDF does not care and said they will do as much destruction as needed until they get the hostages. And he told me basically "Well, that sucks. But they tried to negotiate and if Israel just decided to leave the hostages there there would be a full scale revolt the next day. What would your country or any country do if hundreds of civilians were taken hostage and they were much stronger than the enemy militarily" and I honestly didn't know how to respond so I am asking you the same questions. What would you do?
@@vladys5238i’d probably tell them how the most effective method of getting hostages freed so far has been, ironically, the humanitarian pauses, so therefore if you care about hostages (which Israel clearly does not based on their actions) you would support a ceasefire. Then if they said that they wouldn’t want Hamas members to be freed in exchange for the hostages, I would ask them if they really thought that the hostages were important enough to kill tens of thousands of civilians over , but not important enough to have a few more terrorists free.
I do believe that Jews returning to Israel really do genuinely believe that they are returning to their homeland which in a sense is true. I think it's possible to have a state of Israel separated from all the genocide and persecution and ethnic violence but I think a lot needs to change to get that state.
Palestinian Jews were expelled from their homeland in 1947 too, and weren’t allowed their property or land becausr they weren’t white. Most white people still to this day don’t see them as people and would rather hace another million dead arabs so that Jesus will return.
I only vaguely remember a reporter on the invasion of Ukrain commenting on the footage of bombed out neighborhoods and fleeing refugees. He opined that US aid pleas would be helped by the fact that “they look like us”, that we’d be better primed to help because we could more easily identify with white people attacked in similar looking houses. It appalled me, but tracked with a gut feeling I’d had for years - that Americans just couldn’t recognize or imagine the tragedy of a full blown war as if it were on their own cul de sac.
The language I hear from the state of Israel with regards to Palestinians mirrors the language used by the US with regards to Native Americans during the age of Manifest Destiny, and this is not an accident. Israel sees the US as a model.
I am a retired cop and a retired attorney. Around the time I had twenty years on my department, I picked up the microphone one day to request permission to eat. That request was denied. Instead, I was directed to respond to a shooting that had just occurred at a business. When I arrived at scene, I learned that an eighteen year old young man had been shot and killed at an attempted robbery of a family owned business. Several family members, including the parents, were present and were hysterical over the loss of a loved one. As I handled that crime scene, I realized that the only emotion I was experiencing was anger. I wasn’t angry about the attempted robbery or the senseless killing of an innocent young man. I was ticked off because I wasn’t able to eat lunch while I handled a homicide in another officer’s patrol area. I had enough self awareness that I didn’t show my anger to anybody at scene but it was still there. I went home and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. I was promoted to sergeant not long after this. A few months after I was promoted, I responded to a homicide scene. I learned that the victim was a man in his early forties. He had been a life long gang member who had spent almost his entire adult life in prison with brief intermissions on the streets. He had been in the midst of committing yet another crime when a member of an opposing gang pulled a gun and shot him. This particular homicide reduced me to tears although I think I did a pretty good job of hiding it. Once again, I went home and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. Why had the death of this gang member reduced me to tears when the death of an innocent young man had not caused me to experience any emotional response? What I have learned in the intervening years is that I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I have sleep paralysis. I suffer from depression. I have been on and off psych medications for years. Many years of dealing with horrible things had scarred me emotionally. It did some really bad things to my psyche. It has been ten years since I last did police work but I still deal with these issues on a daily and nightly basis. Cops are human. They tend to react to repeated emotional trauma in predictable ways. Lots of cops suffer from psychological issues and related physical problems as a result. Some cops develop issues with anger. Alcoholism rates are high in the profession. Suicide rates are high. Most cops become emotionally desensitized after repeated exposure to horrible incidents. They also work in a field in which they can lose their jobs if they admit they are having trouble coping. I would like to say that something needs to be done. The problem is that I don’t see a clear solution. As a retired attorney, I think that most law enforcement agencies are reluctant to acknowledge the problem because it will predictable]y expose them to liability. What do you do with your workforce when you realize that most cops will be experiencing psychological problems before they have ten years on the job? Law enforcement agencies can’t afford to retire cops at this early stage. They can’t afford to treat them all. Heck, I doubt they could afford to regularly test them to determine their psychological states. If a law enforcement agency acknowledges that this is a wide spread problem but fails to take action to address the issue, they have pretty much admitted liability the next time a cop does something wrong. They can’t afford to do this. So what’s the solution? Feel free to share. “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” H.L. Mencken
This isn't a permanent solution, especially in the US, where insurance isn't the best, but being open about mental health issues in cops could be a good start, destigmatize mental health issues, so officers are more likely to get the help they need if they can
I mean for starters we could improve our prisons to treat people more like people so that way recidivism rates go down like how norway has a much better prison system. Also outlaw slavery for prisoners since they are the only place in the us where slavery is still kicking. Reduce prison sentences outlaw solitary confinement and other inhuman punishments that simply traumatize people and don’t actually make anything better. It isn’t that hard to find ways to make things better for everyone involved and decrease crime the issue is getting it to happen because people benefit from these things
the folks getting the wall bit reminds me of a thing I saw somewhere "Of course I want them to get the wall, and 3 more, and a roof, and food, because they are a person as much as anyone else"
Growing up I was a real shithead towards minorities, and it took a lot of self reflection, and time to realize the harm I was doing. In the process I even realized that I was part of one of the groups I had been antagonizing online, I realized I was trans. I continue to grow each day, and by no means think that I've outgrown my prejudices. . .they're still there they're just harder to see.
This might not mean much coming from me and really it's not my place to forgive whatever you said to the people you might have hurt but as a fellow trans person, I want to say that I'm proud of you for trying so hard to pull yourself out of that hole you were in I for one forgive you for being transphobic with what little sway I have over things, it's not like I can or want to speak for the people who were directly involved but I hope it means something to you anyway I think all that matters is that people try to be better now, because intend is our entire future, so I wish you all the best on your journey!
Non binary, disabled, femme-presenting (usually), yeah I get flattened. I’ve done my unfair share of flattening in the past and it’s something I try to stay really aware of. I wonder how the people raging at me about how my life isn’t worth living are suffering, because no one would be that awful to another human being without hurting a lot themselves. Not that it’s a good excuse, mind you, I expect all the kids to clean their own damned rooms.
we matter just as much as the cisgender neurotypical eugenicist white middle-class males if you or anyone you know finds themselves in a situation where their constitutional rights are being violated by authorities acting under the color of state law, please consult the jailhouse lawyer's manual they allow anyone to view it online and print it off as they please its made available by human rights and advocacy groups like the Center for Constitutional Rights in NYC
I’m a retired cop and love your content! Your message is one of hope, and one that is badly needed today. I had to get away from LE because I couldn’t stomach the toxic culture. It’s odd that the culture is so ugly yet so many first responders are genuinely wonderful people. Anyway, wanted to drop in and say I’m loving the content! Your voice is appreciated! ❤
Thanks TDD. I had a very similar moment, as a white cis het male, when I was a kid working on an all immigrant construction crew in my youth. One guy on our team would get up at 3am 6 days a week and travel all over central Texas to pick up his coworkers one by one to make it to the worksite by 7. They had all struggled to get here. I remember the moment I realized that there would absolutely never in my life be a time that I would have such difficult circumstances thrust in my way that I would ever need to know what it felt like to work so hard just to keep things stable. I wonder if any of the asshats demonizing immigration ever see that same reality and choose to look away because it's easier to pretend they would somehow know how to make it work in a different way if forced to do so.
A sheepdog is basically a wolf that has been made useful. Sheepdogs will generally eat mutton if given a chance. Though trying to eat live sheep and needing to be forcibly separated from the flock is rare, it isn't unheard-of. If we regarded police like sheepdogs (at heart the same kind of person as violent criminals, but generally more useful than harmful because of luck and extensive training) we'd be in a much better situation.
Watching this after the acorn incident is pretty poignant. That video actually scared the shit out of me, even though it’s utterly ridiculous… but that ridiculousness is probably why it’s frightening because an acorn managed to escalate a simple arrest into a fully fledged (albeit one sided) shoot to kill operation.
I'm a female-bodied nonbinary. A big worry about taking a lower dose of testosterone (which I long to do) is what happens when I continue to use women's rooms in public. I'm 50, and quite capable of telling off a Karen. Imagine teens faced with that.
Daily dose of hope and positivity for humanity from That Dang Dad! When you’re surrounded by media that tends to paint a very black and white picture, your videos give me the encouragement and reminder that there are people who see the oppression and problems in the world and want to make a change. Thank you :)
You earned a subscriber today for two reasons. 1) I heard nothing but clear, calm, objective truth about harsh realities that few people are brave enough to speak up on 2) I admire your impressive pipe collection. I'm also a fan of churchwardens and tavern pipes, and smoke my weed from one.
I probably don't remember most flattenings I've committed, but there are some that stuck with me, bc I've been flattened in the exact same way, and the sudden spark of recognition was painful. I still do it. I'm not sure if it's possible to be completely free of it. I even do it to people who are like me. The stereotypes sit so deep inside me. There's the conscious layer that knows better, but underneath it is an unconscious layer that makes snap judgments, and they're often in conflict. All I can do most days is notice it and catch my assumptions before they affect other people.
I am blessed (for lack of a better word), to have a husband who isn’t afraid to call out my habit of doing this. My right wing upbringing and 6 years in the infantry didnt leave me with a healthy understanding of the world.
This is my first direct interaction with you work (I've heard you v.o on other people's projects but it's not comparable.) You packed so many potent and valuable topics/perspectives in this video that I will instead leave you with my *very first* impression. As soon as I saw you speak, I thought "this guy is the Bob Ross of RUclips commentary." I mean that in the highest regard (and knowing the man's backstory) - your calm, collected, soothing, cadence was precisely what was needed here. Even if someone is saying things we agree with; sometimes moral outcry can be too much of a sensory overload to process how *we* can fit in the picture without succumbing to either rage or futility. I doubt you'll see this comment; but I wanted to thank you regardless.
I'm in the UK, I'm a trans woman that uses neo-pronouns, I'm disabled, autistic, mentally ill, unemployed, and the survivor of abuse. Oh, and I'm a Millenial. I get flattened a lot. I've definitely done the flattening myself, especially when younger. I find it easier now to recognise when I'm slipping in to that habit though, and can make myself step back and reevaluate. But yeah, i get flattened a lot.
I still think that the Left in general does not hate enough. I understand why, the material conditions today aren't the kind that engender the kind of revolutionary fervor we saw a century ago. Likewise, it is paramount that we understand the mission of anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism, anti-racism, anti-queerphobia etc. is compassion. However, today we have a lot of toothless talk of the "1%" and pithy "boss makes a dollar, I make a dime" talk, but that doesn't galvanize people to action. I think if we are going to see the necessary work done, we're going to need people not just angry but actively hateful of the systems of oppression and the individuals who enforce that system. I know from experience that if you tell people the true story, that the bourgeoisie not only as a class but as individuals are responsible for them being homeless, for them seeing their loved ones die of preventable illness, for every awful thing that has befallen them of no fault of their own, that gets people organized and mobilized.
So glad I found this channel. Socratic reasoning doesn’t always work but sometimes it does. When I was in prison I convinced more than one person to leave the gang life and racism because I just led them to facts with compassion. I feel like if we want a kinder and less violent and more egalitarian society it always starts with us. You rock brother. Keep speaking out loud
I’ve been saying for a long time that everyone is a comrade, they just need to hear the right things in the right order, and it’s going to be different for everyone. Great video as always, comrade.
People who think immigrants are terrible should read The Grapes of Wrath. People don't realize how easy and terrifyingly quick it can be to fall into poverty.
My best cop impression: *”fires gun into non resisting compliant 13 year old black child* Stop resisting!!” Department investigates turns out the kid got detention once for being in the hall without a hall pass so clearly a criminal therefore emptying a magazine into the child was justified self defense. How was the cop to know that he would have a sensitivity to bullets?
Thank you for this. I feel more hopeful. Fwiw, this video was at the very top of my home tab recommendations this morning. Though I am a subscriber with all notifications on who is very likely to watch new videos from you as soon as I have a moment, so youtube presumably knows it was a good suggestion for me in particular.
The problem is not which country or religion or sex choice or whatever. The problem is a system designed to exploit all of them so a very few can live in utter luxury. We either realize we all deserve a piece of the pie. We need to abolish social classes. We need to understand we are much better off investing in education than in weapons. That it is much better for us if every person can develop their full potential and be healthy. We will have nothing to fear and we will be surrounded by healthy, happy, strong, intelligent, friendly and good people.
I just want you to know this is the best video I've watched. Not like... of yours. On the whole drng internet. I was already a hardcore leftist, but still, specific things you articulated here hit that "right thing, right time" target for me. Great talking points. Sincerely thank you for making them. I will be sharing this with everyone I know who might be receptive.
Thank you for pointing out that it's still a travesty when grown men die. I think you're the first person I've seen say that about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. I'm not one of these "what about the men" types, I just think the repeated focus on dead women and children is dehumanizing. It sort of implies that every man in Palestine is Hamas and we don't need to care about them. Like their deaths are more justified or less horrific somehow.
In the context of dehumanization, recently the news about the murder of aid workers just spiraled me for a while. It wasn't only that it was a horrible event but the (seemingly) sincere way in which it was suddenly clear to so many people that "This is a step too far" when it wasn't at all before. It's just sickening and mind-boggling to me how little Palestinian lives mean to well-respected, "non-bigoted" people. It is and has been the same story for a long time, now it just seems more blatant than ever.
I was arrested over a genuine misunderstanding. Someone not even involved heard about it and assumed the worst. Even the alleged victim refused to testify, but I had to take a plea anyway because the state refused to drop anything and frankly, I was exhausted, and knew if I didn't that they were going to be up to something. When I was first arrested, I hated ALL police. I was ready to go on a warpath when I got out. Then, there were 2 or 3 officers there that treated me with genuine respect, so I treated them with respect too, even addressing those specific ones as sir. I started to realize it wasn't the officers that were in the wrong there, even if some of their "security" measures were far too invasive and ineffective, at least anecdotally. It seeded a poisonous hatred in me for a while. I later came to realize it was the state that were continuing to push my case. My bitterness shifted, but I didn't forget about the officers that were cruel to me or others, but I didn't see it as a blanket situation anymore. My eyes were opened to the fact that some, and likely a good many, are just people who want to help. Some are genuinely terrible people, yes, but only some. Still dunno that I'd take my chance with that particular metaphorical M&M bowl, but I hope you get my point. Now I have to deal with fines, probation, and the burden of knowing I'm labeled as a criminal through little fault of my own, at least until I can manage to apply for it to be expunged. Not no fault of my own, I definitely messed up, but not enough to be worth arresting me over...I mean aside from state greed. I've seen some pretty horrid things there, and it's left me with a lot I need to come to terms with and move past. I feel like the law is far too easy to weaponize, and once they have you, their greed will never let you go. It's pretty awful, but I don't know what exactly could be done about it. While I was ruminating on it, I came to a fairly similar conclusion, but the way you went in and explained the psychology of it really helped me better understand the point I was working on getting to. I still wish it'd never happened, and my dreams of getting my degrees and becoming a successful programmer have been reduced to dust, but at the very least, my anger is more appropriately directed now, I believe. I honestly just want to go back to having a normal life, but I suppose that's what therapy is for. Good video, dude. I wish y'all the best, genuinely.
Great stuff. Not just "probably more than you do" (re immigrants wanting peace @ 9:00 ) ; part of the problem is that comfortable US (and UK) life is currently so devoid of meaning that action types can quite easily by marshalled into fighting for a fascist cause. If you haven't read Gladwell's Talking to Strangers very much worth a read. Hugs.
Love the sentiment, but we are also dealing with people too willfully ignorant and hardheaded to see that they are propping up their own oppressor. They are emotionally committed to their ignorance.
This is not helped by the idea that to join law enforcement does not require that someone be smart or discerning. It is a fairly easy job for the mentally lazy to acquire, and tends to attract a lot of those types.
Thank you, TDD. This is my favorite video you have made and I share it any chance I get. We all suffer at the hands of old institutions of power. The world needs to change. We DO have the resources to clothe, feed, and house everyone. These things should be human rights that we defend as a civilization. If we had developed our systems initially with those values at core--the right to be housed, to eat, to have medical care, to live our truest selves--we wouldn't be in this mess today. A modern civilization should put all these ideals first before anything else.
My godfather was chief of police for a large township outside Philly in the mid early 80’s to mid 90’s. One of the things he believed in was that it was imperative that his officers lived in the community they patrolled. He had this old school idea of what policing was, how they need to be members of the community. It’s so weird that we went from that sort of thought to police many times living the next country over as a means to shelter themselves from their constituents.
This is kinda unrelated, but something you said made me think about it. Basically, with any action, not just violence, it’s like, “what’s the *point* of what you’re doing? And is that point worth the side effects that would come of it??” I’m using/paraphrasing a Tumblr post that was basically like, “everyone saying they want to firebomb a Walmart needs to stop and think about what’s gonna happen if they do. How would they make sure no innocents die? What’s their reason for doing it?? How would it actually impact the company??? Etc. Violence has a place in protesting, but the more dangerous the tool, the more careful its handling. And, of course, violence is very dangerous.” Or something like that. Idk why I was thinking about that, but oh well lol.
10:55 Im reminded of the helicopter gunner scene from full metal jacket. "Any person that runs is a VC. Anyone that stands still is a well disciplined VC." He's shooting civilians tending to their farm under the guise that they're all threats. To add a personal horror to that scene, after I saw the film for the first time, I overheard some coworkers talking about classic action films, terminator, die hard, etc. and their classic lines. "Ill be back," "Yipee ki yay," you probably know them all without even seeing the films. They included that gunner's line in that discussion with no thought or elaboration, just another badass line in their eyes. To them, as long as you slap an american flag on their arm theyre the good guys
I know this comment is many months after this video was uploaded but I hope you still check them from time to time. Happy that you're sharing your insights Dang Dad. This is my 2nd or 3rd video I've seen from you and I really appreciate your perspective. Keep doing you G. They can take our freedoms, properties and security but they can never take our individualities and beliefs from us.
Coming from South Africa, born in the New South Africa, being 94 and the fall of Apartheid, and by the time I was a consenting adult the government had fked the nation over so badly because Communism. No explanation needed. I found myself working in Private security, as the nation relies a lot on them for law enforcement because the police are useless, dumb, corrupt and lazy. I was called to duty because in South Africa, communities basically police themselves with private security. Crime affects us all and we need to band together. So people have been used to protecting themselves for many years. The realization of the conditions some people were in and the underworld I was exposed to made me realize within the 1st week of duty, that people are people and want to be treated as anyone else would. Even criminals. A lot of old guys from the Golden years of South Africa are all grizzled angry old Rhodesian vets and just fking hammer on anyone for the smallest shit. I felt more human than most people did because of what I saw, and how it affected me. I have never treated anyone less, and teach it to other officers too. I eventually found myself running a company while simultaneously leading a community police unit in my own area. At the age of 26. From my perspective of the US, Americans have long since lost touch with what life is like for people living close to the ground. Many officers ive seen have no fking clue how to deal with people what so ever. It's very obvious that people instinctively get defensive when faced with hostility. Treat people nice and with respect, and they will comply more often than you realize. Its funny to me how so many US officers are dog shit being law enforcement when i was doing a better job in a 3rd world country with far worse conditions that I handled on my own as a young punk. But of course in my nation community is the mentality, and people instinctively work together than treat them any other way because our society isn't used to opulent living to such a degree that we lost touch with the things that matter most. People. The American dream is not something I would want in my own country.
Not to get pretentious but another hole in the wolf/sheepdog/sheep analogy is that dogs and wolves are related. Dogs came from wolves and still share a great deal of wolf like traits And dogs, like all animals, don't abide by human morality. They behave on instinct. They protect the sheep because it's their job, not out of a moral obligation. They can and probably sometimes do kill the sheep. And they probably don't think much about it
Former cop myself. I remember getting chewed out at police academy because we were told to write an essay explaining whether we thought of ourselves as a warrior or a guardian. My response was neither as we are not at war against the public so we can't be warriors, and we are not above the public, so we cannot be guardians. I argued that I see myself as a servant, as what I do serves the public. I got yelled at and forced to rewrite the essay. It took me a few years after I quit the force to realize that, no, actually, they were 100% correct. Cops really are always either fighting a war against the public or lording over them.
Reminds me of a saying something along the lines of 'They simply serve a different definition of the "public".'
Don't even go back to bullshit places like that. If they didn't want your take why ask u to do an essay what a controlling psycho
And then people expect me to believe that this is somehow NOT INDOCTRINATION
I knew a guy (don't know what ever happened to him, it was years ago) who wanted so badly to be a cop. He went to academy & got hired at one of the local police depts (rural area with a lot of small towns) & he quit after less than 6 months & chose another career entirely.
Russia 2.
"Be kind to people, but be ruthless with systems."
- Michael Brooks.
war **** the system
Michael brooks? From the sam seder program? I'm gonna miss his laugh. ♥️
@@BeastNationXIV The same!
I miss that guy, he was a big influence on my own political journey.
@@BeastNationXIV is he the one who just died? :(
@@ramuz-ff3cf He died in the summer of 2020.
Ill never forget the time on patrol I found a dead unhoused person. As I rolled him over to check vitals/start cpr his friends 20 feet away saw me moving him. They thought I was just trying to mess with him/harass him. My partner had to fend them back as I tried to work on this guy. It was that day I knew I was on the wrong side of things. Police had treated them like shit for so long that the thought of a police officer was trying to help was alien to them.
"unhoused person" what we cant even say homeless anymore? do you think they get offended?
@@Schizohandlers Brother you are angry about the wrong thing regarding this situation.
@@SchizohandlersMost people have moved away from it as “homeless” is a flattening/ dehumanizing term whereas “unhoused person” acknowledges that a) they are a fellow human and b) they are without housing; something the UN considers part of basic human necessities.
Its like not calling and addict an addict: saying they have a substance use issue can actually help to engage them in care.
@@gsgaming6976no, i used to homelessm
This unhoused shit is infuriating. Stop trying to pretty up how shitty the situation is.
Nothing is gonna change if we try to make it out to be this nice, comfy, safe thing
@@chistinelane Edited to add this - I thought this reply was to a conversation in a different thread. I'm not sure why you're angry with me over this. What about my comment made you think I am trying to pretty up the situation?
Btw the episodes I mentioned at the end of this comment originally were "The War On Vagrants" by the podcast series Behind the Bastards. As a homeless man myself I am well aware of my own struggles, thank you very much.
While I appreciate your concern for the people who are distressed and in danger, I would like to point out that you are literally dismissing my own feelings on the matter. I would appreciate it if you didn't do that.
It is my choice to not engage in the system as it is, except by helping others when and where I choose to however I can. This life satisfies me.
I really do recommend listening to those episodes btw. At least part of the point is about how terrible it is that when homeless people do things like build actual houses for themselves they often draw complaints from wealthier neighbors, or the city/state come in and demolish them. I'm well aware of the atrocities done in the name of progress.
A teacher once told us, "The most well-funded gang in the country wear blue, and it's not the Crips."
Well said.
Key term being 'Well Funded', by taxpayers, no questions asked.
And their allies wear red, and they are not bloods.
And they have the 1 union I'm really not a fan of, all the anti union people seem to be fine with the police unions, just no others
@@jordanmurray410thats because they technically not unions, they are fraternal orders.
When Id argue this with a cop I knew he'd whip out the "not a union" line and explain that Fraternal Orders are not legally unions, so union crackdowns dont effect them.
Its a distinction that allows police to have their own "union" without having to be loyal to the idea of worker unions.
I feel that your former life as a cop has led to contextualization and perspective that many don't offer on this platform. You are unique and appreciated That Dang Dad. I am glad you are who you are; you are a force for humanization of all people.
Let's remember what a sheepdog's actual job is; protecting the sheep... so the shepherd can keep fleecing them.
This is an insult to shepherds, and I will not stand for it.
i like this. thank you
I think with all animal-analogies the 1:1 metaphor will inevitably break down in certain places, but the human connotations still ring 100% true regardless.
For example "fleecing" literal, actual sheep is a benefit to both the animal _and_ whoever's sheering them for human gain. Their wool grows so fast, it hurts their quality of life to *NOT* remove excess layers from their coats (which easily build up contaminants & hinder their sight/movement when overgrown).
But, specifically with the _human_ connotations of fleecing, the wordplay makes a staggering amount of sense:
- To obtain by coercion or intimidation
- Depriving someone of something by deceit
- Defraud, swindle, or charge exorbitantly
It *especially* works in the context of legal processes like strip-searches, asset seizure, property confiscation, and police auctions.
10/10 incredibly solid wordplay
bien dicho gracias
As an animal rights activist I love this metaphor
I'm a Black-American woman, and when I called 9-1-1 about a physical health emergency, I was handcuffed in my dining room. They took me to phych department holding area, which I have been thrown into several times. Instead of being taken to the emergency room, I am being intimated.
what city do u live in so I can avoid it
Fuck this shit bro
@@professorfinesser8289 Earth
@@blackswan4486 this is not a an alien invasion movie, the united states don't make up the entirety of earth
@@spectralanomaly1683he's saying they are like that everywhere.
I'm a trans teenager who lives in Michigan, thank you for bringing up the point of not compromising on things like trans rights. I'm tired of being a political issue, I just want to be a goofy teenage girl.
Hey
As a german trans guy, I hope things are going to turn out well with all that US anti-trans fearmongering. Stay strong and know you are loved
Same.
-trans guy who’s lucky to live in Oregon
hey girl, im metaphorically taking you to the mall so we can go to claires, maybe get our nails done, stop by spencers and hot topic, and grab some ice cream. maybe we can swap some clothes too lol
-trans guy, minor, tx
As an Australian trans woman, please know that our brothers, sisters and siblings in the U.S are not forgotten and we love you. I wasn't out until I was already a legal adult, I couldn't imagine the strength it takes to be an openly trans person let alone TEENAGER in the U.S. They're not going to win, because we won't let them.
@@originaljokegaming2948 hey there I know it might not seem like it given how political the issue has gotten but I promise both sides just want to protect and do what they see as what’s best for y’all. That’s why emotions are so high and try and see it from where there sitting where they believe it’s gender dysphoria and I understand you think there wrong but just from there prospective they are dont want for y’all to take these drugs or have surgery that is permanent while your brain is still developing the part of the brain that controls judgement doesn’t develop fully until 25 and for me I’m still waiting for mine at 29 lol but at under 18 we don’t have the ability to make good judgement and that’s what they are fighting so hard against not to keep y’all from being who you are just to wait until 18 so you don’t do something you’ll regret
Post 9/11 America has had a rapidly growing culture of dehumanization. When we started militarizing police, we became more of a police-state than what the signers ever imagined.
There is no such thing as militarization of police, you are just being soft.
@@suhsnowpolice protect against enemies of the people. Military protect against enemies of the state. When you combine the 2, the people themselves are treated as enemies of the state.
@@lyokianhitchhiker so you count people like school shooters people?
@@suhsnowNo… You’re projecting because you think you’re tough. Put that fake machismo bravado bs back where you found it because it’s not who you are.
A visual example is just how police look. Use to be sky blue boy scout look - very public and proud to be public servant. Now it's all black military hidden undercover secret.
I remember laughing at how silly like star wars storm troopers the 1999 Seattle Riot Police dressed. Sadly it's so 'normal' now no one notices.
As a cis white dude, I don't really have to worry about flattening in any of the more serious ways, but what I do have a very right-leaning brother. Whenever we get into a debate about anything remotely political there's a very clear moment where something in his brain clicks and now he's not talking to his brother anymore. He's talking to an effigy of the left wing apparatus. Things rapidly go south from there. It's driven us apart repeatedly.
It's a rare situation where you can actually witness the moment that flattening occurs.
“As a cis white dude”😂😂😂😂 no wonder youre brother doesn’t like you LEFTIST!!! loooool I avoid my family members who are like u too
My only sibling (sister in Texas) is the exact same way! We haven’t spoke in over 7yrs!
Me and my brother have argued days in about things and he has been insistent on his right wing beliefs. In his defence as his brother he does try to come to the party and consider the narrative from the other side at times rather than blindly uphold his loyalty to his respective political spectrum. I can't count the number of days we fought over things we disagree on but I can only hope he gets it without my influence but him looking within. So I do get where you coming from. Also we are South African residing in Johannesburg where our politics are an ambiguous mix of conservative and liberal sensibilities.
My brother is the same way and I used to think he's cool. But he fell for the Annoying Orange's and Pootin's rhetoric.
My mom and dad are completely lost to it. Like we fight about it but that’s not the worst of it. I just - they really think they’re better than other people. They think they are part of the Good Guys, and so any suggestion that what they’re saying is racist and potentially dangerous is treated with offense. It’s a personal insult instead of - a fact, that I need them to realize.
They think they are better than others. If it’s us or them, it must be them.
This is how fascism happens. This is how, this is how. The emotional knowledge looms in me; the terrible moment when you understand, at least a little, that the people you know could and would be the ones sitting in town downwind from the containment facility, pretending they can’t smell the smoke.
I've been working really hard over the last few years to stop flattening people like this and it's so nice to hear someone put it into words like that. I grew up mormon, white, and fairly well off (at least in childhood). I didn't know I was queer, I didn't know I was disabled, and my parents taught me to flatten people like that and poor people and 'dumb' people and 'criminals'. I don't think they were trying to make me cruel, we never actively attacked those communities, but the language we used about them didn't make me inclined to be kind towards people who had it worse off than me.
And now that I'm an adult, I've learned a lot about myself and that seed of empathy, that 'I'm just like you', grew into a flower of compassion, an active thought to stop when I find myself flattening people and to try and think of them as human beings living hard lives. I'm proud to say that I even extend that compassion to people who I am politically opposed to. Like phil said, I'm not interested in making peace with the right or anything, but now when I see someone say something terrible, I try to think about why they feel that way and what has led them to believe what they do instead of putting them in 'the bad person box' and writing them off as dumb evil pricks. I can't say I'm perfect at it - this kind of thing is a life long struggle and I still fall for the tempting satisfaction of disgust and anger sometimes - but I am better than I ever have been and I'm going to keep trying to extend kindness instead of judgment to the people around me.
"Have you ever been flattened?"
I'm trans. Most people will only ever see me as a flattened caricature, even when they think they are coming from the best possible place of support they still stumble into blindspots, or misinformation they never knew was wrong.
It is extremely limiting, and isolating. I haven't had a job since before the pandemic started. It's prolly gonna kill me sooner or later at this rate.
I’m trans too, I got addicted then trafficked I tryed too call for help, they referred me too an lgbtq support group. Evil ppl get too do anything and cops don’t care.
I'm trans too. I live in a good town in California and it's still scary to talk about who I am to other people. Who knows how they'll react, how they'll treat me. Once they learn, I might not be a person anymore, just a trans looking to hurt them or their kids. I want fuck all to do with your kids, I just want to be left alone
Maybe because your community is unappeasable and every time people try to appease said community it comes up with some mentality that paints said appeasement as bad.
If someone gets your pronouns wrong the outspoken among your community assert that they are bad.
If someone asks you what your pronouns are, your community asserts they are bad.
If someone apologizes for getting it wrong your community asserts that they are bad.
If someone tries to avoid those “stumbling blocks” and refers to you by name exclusively your community asserts that they are bad.
If someone says you look nice they are bad.
If someone says you look bad they are bad.
If someone buys you clothes that fit your gender expression they are bad.
If someone dates you for your looks they are bad.
If someone defends you they are trying to rid themselves of guilt and make you appease their ego, and are bad.
If someone supports your demographic and expects, not even positive treatment, just treatment that isn’t negative, they are bad.
If someone thinks others shouldn’t be legally forced to appease you, they are bad.
If someone thinks that you are mean and could be nicer to them, they are bad.
If someone says they would like to understand your community better, they are fetishizing and objectifying you and are bad.
If someone isn’t attracted to you, they actually totally secretly all are but because they’re not open about it they are bad. Because that makes sense somehow; lambast the supposedly confused members of your demographic for not having figured themselves out like you have. Even though a major talking point in your community is how people have to “find” themselves.
If you don’t completely ignore any kind of scientific thought that have even a minute connection to queerness you are bad.
The outspoken members of your community make being even within an arms length of it a mentally draining experience. Those things I said are not talking points from some far-right podcast. Those are real life experiences.
And it’s getting to the point where I’m starting to think the outspoken among your community aren’t some small minority of people with extreme opinions. But are actually just the ones who are willing to voice how the majority of your demographic think and feel. Because life experience, anecdotal as it is, would point to that being the case. That or members of your community feel they MUST tow the line for fear of being outted and or appearing uncertain and weak.
But neither of you are trans. That's not real.
I hope you have better luck in the future ❤
I was holding a sign that said south to Florida near the exit of a truck stop, trying to hitch a ride. A cop showed up and asked me for my i.d, when I refused, I was tackled, he called for backup, and when the backup showed up, they held me down and tased me 4 times. Afterwards they put me in jail (county prison). Fortunately I had friends trying to find me, they discovered I was locked up and contacted another friend whom bailed me out. Sometimes I wonder if I should've taken legal action, but I didn't. All charges (disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing) were dropped.
Damn.
That really grinds my gears
I do wonder what the hell went through their minds and how they would explain their actions. They would probably not see amything wrong with their actions, despite assaulting someone out of nowhere.
You absolutely should have. Cop had absolute zero probable cause to initiate a "stop" on you
But im just glad all the bs charges were dropped.
How has the unlawful arrest affected your job prospects? Asking for a friend
I've spent my life being "flattened" to such a degree that I started seeing myself and my friends in the flat descriptive, pigeonhole of "criminal", and had a very hard time justifying that we were good people with the fact that we were referred to as and referred to ourselves as criminals. It has been difficult to get the outside world to see me as much other than a criminal even though I've stopped being inherently illegal since the changed the cannabis laws in VA
Israel made a Ghetto out of East Jerusalem and Gaza. A legit 1940s Warsaw-style ghetto. And the US has been desperate to do the exact same thing with the Mexican border. As has been mentioned so many times now. The Cruelty is the point. And.. wrestling against that overwhelming amount of callous disregard for humanity has been exhausting. I'm thankful you have the emotional reserve to make videos like this.
Anyone who doesn't see the reality of the Gazan genocide is either blind, dumb or cruel
"The US" has been? The same people you first mentioned make up 88% of Bidens cabinet and bafflingly the now current president of Mexico. This is no longer a world of nation states, we live under a global war of ideologies and a particularly subversive and nasty one is lying about its actions on the levers behind the curtains.
Not surprising since they committed gen O cide against my people to steal our land and form the so called “USA!” Gen O cide is written in the DNA of the USA!! Hell Hitler used the gen o cide of Native Americans as playbook for the holocaust!!
Bruh, thanks for the optimism despite how hopeless it really all seems
Living in Texas - Thank you for bringing your "flattening" caution home. Every time my state is brought up, I have to inform people that our state government doesn't really represent the majority of the population thanks to voter suppression and gerrymandering.
I feel so trapped in the south and there's no way I can get out because of rent and anxiety.
@@bentramer682You literally just did what he said not to do.
@@brandonwilliams6221 How? They just said there own experience
You can disagree but the 'flattening' is in reference to other ppl not your self and your own situation
It's reductive but it's not nearly the same thing at all
I think you have massively misunderstood what is meant by 'flattening'
Its difficult when Ted Cruz is your figurehead
@brandonwilliams6221 If I had to guess, this person, much like myself, feels trapped under draconian laws written by unethical lawmakers and enforced by untrustworthy cops. They said nothing of the people in the state. Decent Texans are about the only good thing about living in Texas.
"i don't want to conquer, I want to collaborate" - incredibly well said
This dang interaction for that dang dad
dang
@@larry_ellison and add it to playlists including one that you play while asleep shh
Aw, Dang!
@@aazhie Dang
One of my best friend's dad was a cop... he was fully indoctrinated into the mentality you so aptly describe BUT he was honest enough to describe to us how policing had perverted his humanity. Great video!
Free Palestine! 🇵🇸
You do realize Palestine and israel are both very anti-gay rights?
It's so strange how little empathy there actually is in the world. So many people seem to think empathy is a problem that must be crushed and rooted out, so the flattened world can be forced and beaten into submission. But....what would actually paradoxically make the world a better place is MORE empathy. More soft values, as it were, rather than being as cruel as possible. People caring about one another.
I do not understand why so many people feel like force, violence, domination, subjugation, humiliation, dehumanization, death, destruction, walking over others are the tools that make anything better because they just can't. And yet here we are with people not only supporting but begging for more, more, MORE violence and fighting for some odd monstrosity that is a "right to hate" like that makes anything better. That option has already been seen to its end regardless. One of my personal frustrations with the state of the world is that the tools and systems that produced all of its problems as logical consequences and outcomes keep getting applied again, again, again, and again rather than people collectively just trying something else. It's like we are stuck beating our heads into a wall because of just an inability to notice it ain't working, so it's time to stop and try something else. The old ways, the old world failed. Its age is done and over. Time to pack up and move along towards different and better alternatives.
Because the types of people that subscribe to the whole might makes right BS don't want to make the world a better place. They want it to mirror their reactionary delusions.
I was born without the ability to empathize. I don't care how other people feel because I don't feel it. So I am constantly flabbergasted and blown away by the amount of empathy in the world. Just a dissenting opinion.
@@cascadianrangers728 A valuable one at that. Thank you for offering it. I suppose I just feel like what there is does or goes for too little right now. It makes me question why people just choose to be horrible to others when there is that waning empathy which could just be followed to not be. And that enough people choose or want to choose to be horrible by oppressing others that it is starting to regress things into a far more horrible state.
I mean there's your answer right there. They're psychopaths who don't care about other people. Simple as.
As a Jewish guy and a former Zionist, the way that me from the past might have attacked you would be to say that Jews are the true indigenous people of Israel, that we have been living there for 3,000 years, that Muslims didn't show up until they violently invaded the area during the seventh century, and that Jewish settlers are not colonists, but members of a diaspora returning home. I might also equate the Muslim conquest of the Levant and their subjugation of Jews (and Christians) with the later European practices of colonialism and imperialism. Were I operating in extra bad faith, I might then continue on to say that your assertion that Jews are colonists in our own homeland plays into the antisemitic trope that we are always foreigners, no matter where we live.
While many of the things I've outlined are true, there are key facts or pieces of context that undermine my point which I've left out. You could spend a bunch of time gathering those up and proving me wrong, but let's cut to the chase. Those arguments entirely sidestep the civilians currently being massacred. I never had a good answer for that, so I've changed the subject. Even if all the things I outlined above were completely true, the slaughter of Palestinian civilians would still be an inexcusable atrocity. Don't let anyone drag you away from that central point.
I had a discussion on this with an israeli coworker of mine and i'm curious what your perspective is. I told him about the number of civilians killed and how the IDF does not care and said they will do as much destruction as needed until they get the hostages. And he told me basically "Well, that sucks. But they tried to negotiate and if Israel just decided to leave the hostages there there would be a full scale revolt the next day. What would your country or any country do if hundreds of civilians were taken hostage and they were much stronger than the enemy militarily" and I honestly didn't know how to respond so I am asking you the same questions. What would you do?
Please... Tell more about the Balfour declaration...
@@vladys5238i’d probably tell them how the most effective method of getting hostages freed so far has been, ironically, the humanitarian pauses, so therefore if you care about hostages (which Israel clearly does not based on their actions) you would support a ceasefire. Then if they said that they wouldn’t want Hamas members to be freed in exchange for the hostages, I would ask them if they really thought that the hostages were important enough to kill tens of thousands of civilians over , but not important enough to have a few more terrorists free.
I do believe that Jews returning to Israel really do genuinely believe that they are returning to their homeland which in a sense is true. I think it's possible to have a state of Israel separated from all the genocide and persecution and ethnic violence but I think a lot needs to change to get that state.
Palestinian Jews were expelled from their homeland in 1947 too, and weren’t allowed their property or land becausr they weren’t white. Most white people still to this day don’t see them as people and would rather hace another million dead arabs so that Jesus will return.
I only vaguely remember a reporter on the invasion of Ukrain commenting on the footage of bombed out neighborhoods and fleeing refugees. He opined that US aid pleas would be helped by the fact that “they look like us”, that we’d be better primed to help because we could more easily identify with white people attacked in similar looking houses. It appalled me, but tracked with a gut feeling I’d had for years - that Americans just couldn’t recognize or imagine the tragedy of a full blown war as if it were on their own cul de sac.
The language I hear from the state of Israel with regards to Palestinians mirrors the language used by the US with regards to Native Americans during the age of Manifest Destiny, and this is not an accident. Israel sees the US as a model.
And vice versa.
Funny, there was someone else who saw the US genocide of indigenous peoples as a model....
Also mirrors Nazi Germany.
Because the IDF trains US cops!! Soldiers of an Gen O cidal apartheid state should not be training the cops in a so called Democratic country!!
I am a retired cop and a retired attorney. Around the time I had twenty years on my department, I picked up the microphone one day to request permission to eat. That request was denied. Instead, I was directed to respond to a shooting that had just occurred at a business. When I arrived at scene, I learned that an eighteen year old young man had been shot and killed at an attempted robbery of a family owned business. Several family members, including the parents, were present and were hysterical over the loss of a loved one.
As I handled that crime scene, I realized that the only emotion I was experiencing was anger. I wasn’t angry about the attempted robbery or the senseless killing of an innocent young man. I was ticked off because I wasn’t able to eat lunch while I handled a homicide in another officer’s patrol area. I had enough self awareness that I didn’t show my anger to anybody at scene but it was still there. I went home and wondered what the heck was wrong with me.
I was promoted to sergeant not long after this. A few months after I was promoted, I responded to a homicide scene. I learned that the victim was a man in his early forties. He had been a life long gang member who had spent almost his entire adult life in prison with brief intermissions on the streets. He had been in the midst of committing yet another crime when a member of an opposing gang pulled a gun and shot him. This particular homicide reduced me to tears although I think I did a pretty good job of hiding it.
Once again, I went home and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. Why had the death of this gang member reduced me to tears when the death of an innocent young man had not caused me to experience any emotional response?
What I have learned in the intervening years is that I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I have sleep paralysis. I suffer from depression. I have been on and off psych medications for years. Many years of dealing with horrible things had scarred me emotionally. It did some really bad things to my psyche. It has been ten years since I last did police work but I still deal with these issues on a daily and nightly basis.
Cops are human. They tend to react to repeated emotional trauma in predictable ways. Lots of cops suffer from psychological issues and related physical problems as a result. Some cops develop issues with anger. Alcoholism rates are high in the profession. Suicide rates are high. Most cops become emotionally desensitized after repeated exposure to horrible incidents. They also work in a field in which they can lose their jobs if they admit they are having trouble coping.
I would like to say that something needs to be done. The problem is that I don’t see a clear solution. As a retired attorney, I think that most law enforcement agencies are reluctant to acknowledge the problem because it will predictable]y expose them to liability. What do you do with your workforce when you realize that most cops will be experiencing psychological problems before they have ten years on the job? Law enforcement agencies can’t afford to retire cops at this early stage. They can’t afford to treat them all. Heck, I doubt they could afford to regularly test them to determine their psychological states. If a law enforcement agency acknowledges that this is a wide spread problem but fails to take action to address the issue, they have pretty much admitted liability the next time a cop does something wrong. They can’t afford to do this. So what’s the solution? Feel free to share.
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” H.L. Mencken
very insightful comment, thank you
This isn't a permanent solution, especially in the US, where insurance isn't the best, but being open about mental health issues in cops could be a good start, destigmatize mental health issues, so officers are more likely to get the help they need if they can
You opened my mind, thank you
I mean for starters we could improve our prisons to treat people more like people so that way recidivism rates go down like how norway has a much better prison system.
Also outlaw slavery for prisoners since they are the only place in the us where slavery is still kicking.
Reduce prison sentences outlaw solitary confinement and other inhuman punishments that simply traumatize people and don’t actually make anything better.
It isn’t that hard to find ways to make things better for everyone involved and decrease crime the issue is getting it to happen because people benefit from these things
Specifically prisons benefit from a lot of this
"Keep that fury tight" should be on a shirt in your merch store by end of day. Thank you for your service. NAECAB- Not All EX Cops Are Bastards
I would buy this
the folks getting the wall bit reminds me of a thing I saw somewhere "Of course I want them to get the wall, and 3 more, and a roof, and food, because they are a person as much as anyone else"
Growing up I was a real shithead towards minorities, and it took a lot of self reflection, and time to realize the harm I was doing. In the process I even realized that I was part of one of the groups I had been antagonizing online, I realized I was trans. I continue to grow each day, and by no means think that I've outgrown my prejudices. . .they're still there they're just harder to see.
This might not mean much coming from me and really it's not my place to forgive whatever you said to the people you might have hurt but as a fellow trans person, I want to say that I'm proud of you for trying so hard to pull yourself out of that hole you were in
I for one forgive you for being transphobic with what little sway I have over things, it's not like I can or want to speak for the people who were directly involved but I hope it means something to you anyway
I think all that matters is that people try to be better now, because intend is our entire future, so I wish you all the best on your journey!
😂😂😂😂😂
Average pol user
Non binary, disabled, femme-presenting (usually), yeah I get flattened. I’ve done my unfair share of flattening in the past and it’s something I try to stay really aware of. I wonder how the people raging at me about how my life isn’t worth living are suffering, because no one would be that awful to another human being without hurting a lot themselves. Not that it’s a good excuse, mind you, I expect all the kids to clean their own damned rooms.
Some people are just awful to people for funsies.
It's not all out of their own sufferings or feelings of helplessness.
we matter just as much as the cisgender neurotypical eugenicist white middle-class males if you or anyone you know finds themselves in a situation where their constitutional rights are being violated by authorities acting under the color of state law, please consult the jailhouse lawyer's manual they allow anyone to view it online and print it off as they please its made available by human rights and advocacy groups like the Center for Constitutional Rights in NYC
It's not easy to do The Right Thing and that's why so many do the wrong, easy thing instead 😢
@@grmpEqweer Are you familiar with the Milgram or Stanford Prison experiments? "People are only as good as we allow them to be" heh
mutual aid! @@3nertia
Damn, respect for that 12mins in. It's so hard for me to express this to those around me
I’m a retired cop and love your content! Your message is one of hope, and one that is badly needed today. I had to get away from LE because I couldn’t stomach the toxic culture. It’s odd that the culture is so ugly yet so many first responders are genuinely wonderful people.
Anyway, wanted to drop in and say I’m loving the content! Your voice is appreciated! ❤
Love your honesty & respect for human life. Beautifully nuanced and informed discussion. Great video!
Thanks TDD. I had a very similar moment, as a white cis het male, when I was a kid working on an all immigrant construction crew in my youth. One guy on our team would get up at 3am 6 days a week and travel all over central Texas to pick up his coworkers one by one to make it to the worksite by 7. They had all struggled to get here. I remember the moment I realized that there would absolutely never in my life be a time that I would have such difficult circumstances thrust in my way that I would ever need to know what it felt like to work so hard just to keep things stable. I wonder if any of the asshats demonizing immigration ever see that same reality and choose to look away because it's easier to pretend they would somehow know how to make it work in a different way if forced to do so.
A sheepdog is basically a wolf that has been made useful. Sheepdogs will generally eat mutton if given a chance. Though trying to eat live sheep and needing to be forcibly separated from the flock is rare, it isn't unheard-of. If we regarded police like sheepdogs (at heart the same kind of person as violent criminals, but generally more useful than harmful because of luck and extensive training) we'd be in a much better situation.
Watching this after the acorn incident is pretty poignant. That video actually scared the shit out of me, even though it’s utterly ridiculous… but that ridiculousness is probably why it’s frightening because an acorn managed to escalate a simple arrest into a fully fledged (albeit one sided) shoot to kill operation.
I'm a female-bodied nonbinary. A big worry about taking a lower dose of testosterone (which I long to do) is what happens when I continue to use women's rooms in public.
I'm 50, and quite capable of telling off a Karen.
Imagine teens faced with that.
Pardon my ignorance but what does "female-bodied nonbinary" mean precisely?
mens bathrooms are categorically worse than womens rooms but its worth it :)
@@3nertia What the name says, someone with a female body that uses they/them pronouns.
@@pauldickinson772 Thanks for your two cents but I wasn't actually asking you ...
You're tripping homey
"The wolves came down to the farm last night. They Spoke to me of Freedom," Fire, Bed and Bone- Henrietta Bradford.
Daily dose of hope and positivity for humanity from That Dang Dad! When you’re surrounded by media that tends to paint a very black and white picture, your videos give me the encouragement and reminder that there are people who see the oppression and problems in the world and want to make a change. Thank you :)
You earned a subscriber today for two reasons. 1) I heard nothing but clear, calm, objective truth about harsh realities that few people are brave enough to speak up on 2) I admire your impressive pipe collection. I'm also a fan of churchwardens and tavern pipes, and smoke my weed from one.
When you use us vs. them mentality then dehumanize, these horrendous acts become much easier.
I'm so glad I can just watch something like this for free.
The quote about obituaries ties this all together; well done.
And (as a Leftists) calling the President “Grandpa Shithead” was pretty funny
I probably don't remember most flattenings I've committed, but there are some that stuck with me, bc I've been flattened in the exact same way, and the sudden spark of recognition was painful.
I still do it. I'm not sure if it's possible to be completely free of it. I even do it to people who are like me. The stereotypes sit so deep inside me. There's the conscious layer that knows better, but underneath it is an unconscious layer that makes snap judgments, and they're often in conflict. All I can do most days is notice it and catch my assumptions before they affect other people.
I am blessed (for lack of a better word), to have a husband who isn’t afraid to call out my habit of doing this. My right wing upbringing and 6 years in the infantry didnt leave me with a healthy understanding of the world.
The best law officer I ever knew took Protect and Serve very seriously. God bless her.
"We know the truth but prefer lies. Lies are simple. Simple is bliss. Why go against tradition when we can...admit defeat. Live in Decline."
"They just want to play youth hockey and take a shit." That needs to be on a t-shirt.
This is my first direct interaction with you work (I've heard you v.o on other people's projects but it's not comparable.) You packed so many potent and valuable topics/perspectives in this video that I will instead leave you with my *very first* impression.
As soon as I saw you speak, I thought "this guy is the Bob Ross of RUclips commentary." I mean that in the highest regard (and knowing the man's backstory) - your calm, collected, soothing, cadence was precisely what was needed here.
Even if someone is saying things we agree with; sometimes moral outcry can be too much of a sensory overload to process how *we* can fit in the picture without succumbing to either rage or futility.
I doubt you'll see this comment; but I wanted to thank you regardless.
I'm in the UK, I'm a trans woman that uses neo-pronouns, I'm disabled, autistic, mentally ill, unemployed, and the survivor of abuse. Oh, and I'm a Millenial.
I get flattened a lot.
I've definitely done the flattening myself, especially when younger. I find it easier now to recognise when I'm slipping in to that habit though, and can make myself step back and reevaluate.
But yeah, i get flattened a lot.
Are you part of any unions ? Apps where other similar people exist ?
I still think that the Left in general does not hate enough. I understand why, the material conditions today aren't the kind that engender the kind of revolutionary fervor we saw a century ago. Likewise, it is paramount that we understand the mission of anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism, anti-racism, anti-queerphobia etc. is compassion. However, today we have a lot of toothless talk of the "1%" and pithy "boss makes a dollar, I make a dime" talk, but that doesn't galvanize people to action.
I think if we are going to see the necessary work done, we're going to need people not just angry but actively hateful of the systems of oppression and the individuals who enforce that system. I know from experience that if you tell people the true story, that the bourgeoisie not only as a class but as individuals are responsible for them being homeless, for them seeing their loved ones die of preventable illness, for every awful thing that has befallen them of no fault of their own, that gets people organized and mobilized.
Your manner of speaking is so comforting. Reminds me of Duncan Trussell. Beautiful soul 🥹
Dam, that "Living space" dog whistle. How do I know enough to know that is a reference to Nazi Germany and how they "justified" their colonialism.
So glad I found this channel. Socratic reasoning doesn’t always work but sometimes it does. When I was in prison I convinced more than one person to leave the gang life and racism because I just led them to facts with compassion. I feel like if we want a kinder and less violent and more egalitarian society it always starts with us. You rock brother. Keep speaking out loud
I’ve been saying for a long time that everyone is a comrade, they just need to hear the right things in the right order, and it’s going to be different for everyone. Great video as always, comrade.
People who think immigrants are terrible should read The Grapes of Wrath. People don't realize how easy and terrifyingly quick it can be to fall into poverty.
Who do they protect and serve? It sure as hell ain't us.
The courts have been clear the police have no duty to protect citizens unless they are being detained. "Protect & Serve" is an empty PR slogan.
Themselves.
Avatar of Tiamat is my gender now.
My best cop impression: *”fires gun into non resisting compliant 13 year old black child*
Stop resisting!!”
Department investigates turns out the kid got detention once for being in the hall without a hall pass so clearly a criminal therefore emptying a magazine into the child was justified self defense. How was the cop to know that he would have a sensitivity to bullets?
There's a reason they lock you up for impersonating cops :)
You mentioned Louisville and got a sub instantly, as a trans person I just want to live my life peacefully.
As a trans woman living in Kentucky: I approve this message.
Thank you for this. I feel more hopeful.
Fwiw, this video was at the very top of my home tab recommendations this morning. Though I am a subscriber with all notifications on who is very likely to watch new videos from you as soon as I have a moment, so youtube presumably knows it was a good suggestion for me in particular.
Thank you for speaking out against the anti-trans movement happening right now.
Flattened and flattener here. Enjoy your work, himbo. Keep it up.
The problem is not which country or religion or sex choice or whatever. The problem is a system designed to exploit all of them so a very few can live in utter luxury.
We either realize we all deserve a piece of the pie. We need to abolish social classes.
We need to understand we are much better off investing in education than in weapons. That it is much better for us if every person can develop their full potential and be healthy. We will have nothing to fear and we will be surrounded by healthy, happy, strong, intelligent, friendly and good people.
I found your channel after your first policing video, this was such a nice reprise and update :)
I just want you to know this is the best video I've watched. Not like... of yours. On the whole drng internet. I was already a hardcore leftist, but still, specific things you articulated here hit that "right thing, right time" target for me. Great talking points. Sincerely thank you for making them. I will be sharing this with everyone I know who might be receptive.
I'm glad someone is speaking up about this sort of racism and Segregation with LGBT..
Thank you for pointing out that it's still a travesty when grown men die. I think you're the first person I've seen say that about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. I'm not one of these "what about the men" types, I just think the repeated focus on dead women and children is dehumanizing. It sort of implies that every man in Palestine is Hamas and we don't need to care about them. Like their deaths are more justified or less horrific somehow.
In the context of dehumanization, recently the news about the murder of aid workers just spiraled me for a while. It wasn't only that it was a horrible event but the (seemingly) sincere way in which it was suddenly clear to so many people that "This is a step too far" when it wasn't at all before. It's just sickening and mind-boggling to me how little Palestinian lives mean to well-respected, "non-bigoted" people. It is and has been the same story for a long time, now it just seems more blatant than ever.
I’m learning that we’re living in an ever more cruel world. That seems to be the subjectification of a capitalism in collapse
Why are cops so cruel….it’s how they are trained and told that’s is necessarily to do their jobs
I've come to think the best way to beat a movement hostile being is to convince it's members to join your cause.
It is always so hopeful for me to hear about the progress you have made in your life and how. Thank you.
I was arrested over a genuine misunderstanding. Someone not even involved heard about it and assumed the worst. Even the alleged victim refused to testify, but I had to take a plea anyway because the state refused to drop anything and frankly, I was exhausted, and knew if I didn't that they were going to be up to something.
When I was first arrested, I hated ALL police. I was ready to go on a warpath when I got out. Then, there were 2 or 3 officers there that treated me with genuine respect, so I treated them with respect too, even addressing those specific ones as sir.
I started to realize it wasn't the officers that were in the wrong there, even if some of their "security" measures were far too invasive and ineffective, at least anecdotally. It seeded a poisonous hatred in me for a while. I later came to realize it was the state that were continuing to push my case. My bitterness shifted, but I didn't forget about the officers that were cruel to me or others, but I didn't see it as a blanket situation anymore. My eyes were opened to the fact that some, and likely a good many, are just people who want to help. Some are genuinely terrible people, yes, but only some. Still dunno that I'd take my chance with that particular metaphorical M&M bowl, but I hope you get my point.
Now I have to deal with fines, probation, and the burden of knowing I'm labeled as a criminal through little fault of my own, at least until I can manage to apply for it to be expunged. Not no fault of my own, I definitely messed up, but not enough to be worth arresting me over...I mean aside from state greed.
I've seen some pretty horrid things there, and it's left me with a lot I need to come to terms with and move past. I feel like the law is far too easy to weaponize, and once they have you, their greed will never let you go. It's pretty awful, but I don't know what exactly could be done about it.
While I was ruminating on it, I came to a fairly similar conclusion, but the way you went in and explained the psychology of it really helped me better understand the point I was working on getting to.
I still wish it'd never happened, and my dreams of getting my degrees and becoming a successful programmer have been reduced to dust, but at the very least, my anger is more appropriately directed now, I believe. I honestly just want to go back to having a normal life, but I suppose that's what therapy is for.
Good video, dude. I wish y'all the best, genuinely.
"IOF" - had to think about that a moment 👍
I thought it was just a mis-pronounciation. What else could it... wait... ooooooooh...
Yep... I get it.
Always appreciate your sharp clarity and insight. I’d love to learn more about different methods of building humanisation and empathy for the Other.
Great stuff. Not just "probably more than you do" (re immigrants wanting peace @ 9:00 ) ; part of the problem is that comfortable US (and UK) life is currently so devoid of meaning that action types can quite easily by marshalled into fighting for a fascist cause. If you haven't read Gladwell's Talking to Strangers very much worth a read. Hugs.
Tiamat the Primordial Chaos dragon is probably a chill dude ngl
Bro really said are they helping? no, will they continue? yes.... Jesus Christ, these people are something else
Dude... Thank you. You're so correct it hurts... I'm going to share your videos, more people need to hear you!
Always great to get some new Phil wisdom in my subscription box 👍
I think I've found my new favourite RUclips channel. Thank you, mate.
happy to have ya!
Love the sentiment, but we are also dealing with people too willfully ignorant and hardheaded to see that they are propping up their own oppressor. They are emotionally committed to their ignorance.
I really respect the way you talk about Kentucky. I love it here, and it can seem like no one else gets what really happened to us.
This is not helped by the idea that to join law enforcement does not require that someone be smart or discerning. It is a fairly easy job for the mentally lazy to acquire, and tends to attract a lot of those types.
Thank you, TDD. This is my favorite video you have made and I share it any chance I get.
We all suffer at the hands of old institutions of power. The world needs to change. We DO have the resources to clothe, feed, and house everyone. These things should be human rights that we defend as a civilization. If we had developed our systems initially with those values at core--the right to be housed, to eat, to have medical care, to live our truest selves--we wouldn't be in this mess today. A modern civilization should put all these ideals first before anything else.
not even remotely the point but the fact that you brought up the sonic adventure ost is proof you spent time around queer kids
My godfather was chief of police for a large township outside Philly in the mid early 80’s to mid 90’s. One of the things he believed in was that it was imperative that his officers lived in the community they patrolled. He had this old school idea of what policing was, how they need to be members of the community. It’s so weird that we went from that sort of thought to police many times living the next country over as a means to shelter themselves from their constituents.
This is kinda unrelated, but something you said made me think about it. Basically, with any action, not just violence, it’s like, “what’s the *point* of what you’re doing? And is that point worth the side effects that would come of it??”
I’m using/paraphrasing a Tumblr post that was basically like, “everyone saying they want to firebomb a Walmart needs to stop and think about what’s gonna happen if they do. How would they make sure no innocents die? What’s their reason for doing it?? How would it actually impact the company??? Etc. Violence has a place in protesting, but the more dangerous the tool, the more careful its handling. And, of course, violence is very dangerous.” Or something like that.
Idk why I was thinking about that, but oh well lol.
10:55 Im reminded of the helicopter gunner scene from full metal jacket. "Any person that runs is a VC. Anyone that stands still is a well disciplined VC." He's shooting civilians tending to their farm under the guise that they're all threats. To add a personal horror to that scene, after I saw the film for the first time, I overheard some coworkers talking about classic action films, terminator, die hard, etc. and their classic lines. "Ill be back," "Yipee ki yay," you probably know them all without even seeing the films. They included that gunner's line in that discussion with no thought or elaboration, just another badass line in their eyes. To them, as long as you slap an american flag on their arm theyre the good guys
Thoughtful and insightful video, do you have a discord channel or do AMA's?
No Discord, I just prowl the earth like a lion
I know this comment is many months after this video was uploaded but I hope you still check them from time to time.
Happy that you're sharing your insights Dang Dad. This is my 2nd or 3rd video I've seen from you and I really appreciate your perspective. Keep doing you G. They can take our freedoms, properties and security but they can never take our individualities and beliefs from us.
Coming from South Africa, born in the New South Africa, being 94 and the fall of Apartheid, and by the time I was a consenting adult the government had fked the nation over so badly because Communism. No explanation needed.
I found myself working in Private security, as the nation relies a lot on them for law enforcement because the police are useless, dumb, corrupt and lazy. I was called to duty because in South Africa, communities basically police themselves with private security. Crime affects us all and we need to band together. So people have been used to protecting themselves for many years. The realization of the conditions some people were in and the underworld I was exposed to made me realize within the 1st week of duty, that people are people and want to be treated as anyone else would. Even criminals. A lot of old guys from the Golden years of South Africa are all grizzled angry old Rhodesian vets and just fking hammer on anyone for the smallest shit.
I felt more human than most people did because of what I saw, and how it affected me. I have never treated anyone less, and teach it to other officers too. I eventually found myself running a company while simultaneously leading a community police unit in my own area. At the age of 26.
From my perspective of the US, Americans have long since lost touch with what life is like for people living close to the ground. Many officers ive seen have no fking clue how to deal with people what so ever. It's very obvious that people instinctively get defensive when faced with hostility. Treat people nice and with respect, and they will comply more often than you realize. Its funny to me how so many US officers are dog shit being law enforcement when i was doing a better job in a 3rd world country with far worse conditions that I handled on my own as a young punk. But of course in my nation community is the mentality, and people instinctively work together than treat them any other way because our society isn't used to opulent living to such a degree that we lost touch with the things that matter most. People.
The American dream is not something I would want in my own country.
Wow... Lots to unpack here, NOT what I was expecting... But a very clearly delivered perspective that gives a lot to think about.
Don't mind me, just doing my part to make sure the politics don't kill the video!
Man this guy sums it all up so perfectly. Wishing you could health and safety.
Not to get pretentious but another hole in the wolf/sheepdog/sheep analogy is that dogs and wolves are related. Dogs came from wolves and still share a great deal of wolf like traits
And dogs, like all animals, don't abide by human morality. They behave on instinct. They protect the sheep because it's their job, not out of a moral obligation.
They can and probably sometimes do kill the sheep. And they probably don't think much about it
Thanks!
Wow, thank you so much! (i just saw the notification for this, sorry I didn't reply sooner, you're very kind!)
It's true and I'm glad you said it
Also your music keeps getting better ✨😎✨
Man, I am so glad Ms. Slime gave you that bump, you do good work!
Agreed. No notes. 👍