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Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#272401: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:07:58 AM

Thankfully, she wasn't injured, though he died from the retaliation.

And thus Darwin earns the last laugh again.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#272402: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:13:29 AM

The weapon he tried to shoot her with was a stolen .22 rifle. Like, how do you expect to get the draw on someone sitting in a car, with a rifle?

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#272403: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:15:46 AM

Traffic stops once again prove to be one of the most dangerous situations law enforcement officers find themselves in.

[up] It’s surprisingly easy considering the dynamics of a traffic stop. Obviously this officer exercised proper caution.

Edited by archonspeaks on Feb 21st 2019 at 11:17:47 AM

They should have sent a poet.
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#272404: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:32:26 AM

@ironballs16: Probably not many. A youtube channel I frequented for a while (made by a cop) did a video on the topic that was half-criticizing the idea, though not on the basis that body cams are bad (he points out that the vast majority of the time, body cams prove the officer's innocence)-just that putting cameras on every police officer isn't particularly feasible.

Leviticus 19:34
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#272405: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:34:49 AM

Trump didn't know that his administration was pushing to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.
That actually makes a whole lot more sense.
Feel free to share around for those that decried the use of body cams (not sure how many there are, though).
IIRC the forum consensus was that police should not have the ability to turn off their body cams.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#272406: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:43:41 AM

To be fair, some people did qualify that; if an officer has to take a bathroom break, do we film that process as well...?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#272407: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:49:13 AM

Have a qualified individual review bodycam footage to find the relevant parts. Plus, the bodycam is on your chest, I don't think you'd get much in the way of exposed genitalia simply taking a bathroom break unless you contort yourself.

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#272408: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:53:44 AM

Well, depending on what position he likes to take a crap, we'd see stuff we wouldn't need to.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#272409: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:57:24 AM

Always-on bodycams seem highly unnecessary.

They should have sent a poet.
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#272410: Feb 21st 2019 at 11:59:26 AM

Yeah, I think always-on body cams are probably unnecessary and a waste of resources in general. I do think the officer should have a camera they turn on whenever they do a traffic stop or whatever.

I don't think you need to motivate the officer much anyways, since it's in their interests to have something to show to the courts.

Leviticus 19:34
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#272411: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:03:12 PM

@Ultimatum: You would have to prove that the parent knows and believes that vaccines work, but didnt get them anyway. Otherwise its just ignorance, and theres no law against that!

Edited by DeMarquis on Feb 21st 2019 at 3:04:36 PM

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#272412: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:04:15 PM

... y’all are far more trusting than I am. There’s been plenty of reports of cops turning off bodycams or fighting against them being implemented. And even with body cam footage, jail time for cops who kill is incredibly rare. Body cams aren’t a magic bullet that will solve systemic racism and violence in policing.

DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#272413: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:12:11 PM

If you want mandatory vaccinations, it's probably easier and less legally iffy to just legislate mandatory vaccinations than it is to go the roundabout way of making anti-vaxxers child abusers

They already are child abusers - I just wish that was legally recognised. If you think exposing your children to the risk of contracting, say, polio is in any way acceptable, you're already willfully playing with their lives and shouldn't have custody of them in the first place.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#272414: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:14:10 PM

Nobody is saying they are. But they are an important tool for ensuring accountability in law enforcement. Far better to have them than not. And if a cop has their bodycam off and an incident occurs, that's a huge mark against their credibility in whatever defense is offered. Having legislation that punishes not having bodycams on when they should would help as well.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#272415: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:20:29 PM

Body cams are theoretically great at knowing when police suck (if they don't f*cking turn them off), but they're also great for knowing when police did their jobs properly.

Deputy Jarecki shot and killed a man at a traffic stop. The body cam footage clearly shows him drawing a gun and firing a shot at her before she returned fire. No further investigation is necessary. It is unlikely a controversy will arise from this. The end.

Like. Isn't it great that we don't have to ask any questions whatsoever about this case? Good on bodycams.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Feb 21st 2019 at 1:22:29 PM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#272416: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:21:50 PM

Body cams aren’t perfect. They only show one angle; they may not include all relevant context, plus there’s concerns about police editing footage.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#272417: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:22:40 PM

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

You know what would be great? Mandatory bodycams with a placebo off-switch. It doesn't actually turn the cam off. The cop just thinks it does.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#272418: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:25:44 PM

I’m not asking for perfect; they’re not even good.

Police-worn body cameras do not reduce the instances of police use of force. Nor do they reduce citizen complaints about excessive force. These are the unexpected findings from the largest study to date on the subject, which casts doubt on the generally accepted wisdom regarding body camera effectiveness. “We found essentially that we could not detect any statistically significant effect of the body-worn cameras,” said Anita Ravishankar, one of the researchers behind the study.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#272419: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:28:24 PM

@Wisewillow: It is true that it's rare for cops to face jail time even with body cams. In fact, I think the data shows that body cam footage generally lowers the odds of a police officer's odds of being punished. However, this is far more of a feature than a bug-part of the purpose of such devices is to protect the officer.

Leviticus 19:34
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#272420: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:31:39 PM

Changing how people act would not seem to be the point of having constant footage, except as an indirect over-time effect if that footage is used properly.

@Ultimatum: You would have to prove that the parent knows and believes that vaccines work, but didnt get them anyway. Otherwise its just ignorance, and theres no law against that!

The entire common law concept of negligence does not admit ignorance as a defence. "I didn't know I should do that" means that you didn't put enough effort into learning what you need to know.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#272421: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:33:57 PM

[up][up]

part of the purpose of such devices is to protect the officer.

Ah, yes. Poor cops, so unfairly maligned for killing unarmed people, framing people, sexually assaulting people... Body cams are necessary to protect them from such slander.

Body cams are typically sold as a police accountability and anti-police brutality measure. They are essentially useless for that purpose.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#272422: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:39:37 PM

[up]

In this case, that may have been precisely what happened. Without that footage to show that the officer responded only after being shot at first, what would you make of the odds of there being a controversy over whether Han Shot First in that instance? Or that the gun was planted after-the-fact to justify it?

Also, we have gotten some high-profile cases tossed out, e.g. the Baltimore cop whose cam recorded him planting heroin in a soup can.

And it may have taken a long fucking while, but he did get his comeuppance with a conviction this past November.

Edited by ironballs16 on Feb 21st 2019 at 3:47:35 PM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#272423: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:40:05 PM

They seem useless because of the culture within precincts of protecting their own and superiors not dealing out appropriate punishments. The body cams are supposed to be proof of negligence or wrongdoing that would then be followed up by punitive action from the officer's superiors. Problem is that cops don't do that. So deal with the culture, then body cams will be properly effective.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#272424: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:55:16 PM

I wish there weren’t so many precincts. It seems like a barrier to effective policies, and makes solving crimes harder.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#272425: Feb 21st 2019 at 12:56:00 PM

I’m not sure use of force is a relevant metric for bodycams. They could very well increase use of force, and that may not even be a bad thing.

They do, however, reduce complaints and misconduct reports. That alone is valuable.

They should have sent a poet.

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