Lets talk about "Swatting" and loss of freedom in America

[Opa Opa]

Can we fix it? Yes, I believe so.

Citizens not prank calling the police and acting responsibly would be a great place to start!

[Ack]

Can we fix it? Yes, I believe so.

Citizens not prank calling the police and acting responsibly would be a great place to start!

Well, I never will, so that's at least a start.

[Hobie-wan]

Can we fix it? Yes, I believe so.

Citizens not prank calling the police and acting responsibly would be a great place to start!

Do kids get told the stories about crying wolf or chicken little anymore? Or are they told about more modern things like the kid that was hiding while everyone thought he was down the well? Obviously reporting emergencies is easier these days, so the potential for abuse is higher too, but are kids even told this sort of thing is bad at an early age any more?

[Jmustang1968]

[

But your post still implies that the corruption is rampant or worsening and this mindset will fix it.

Corruption is both rampant and worsening. I said this mindset is needed. I didn't say anything about it being everything that is required to fix it.

And never did I say you implied it was everything required.

I do disagree that it is worsening. Rampant is up to interpretation. We probably hear more about it now due to expanded media coverage on scandals and the outbream of social media.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Can we fix it? Yes, I believe so.

Citizens not prank calling the police and acting responsibly would be a great place to start!

Well, I never will, so that's at least a start.

Me neither...so that makes two of us!

With regard to your point about funding, I think it is important that some larger law enforcement agencies receive the funding they need to combat actual threats. Accordingly, I have no problem with law enforcement agencies in large urban areas - such as Los Angeles - having some military-grade equipment. Such equipment is completely unnecessary in places like Keene, New Hampshire or the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and providing it to these small law enforcement agencies is, in my opinion, both reckless and a waste of money. (In my experience, if you give someone a tool, he is going to use it. Moreover, there is likely institutional pressure at law enforcement agencies to justify their purchases, and actually using military-grade equipment is often the best way to justify its purchase.)

Do kids get told the stories about crying wolf or chicken little anymore?

Sadly, I doubt it is children who are engaging in this behavior, and I suspect that most of the people sophisticated enough to do it successfully are legally adults.

[ninjainspandex]

[Flake]

I do disagree that it is worsening. Rampant is up to interpretation. We probably hear more about it now due to expanded media coverage on scandals and the outbream of social media.

Bias Confirmation Media + Citizens United. These are new things in American society.

Previously people couldn't help but be exposed to at least some media that informed (rather than confirmed) their bias. Now people are able to avoid viewpoints that conflict with theirs altogether. If you think that this development has gone unnoticed by either political party, you are living in a happy bubble. A sheep of a person's vote is the same as anyone else's.

At the same time, the Supreme Court has essentially removed all obstacles preventing people and corporations in which wealth is hyper concentrated from having a grossly disproportionate impact on legislation and election. This is on a national scale that was only achieved in earlier times once or twice by political machines such as the Teamsters. Now we have dozens of SuperPacs peddling National grade influence into local elections.

We are not playing the same game American society was playing even twenty years ago. Things have changed.

[ninjainspandex]

wow not sure if this is real or not is this our youth today?

[Luke]

Not to be a jerk, but if you don't want to get charged with a possessing a felonious amount of drugs, don't possess a felonious amount of drugs.

[Ack]

With regard to your point about funding, I think it is important that some larger law enforcement agencies receive the funding they need to combat actual threats. Accordingly, I have no problem with law enforcement agencies in large urban areas - such as Los Angeles - having some military-grade equipment. Such equipment is completely unnecessary in places like Keene, New Hampshire or the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and providing it to these small law enforcement agencies is, in my opinion, both reckless and a waste of money. (In my experience, if you give someone a tool, he is going to use it. Moreover, there is likely institutional pressure at law enforcement agencies to justify their purchases, and actually using military-grade equipment is often the best way to justify its purchase.)

Well, yes and no. We've had riots, school shootings, and bombings at universities before(the Kent State riots, the Virginia Tech shooting, and the Sterling Hall bombing all come to mind), and the lack of proper equipment and training to deal with such problems can lead to exacerbated situations. And in some cases those police departments will provide services for other areas that don't have access to the same equipment when necessary, such as my hometown providing SWAT services to the entire county when asked. So a small town like Keene, New Hampshire having such equipment is strange, though it may need it to deal with a problem in a nearby township where such heavy equipment may be required(speculation of course. I highly doubt any problems in New Hampshire require a tank).

That said, the Army also recently announced that their APCs can lead to faster wear and tear on US roads and recommend DHS not distribute those as easily, so perhaps we'll slowly build in some oversight on that end.