There's a difference between the army and the police. The first is intended as a defensive force, guns pointed out towards the enemy. The other is an offensive force with their guns pointed at us, forcing us to obey their laws.
If we are to have nations then we must have borders. If we must have borders then we must at the very least have a force to defend said borders. I speak from a Canadian perspective, it is imperative we have an armed force at our border to prevent American aggression and to limit the flow of guns and hard drugs into Canada. That force, designed to protect the population and aim their guns outward, is never used by a legitimate government to attack their own people. I believe that most reasonable people would see that as an act of aggression by their government and rise up in some fashion. But as long as the army is protecting the population and not engaging civilians they are loved and venerated.
The police are completely different. They are an armed force with their guns pointed at those within their own society. They are group of selected individuals, trained to attack civilians. They carry weapons designed to instil compliance and fear and have the authority to ruin lives on a whim.
If you are wrongfully arrested, as millions are every year, you will probably lose your job. You can say goodbye to any chance at a governmental scholarship if you are young. Even if the charges are dropped against you the arrest will show up on any background checks required for future employment.
We have a multitude of gangs in our world. Depending on your definition everything from a Warrior Society to the Hell's Angels to the 16 year olds hanging out down the block constitute a gang. But only one hides behind a shield. Only one has the governments backing to shoot you dead on a whim. Only one wears a uniform and claims to be protecting us.
They protect us by shooting us. Or by locking us up in prison. Prison does nothing except turn petty thieves into career criminals. Prisons are universities of crime with free tuition, room and board provided by your government. Doesn't sound like much protection to me.
So where do we go from here? Certainly not by shooting at or ambushing police officers. For whatever reason they have decided to put their lives on the line to defend our democracy, or at least they believe that I hope. And that, at the very least, is worthy of a modicum of respect. To truly fuck the police we must get rid of them. We must show them that another world is possible. One where they are not needed.
A world where a lady doesn't need to steal a can of meat so she can feed her child. A world where a father of three doesn't have to rob a liquor store to feed his kids because he got fired from the plant. And that my friends, is up you.
