By Paul Weiser
A remarkable artifact of modern times is what might be called "liberal policing." As with most things liberal (see, for example, "social justice") the meaning is exactly opposite the words - only mechanical trappings of law remain. The revealing question is, "Why?"
Liberal policing is use of governmental police power to subvert rule of law by persecuting the law-abiding while empowering actual criminals with benign neglect. A perfect example is today's British police, who expect and accept assault by criminals (once a very serious offense) but fall on any law-abiding citizen who defends himself with unreasoning fury.
In America, Immigration turns a blind eye to thousands of Mexicans a day illegally entering the country with drugs and weapons, but tears into American tourists returning from Mexico as if drug- or gun-runners would bother with designated entry points. Also in America, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives constantly works entrapment, SWAT raids and criminally aggressive record searches against legal firearm buyers, sellers and owners - but ignores machine guns in the hands of gangs unless it can sting a legitimate importer with them.
The reason for this insanity, in America as well as Britain, is that the political higher-ups of enforcement agencies have bought into socialist theories of class guilt and entitlement. The downtrodden (criminals) are entitled to behave viciously and violently (poor children!) and actual productive citizens are by definition guilty of "exploiting" them - they deserve any crimes the lower classes visit on them, therefore have no right of self-defense.
This makes (middle-class) law enforcement personnel uncomfortable because they're sworn to enforce law, not "social justice." Their reaction, far too often, is to vigorously assault the law-abiding when they have the temerity to defend themselves: this not only gladdens their superiors but displaces their own justified feelings of guilt.
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