# I've had a mighty bad day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 9, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294 "2005-02-09T23:20:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/81 "2005-02-11T22:29:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Uh … who’s going to enforce them then? Presumably either private contractors who will enforce the decision in return for a percentage of the judgment, or (if absolutely necessary) be hired by the government. You may say that this is just establishing a police force by another name, but there are some important differences – these enforcers would be contracted for a specific task, be liable for negligence in executing that task, and have no general authority to seek out or patrol for “lawbreakers.” They’d operate a lot like present-day bounty hunters, actually. > [@](#): > > So you’d actually like to be worked into an early grave by an oppressive overlord who takes the fruits of your labor in exchange for meagre food and shelter and a uninforcable promise not to kill you on a whim? As outlined above, there is certainly provision for enforcement. If I were to sign a contract for life servitude at subsistence rations, and the contract was freely entered into without coercion, I’d have no-one to blame but myself. And no system is immune to corruption or abuses; I merely think this would be better than what we have now. > [@](#): > > And if you’re imagining that you’re going to BE that oppressive overlord … dude, you don’t even have the resources to buy a house. No way you’re going to wind up the lord of the manor. If rule of law breaks down, you’re gonna be the BITCH. I have no illusions that I would be a feudal overlord, just like I have no illusions that I’m ever going to be a multi-billionaire CEO or tinpot dictator of some third-world country. And if the rule of law breaks down, it doesn’t matter what system I’m living under, things are going to suck. > [@](#): > > This point of view is so insanely ahistorical and naive that I don’t know where to start. Feudalism could never, ever work in today’s world. Notice: I’m not advocating feudalism, just saying I have no problem with it in theory. On preview, the same can be said of manorism, even though the situation as presented by **Ogre** didn’t necessarily involve serfdom – thanks, **Guin**. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/82 "2005-02-12T02:54:41Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I believe that if you make a mistake in judgment so severe that it results in someone’s death and you should find a new career path. Special exemptions for doctors/surgeons, construction workers, judges/lawyers who work death penalty cases, career military, air traffic controllers, psychiatrists who work with suicidal patients, social workers, and people who work at battered women’s shelters? Or do you really believe that any fatal accidents should automatically result in loss of a career, regardless of how many years of training went into it? (I’m all on board for ending some careers after the first fatality. Architects come to mind.) Mostly I’m posting here to support cops. I’ve had far too many encounters with police, in far too many different states. In my youth, I even got arrested once for putting an M-80 in a mailbox. (Ah, youth. _The Butterfly Effect_ kinda freaked me out, to be honest) In every single case, the cops acted just fine. Most were polite to a fault, if not always lenient. I have nothing but respect for cops, especially the ones I’ve dealt with personally. And that includes cops from CT, VA, NH, TX, OH, and NY. Okay, the OH situation was annoying in the extreme, but the actual cop was fine. Other government workers? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/83 "2005-02-12T04:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Special exemptions for doctors/surgeons, construction workers, judges/lawyers who work death penalty cases, career military, air traffic controllers, psychiatrists who work with suicidal patients, social workers, and people who work at battered women’s shelters? Or do you really believe that any fatal accidents should automatically result in loss of a career, regardless of how many years of training went into it? (I’m all on board for ending some careers after the first fatality. Architects come to mind.) I never said that I believe that all fatal accidents should result in a loss of career. I said that if you make a mistake in judgement so profound that someone loses his/her life, you should find a new career. The cops in the Diallo situation should lose their jobs; the ones who shot the 13 year old kid in the OP should not. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/84 "2005-02-12T04:46:53Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I never said that I believe that all fatal accidents should result in a loss of career. I said that if you make a mistake in judgement so profound that someone loses his/her life, you should find a new career. I appreciate the clarification, but it’s not helping me. What is the difference between the two? I suspect I might actually agree with you, but I can’t quite suss out what your exact position is. Imagine a surgeon who made a bad judgement call resulting in the patient dying. I say she learns from it and moves on. You seem to agree with that in your first sentence, but contradict it in your second. ---
**Author:** ![Floyd13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@Floyd13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floyd13)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/85 "2005-02-12T05:14:20Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Remember, a jury of 12 ordinary men and women like you and I heard all the evidence on that shooting and eventually determined that the police did not act inappropriately. In my mind, that trumps any second-guessing by people who do not have access to all the facts. So I assume you are thrilled about the fact that O.J. is running around free? I mean, he was found not guilty by 12 of our peers, what’s the fuss? This kind of logic always puzzles me. Just because some dumbass rules a certain way I’m supposed to support and agree with it? I agree with the OP, cops abuse their power just like the politicians and should be called on it. They chose the fucking job. This reminds me of Columbine. While helpless kids were being gunned down in a high school, the pussy ass cops were hiding behind the goddamned swat van. Get your bitch ass in there and do your fucking job! If you don’t want to, then quit. Just because cops are in dangerous situations does not mean they can fire at whoever whenever they want. Next time you’re visiting some foreign country and a cop says something you don’t understand causing you to reach for your passport, you better dodge those bullets like motherfucking Neo. In the immortal words of N.W.A.- Fuck Tha Police ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/86 "2005-02-12T15:51:21Z")
> [@Floyd13](#): > > Next time you’re visiting some foreign country and a cop says something you don’t understand causing you to reach for your passport, you better dodge those bullets like motherfucking Neo. > > In the immortal words of N.W.A.- Fuck Tha Police I like you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294/87 "2005-02-17T22:55:49Z")
If I’m stopped by the police in a foreign country, I’m not doing a THING until I know for sure what they want me to do. Why would my inability to understand what they’re saying cause me to reach into my pocket? Seems like common sense would tell me to just freeze until they demonstrate exactly what they want. I doubt I’d be shot for just standing there, non-threateningly, with my hands in plain view. As far as the car thief case, I’m just thankful the kid didn’t run down an innocent bystander or ten while committing his crime. Here in LA we have our fair share of car chases. It amazes me that more innocent people aren’t killed by the idiotic morons who run from the cops. A car driven by a 13 yr old can be just as deadly as one driven by a 30 yr old man (if not more so, since the 13 yr old doesn’t have driving experience.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-a-mighty-bad-day/289294.md?page=4)