Colbri, if you would have read and understood what I was saying in the Limits of use of force in self-defense? thread, then I think you wouldn’t have said what you said. I have been working in the legal field on the prosecution side of criminal acts for many, many years. Everything I have written, I have seen first hand.
The thing that MOST angers me is those people (…and there is certainly a stereotype of them) that look for a pay day anytime they think they have been wronged. Look at the Seattle protests for example. You will find a large percentge wish to peacefully protest. But…there is another segment that brings video cameras and incite riots. They turn the video camera on after police react and record HALF of what happened to use in court against THE MAN. They’ll bring bottles of urine, signs with spikes, and their own medics (individuals assigned to “treat” those of their ilk that get peppersprayed by police). They come to a protest looking for a fight.
These people are the extreme. There are however, shades of grey in between. Those that think when they walk into establishments that THEY are king and if ANYONE threatens that, they wil sue them. This is EXACTLY the type of person that Balthisar portrayed himself to be. He proclaimed that if a security guard attempted to accuse him of theft, he would use his karate skills against him. WTF? I mean really? Case in point, try going to a Fry’s Electronics store and walking out without anyone checking your receipt. YOU CAN’T. You have to stand in line while an employee with a highlighter checks the bags and receipts of everyone leaving the store.
The New Retail Security Survey has show US retailers losing in excess of $31 billion to theft. Who pays for this? The stores? Wrong! We do. And when Balthisar sues the store because they were trying to prevent theft, who pays for his lawsuit? The store? Wrong! We do.
He called me a sheep because I didn’t stick it to the man and I played along by showing the guard my receipt. I don’t consider myself a sheep, I consider myself a responsible contributor.
But…who is really to blame here? The store? Balthisar? Well, in my opinion, the general public that ALLOWS people liek Balthisar to operate. There is no general consensus that enough is enough. We are tired of people trying to “get paid,” we are tired of crime, we are tired of abuse of the system. “The system” can’t work when it is bogged down with meaningless BS.
Why are they now manufactering bulletproof backpacks? Where are the parents of the kids that are bringing the guns to school? Perhaps if we weren’t spending billions on “the system” we could use that money for programs and resources to address other, more significant problems in our society. There is no money for schools, for the mentally ill, for law enforcement, for our streets, etc…
So…you my friend, located in PANAMA, chastise me for blasting a person who is part of the problem and not part of the solution that is occuring in middle AMERICA. Why? What insight do you provide?
I chose to take this thread to the court of public opinion rather then send you a PM because I felt like it would stir a good debate. I thought the design behind this website was to get to the TRUTH. How can we do that when a mod supports the person who has a PAID subscription vs a guest who is on his trial period? Is it about the money?
