As the situation worsens.

.
.
I find myself considering issues much more seriously.  This includes the notion of police, sheriff, and other leo officers.

I remember, as a child, rooting for Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, along with a host of other real and fictional good guys.  The Lone Ranger, Batman, and others come to mind.  Of course, there were notions of anti-heroes, and cheering select among those on, of whom Batman would probably have been the first.  And while my notions have matured, many of my understandings of those earlier heroes went unchanged.  In this time, even those are being reviewed.

The most recent such man to come under very close review regarded Wyatt Earp, and the O.K. Corral incident.  Why?  Because the story hinges on the lines of gun control, personal responsibility, legal and potentially illegal use of force, and a host of other notions.  It hit me like a brick, while recently watching a pseudo documentary.  I have, several times, studied the events that took place.  And, everything about the docu-drama was rather spot on, from what I remember.

A town, with a number of industries and standard townfolk, was having issue with, essentially, rather lawless cowboys.  A gang of them.  The leader had been killed in Mexico while trying to rustle cattle, or perhaps he was robbed of stolen cattle and killed.  Hard to say, down there.  The thing is, he was known for stealing cattle in both the US and Mexico, moving them across the border, and selling them.  The members of that gang held together.  And, because of the money they brought to the town, and their less than civilized social order, expected and pretty much were allowed, to be rather lawless.

The city chose to shut that down.  They required that guns be turned in when in town.  Now, in a lawless town, that is a risky proposition, more so to those who cause much of the lawlessness.  This is where I had to consider the factors involved.  "Shall not be infringed", is rather plain.  And, yet, this wasn't outside of the realm of reason, considering that alcohol was often involved.  States can, and all of them I am aware of do, limit people with guns regarding alcohol consumption.  Often even not allowing guns in bars.  Having been a bouncer, however, I know just how well that law actually works... even in a state where permits to carry were rarely handed out to mere civilians.  Yeah...  You learn to see prints, if nothing else than to know who to watch.  The thing is, that law imperiled city citizens and the law was weak as to their defense.  I have to wonder if any civilians were killed due to being unarmed while the Cowboys were allowed to ignore the law at times?

On the other side, you had two different groups of lawmen.  One which went strictly by the letter of the law, and pushed it.  The other whic was pretty much against infringement, at least for their outlaw allies.  Neither of which was strictly on their chosen side for strictly legal reasons.  Each had a cut of some enterprise or other to protect.  Nothing clean here.  Business, all business, all the time.

Up until recently, I generally gave leo the balance of favor.  I can't say that is at an end.  Only that the review of current events is a bit more stringent.  I never offered a blind eye, though, nor a wink and a nod, save in very select situations.  As for literal civilians?  Generally I don't trust them either, and less than officers.  Simply put, there are a lot of trouble makers and troubled folk out there.  Drugs are becoming a huge issue.  Meth, heroine, and some other new and old crap is coming online.  People who use those, or even pot, can't be counted on to act rationally or be trusted even if they are sure of what they saw.

I have always known that there is a bit of... imbalance... in every leo personally and agency wide.  I know things are done, allowed, and not allowed, that have nothing good to do with the law.  Only in a fabled world of utopian dreams could it be different.  Police, to a degree, are there to maintain order, offer justice, and protect and defend.  But they are standing in a very precarious position.  Further, they are simply human.  The whole justice system is also slightly rigged, for fear, for money, bowing to power.  It is just the way it is, and will remain, until perfection is had.  It's a matter of options.  There are some hopes, and limits, with any force.

As an individual, among individuals, I am reasonably competent at bringing my own order to the game.  However, that is not how this game is played.  People group up, guns are equalizers, and the reality is that without the law officers, things would go tribal, more tribal, and fast.  If you want to see what that looks like, visit some of the places in the city where law is broken.  If you want to test your metal, go there, alone, at night.  I have, but you aren't me.  It's not what you want.

The trick is making sure that the actual innocent aren't harmed in the rigging, that wolves are kept with wolves, the sheep with the sheep, and some order is maintained, and just realize that it is the way it is.  Further, whether perfect, always right, or what, the law has to be bent so as to be applied relatively evenly.  It isn't as simple as many naysayers wish.  There aren't enough law enforcement bodies to make it so, and if there were, that itself would become a huge injustice.

So, yes.  I still give cops the edge.  I'll still back them.  And yet I'd like to see some grooming in there.  It is becoming clunky, those who shouldn't be being hassled are, and too many who should be hassled aren't being dealt with.  Things are becoming unbalanced.  And, to an extent, I do blame drugs, though having an unconstitutional government is bending lots of things out of true.  The whole place is falling down, big cities first.  Thankfully, at the moment, and to my knowledge, I live in a relatively reasoned legal environment.  But just a few towns away, I am hearing that break-ins of autos and homes is taking place.  Meth, I hear.  When people can't be dealt with reasonably, they must be dealt with unreasonably.  The problem is, those who are law abiding, especially if armed, can easily land in the crossfire in a war they may not have even known existed.

Things to think about.  Best to think about them ahead of time.  I still have to think that unless they can perfect no-knock searches, they need to end those.  And, if break-ins continue?  It will be difficult to lower a weapon if someone breaks in while people are asleep, then yells "Police".  What are your odds?  Police better rethink, just as we are.  Things are getting ugly.  Decide who your allies are, check your adrenalin, and check your fire.  Go after the ones that are a problem.  Shut down meth and the other actively bad drugs.  I hate to say it, but when you know?  SSS.  Just make sure you are hitting the right target.