Most normal Americans support the police. It’s how a dozen or fifteen on-duty cops can police a county of 100,000 people. What’s more, if a lone cop is losing a struggle for his life, good Samaritans will often step in to help, especially outside of bigger cities.
For instance, recall when a motorist attacked an Illinois State Trooper near Chenoa last summer. Things didn’t look so good for the Trooper. The man tackled the lawman then savagely beat and pepper sprayed him. It wasn’t until a concealed carry holder intervened with his gun that the Trooper’s attacker stopped his felonious assault and ran off.
Today, the Illinois State Police are already poisoning goodwill they enjoy among many Land of Lincoln gun owners by administering the new PICA gun and magazine ban. “Emptying the goodwill bucket” as the teachers say at my kids’ school. Just look at the comments at some of the stories on the GSL website. The goodwill bucket will leak even faster when Pritzker’s state cops start knocking on doors about guns and mags purchased after January 10th.
Then there’s the matter of HB-676. When it becomes law and mandatory gun seizures take place for those named in ex parte restraining orders issued without any due process, that will further erode goodwill towards police. Sure most folks will just chalk it up to the person with their guns seized “had it coming” until they learn of someone they know getting their guns seized over vexatious or unfounded complaints.
It’ll only get worse when the guns don’t get returned after a preliminary order gets thrown out at a formal hearing.
Even worse, when news gets out about gun owners getting killed for resisting seizure of their guns, the gun grabbers will cheer. The only problem is people like Bozo Bob Morgan and his Moms Demand Action ladies aren’t the people who will ever stop and meaningfully help cops on the losing end of a fight on the street.
Meanwhile, gun owners will quietly just make mental notes of the news of the arrests, seizures and gun owner deaths. Their bucket of goodwill will soon be replaced by a bucket of animus.
If public sentiment continues a swing from general goodwill towards cops to outright hostility, policing will suffer even more. Good cops will take Florida and Texas up on their offers of signing bonuses and leave our state.
As for the cops who remain? It’ll take a lot more than a dozen on-duty cops to work that same county of 100,000 safely.
Funny…three years ago you guys were calling me horrible names til I got the infamous “ban hammer” for calling ya’ll “bootlickers!”
Seems you’ve had a change of attitude.
The funny thing is when you’re on the wrong side of the cop’s evil treatment you suddenly come to your senses and it appears that many of you are finally coming to your senses.
The cops are not your friend.The cops are the enemy. The quicker you realize that the more able you are to protect yourselves.
The problem is the militarization and dumb-downification of the cop. They’ll hire anybody with a pulse nowadays and send you to an academy for sixty days and yippee! Y’er a cop!
I know Many of you guys are finally coming to your senses and that’s a good thing for when SHTF. Because at that point you’re going to have to determine whom to keep above ground and who to put below ground.
Ken,
Dude, I don’t know what happened to you in the past to give you such a bad out look on the police, but the BAD cop truly is a very small percentage. In general the cops of today can be trusted and need our help. I and my friends do and will stand with the blue line.
Many cops have already made their choices as far as I am concerned. When political pukes like ISP threaten to arrest armed citizens for what they own on the basis of an unconstitutional action, they can kiss my ass. I used to look up to and respect the police – I was brought up this way. Those cops aren’t the cops of 2023, however. Many are little better than armed thugs with badges and guns. And Ken is 100% correct about the militarization of police depts all over the country. These days, these cops forget who pays their salaries, and who the bad guys really are.
I used to defend the profession blindly. No longer. Respect is earned, not given, and a sizeable percentage of cops will never earn mine. Their actions, in case after case across the country, are those of groups little better than the gang-banging scum they should be focusing their attention upon. As you sow, so shall you reap.
You are correct. It’s like the neighbor’s dog is lovely until it gets loose and bites you. OR that cell phone signal is expected to be 5 bars until they want to put a tower next to your property and you don’t want to see it. There is a lot of NIMBY’s “Not in my backyard” going on with the political right. The “correct” thing to say is you back the blue and such. However that changes the second a cop flys out from behind the bushes and pulls you over for talking on the cell phone…….ONLY to drive a few more blocks and see another cop driving while using the phone and they get away with it because law enforcement is exempt. YOU the peon, are not. Rules for thee, not for me. It’s easy to complain about Pritzker shutting things down a couple years back while his family vacations in FL because that’s the other side of the political aisle. Whenever I see one of these thin blue line flags the first image is one of a sheep. Just remember, that shark in the water is FAR more interested in lunch than it is you keeping your legs. Just sayin’
Amen, brother. Cops can always use goodwill and it takes a long time and hard work to accumulate it. And one bad cop “just following orders” can flush it all in a heartbeat. “Back the blue until it happens to you” say the cynics. Cops ever “seize” my guns and not only will I never help one again, I will become their biggest PITA.
If/when it becomes law, it will be time for regular citizens to file red flag complaints against any and all of the genital assembly members who voted for it. Let them experience the knock on the door first hand.
What they sow, so shall they reap.
BTW, how does/will it work when both spouses own firearms jointly and one has a red flag filed against him or her?
I am not worried about my local LEO’s, but you can bet I stay under the speed limit on the interstate.
Same here. Both my city and county cops have publicly announced they refuse to enforce PICA and we are a 2A sanctuary county. That wouldn’t prevent the ISP political police from showing up on your doorstep, however – armed to the teeth with modern battlefield equipment and just itching to gun down a gun owner for resisting in the slightest way. And just think – we get to be the ones to paint the target on our own backs by registering the guns they are obsessed with.
Retired LEO with 28 years including 16 on a multi- jurisdictional swat team. Retired since 2017, in those 6 years the personnel in LE has changed dramatically. One will always hear from retired cops about “the good old days”. Traditionally the guys who came on in the 60’s and 70’d would chide the guys who came on in the 80’s, those guys would give the business to the guys in the 90’s, you get the idea. A real problem exists now. Most of those who came on in the 80’s and 90’s are gone. The early 2000’s guys are getting ready to go. The new generation coming on is Gen Z. The video gaming/ social media/ government school educated/ no practical life experience generation. In addition to that I am seeing a great number of meek individuals in the job. That personality in LE is not good for them OR you, they tend to not question ‘orders’ or think critically. The number and quality of candidates is not very good either. This is not only occurring in Chicago. When I went through the selection process an admission you indulged in any recreational use of drugs disqualified you. This particular standard is being relaxed as the majority of current candidates have used drugs in some capacity. As to the militarization of police I agree as well. When I left the job we were wearing outer carriers for our body armor but the gear one could mount on it was restricted by policy. My old department is now wearing rifle plates in carriers that are full of special operations gear. In my opinion uniform/appearance standards have also been dangerously relaxed. Baseball hats, visible sleeves (tats), artwork going up the neck and side of the face, cargo pants etc…. This stuff DOES make a difference in attitude. Many of the cops I see today are more suited to patrol Kandahar than Kankakee. Furthermore the training being received today is about DEI, not law enforcement topics like search and seizure, arrest and control, use of force (Graham v Connor). Beware the police state is coming.
Keep HB2722, ISP Vehicle Fund Surcharge in the front of your mind. Every.Single.Republican voted for it in the House. As I’ve communicated to my state senator and rep with no response, this bill takes MORE money out of our pockets to give to the ISP. And……..why don’t the lawmakers that voted against the “assault weapon” law connect the easy dots here to realize that they are voting in favor of giving an agency more money to carry out missions they voted against on the floor with HB2722. This puts a government agency above the citizens that put these elected officials in office to begin with. Gun owners are a huge block of the GOP so this bill is a smack in the face! We can read the law and know it is the ISP who will carry out the gun ban and confiscation efforts. It’s like these so-called pro-constitution Republicans think we’re stupid and they feel the need to always “back the blue” or they’ll get shunned from the GOP club or something. SO EVERYONE please make your lawmaker aware, we all know where to find the bills and already passed laws and read them. If I were in the Libertarian Party I would cash in on this big time. All they need is to highlight the mood that’s already there. Send postcards saying the GOP joined hands with the Democrats to be the Uniparty and empower Pritzker’s storm troopers. They are to crack down on your rights, confiscate your guns and take you to jail. The Uniparty backs the blue, NOT YOU! (With a picture of a state trooper harassing a gun store owner) You have other choices. Vote Libertarian!! The Illinois GOP seems to be in this pre-January 10th mindset. The Republican Party…….always behind the times. What a shocker!
Vote Libertarian? LOL. I can stay home and take a good dump and accomplish more.
Agree on oath-breaking cops are going to spoil the whole barrel if they aren’t careful.