C4SS Media presents Kevin Carson‘s “On The Worship Of Authority,” read by James Tuttle and edited by Nick Ford. “Until most people abandon their state-inculcated respect for uniformed authority, and their willingness to treat officially defined outsiders as the “other,” the Rodney King and Kelly Thomas verdicts — and uncounted such verdicts yet unnamed — will continue.”

Lunedi tredici gennaio due poliziotti di Fullerton, in California, accusati di aver pestato a morte Kelly Thomas, sono stati assolti. L’accusa ha annunciato l’intenzione di non procedere contro un terzo agente coinvolto. I milioni di persone che hanno seguito la storia hanno ascoltato il verdetto con incredulità: come è possibile, dopo aver visto il video…

Na segunda, dia 13 de janeiro, dois policiais de Fullerton, na Califórnia, acusados do espancamento até a morte de Kelly Thomas foram inocentados e o promotor anunciou sua decisão de não processar um terceiro policial envolvido. As milhões de pessoas que acompanhavam o deenrolar dos fatos encararam o veredito com incredulidade: como alguém que tinha…

On Monday, January 13, two Fullerton, California police officers charged with the beating death of Kelly Thomas were acquitted, and the prosecutor announced his decision not to press charges against a third officer involved. Millions who had been following the story met the verdict with incredulity: How could anyone who watched that horrific video of…

Martedì a Santa Rosa, in California, due dei “migliori” uomini della città si sono accovacciati dietro lo sportello di una macchina e hanno sparato a morte un bambino di tredici anni che aveva una pistola giocattolo. Il bambino, Andy Lopez Cruz, stava camminando per la strada con una pistola giocattolo di plastica quando i due…

Thomas Nestel, comandante della polizia dell’azienda di trasporti di Philadelphia, è atterrito dal fatto che i passanti si siano rifiutati di correre in aiuto di uno dei suoi agenti, Sam Wellington, pestato da uno dei suoi concittadini mentre stava cercando di arrestarlo. “Ero terrorizzato. Avevo paura per i miei agenti.” Bè, è difficile non provare…

On Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California, two of that city’s “finest” cowered behind a car door and gunned down a thirteen-year-old boy carrying a toy rifle. This little boy, Andy Lopez Cruz, was walking down the street with a fake plastic rifle when the two “heroes” boldly got out of their police cruiser, hid behind the…

Thomas Nestel, the Philadelphia Transit Authority police chief, is aghast over the refusal of bystanders to help a transit cop — Sam Wellington — being beaten up by one of their fellow citizens that he’d been trying to arrest. “I was horrified. I was frightened for my cops.” Well, it’s hard not to sympathize with…

Jay: The term excessive use of force underplays the issue. Assault and battery is a crime. It’s not simply a matter for an internal disciplinary process.

At his blog Pro Libertate, William Norman Grigg recently weighed the pros and cons of resisting arrest. His somber conclusion: “Resistance may be dangerous, but submission is frequently fatal.” The topic of resisting arrest is familiar territory for Grigg. He regularly explores the legal evolution of resisting, as well as the reasons people may feel…

While reflecting on recent episodes of police misconduct in my community and beyond, I began to think about how much law enforcement agencies resemble the Catholic Church. And no, this is not a pre-St. Patrick’s day Irish joke. Consider the following: The Church and police departments have both become safe havens for criminal abusers of authority….

“The cops aren’t protecting us so we have to figure out ways to protect ourselves.”

Ross Kenyon provides an example of why the most important functions of justice and protection are too important to allow coercive monopolies to provide them.