I know Phillip, usually, if I think someone is a prick, I won't even talk to them. I'll talk through'em. You know about that, because you're a LEO and you have to do that sometimes, if for no other reason, so you don't split someone's lip open.
I know when I worked for Wells Fargo Alarm, I had to deal with every lower life form you can imagine. The only people you meet in those types of Inner City Neighborhoods at 3:00am are Police Officers, burglars and rock monsters, that is after all, why I was there.
98% or better of the good folks are inside because they are sleeping or they are actively scared of their own environment and rightly so.
It's a hard thing to try and teach people to survive in that environment, I would hate to be an FTO. I trained a few people to perform Key Service, etc., for Alarm Calls and a few of them quit when the shift ended at 7:30am the next morning... I remember one young lady who was gnug-ho to be a Police Officer, she quit the next morning. Wanted no part of that job...maybe that saved her life later on too.
The debate over the Spirit Vs. Letter of the Law is always a great one. I think sometimes it is very valid as you suggest, like with street Cops. I think when it comes to Customs, there is not a whole lot of thought put into the Law at all, the Law was garbage when it was passed in 1958, I'm a Servant of it, and that is it.
Maybe they agree, maybe they don't. I don't know. But...what I was saying earlier about the black hat concept is, that sort of indifference is incredibly dangerous in society. We're supposed to be free, but sometimes I wonder how we can consider ourselves free when we have laws that state, this pocket knife is OK, this one is questionable and this one is prohibited.
It's just a pocket knife to me, always will be, it can never change. Because it is simply a pocket knife and not a symbol of evil to me.
I think what tends to piss BaliSong Fans off is, the BaliSong is the following;
1. Incredibly safe, the lock is as strong as your grip, even with a latchless or where the latch is not locked in.
2. Strong design, they do not usually break if they are finely crafted of good materials.
3. Still need alot of skill in order to open one fast. Versus a button or a straight drop Gravity Knife like the German Luftwaffe Knife and all variants of it made then and now.
4. Safest pocket knife ever devised when closed as well. The entire cutting edge and point are encased in whatever the handles are made out of.
All great attributes in a pocket knife. And to see those things go to waste, pisses some off and they lift their nose in the air...and I hate to say it because I'm not a criminal, but that indignation is righteous.
Nowhere in this whole debate does anyone speak of taking the life or property of another. No, the Government confiscates. If I do that, it is theft or robbery and illegal.
No one is arguing that a law against Bank Robbery or Rape should be ignored. Simply that incredibly stupid or Draconian laws should be thoroughly ignored in some cases...
Carrying becomes another issue.
It's very touchy and people tend to not care until it is something that they find useful or appreciate, that gets controlled, taxed or banned...targeted for legislation. That's natural.
Good conversation.
I wish there were more LEOs like you...like I said in the Emerson Forum, I think alot of people are retiring too soon.
