I'm pretty sure I'm not power-trippy, considering how little power I actually have (there are a grand total of 8 people who work for me, I work for dozens).
I also don't think it's fair to dismiss me because I'm just another of the "brainwashed military". Remember, I'm the one who was saying the Marines in an earlier post were douchebags. In fact, I rarely find myself in agreement with the majority of the military in political discussions. So I'm not sure where that comes from.
What I AM arguing for, though, is what our country's legal system was based on. Innocent until proven guilty. You guys want to accuse the cops of breaking the law? Fine. Prove it. Showing a video of someone mid-arrest is NOT proof. All it is is proof that the protester was resisting arrest.
I already admitted that the pepper spray incident looks bad, and I don't have an answer for it. There should be an investigation, and if there isn't more to the story, the cops involved should be disciplined. Harshly.
I'm not saying the police are never in the wrong. But I refuse to subscribe to the "Fuck the Police" mentality that so many of you want to believe in. Just because people are protesting, doesn't mean they can't break the law. And when they DO break the law, the police aren't only justified in arresting them, but they are required to. Even when they resist arrest. If they refused, then they would be failures as police officers, and THEN I would be upset.
Again, I'm not saying the police have done nothing wrong. I am sure in isolated cases they have. I just don't think you can point to a video of the police arresting a protester and yell "Police Brutality" when you don't know the circumstances behind it.
I know it's human nature to rebel against authority, but if you want to be treated with respect, then you should try to get past your emotional response and look at the facts. Unless you have personally witnessed (or seen actual proof) of police misconduct, it's irresponsible and childish to accuse them of such.
And if you act like an idiot, I will treat you like you're an idiot. I will never apologize for that fact. You'll see many posters here that I have respectful dialogues with. I treat people how they deserve to be treated. That's how I live my life, and I'm not going to change it because it hurts your feelings on an internet message board.