But the tendency of grand juries to "no bill" is as old as the state of Texas at least. As long as the cops kill and maimed the "undesirables" they were revered for "keeping the peace". I may be cynical about the police but I grew up in Houston where it was common for them to kill an unarmed person and leave a "throw down" gun by them to justify the shooting. This worked until one moronic cop used a gun traceable to the police property room.

Many white people believed and still believe that the duty of the police is to protect them from blacks, browns and white trash.

Disclaimer: I am a white male, and I know that I got privileges and advances in life for no other reason then that fact. To deny that is to refuse to face facts.

She was on her way to her dream job.... she had been in TX only one day... She wanted so much to live....

The cop was not used to dealing with a strong black woman, and he wanted to put her "in her place" ....

and was going through one of the little communities outside of Dallas. One of the local police exited the Interstate without a signal and I couldn't help but think that this woman died for the same thing.

The cop was worried they were going to run out of Boston Creme before he got there.

Her grave.

really believes there is a link there.

And it never was about making sense, it's about arbitrary power over others, the right to be a bully.

But the danger is when these people rise to power as they have in the last 40 years.
And in case of policing that is a natural occupation for them because it gives them the power over others that they crave.

It started with the war on drugs under Nixon and then the worship of the "troops" during the Reagan years and matured under GHW Bush. And we have found no way to counter the trend.

It is fetishized murder and brutality.
To many people are willing to give up their freedom and safety to be comforted by authority.

The sad truth is that American police are worse than Apartheid... Worse than the French occupiers, worse than the Stasi...

There certainly was a toxic mix in the air during the early to mid 60's and when Kennedy went to Dallas. But nothing like this since. America is sick. I blame both political forces and a dishonest new type of media like Fox and what it has produced.

Killed twice as many people. In a church, no less!

Everything is about 'respecting authority' and any incident involving a cop gets 10x more local news-time than any other story.
A few have been killed while on duty over the past few years and their cop cars are put on display, decorated with memorials and trinkets and literally turned into altars of worship. Funerals have been held at the Fieldhouse (where the NBA team plays) and televised locally.

All of the candidates for any election have to be seen schmoozing with the cops, and every speech puts thanks to and respect for the cops over every other worker / citizen. Same with sporting events.

It's all about kissing authority's ass now and it makes me cringe.

Support for authority goes all the way back to our founding. The majority of the colonists did not want to secede from Great Britain, largely on idolization of authority.

"Respect my authoritah!" has been a constant refrain in many parts of our country.

The Red Scare? Defer to the proper authorities instead of talking about evil communism. Trickle down? Respect the authority of the wealthy.

Even the majority of our revered "rebels" are revered for asserting authority. The TV show 24 is about a "rebel" who goes "outside the rules" in order to boost the authorities.

Maybe Germany in 1939.

9/11 really did fuck us all up beyond recognition. IMO.

that keeps bad cops on the force. They're supposed to serve and protect the public, not each other. There needs to be checks and balances that assures that they are doing the right thing always (which of course they refuse to do).

and as far as LEO funerals. There is a little known rule of thumb in media. YOU COVER THOSE. Especially if you are critical otherwise of Law Enforcement... which these days is a target rich environment, pun intended.

But we have seen this in the past.

This country has a very strange relationship with law enforcement... historically it is also class and color of skin related. Minorities default to distrust of Law Enforcement, in particular whites default to protect me... you can take the next step here.

Suffice it to say, you are in the south, where the origin of the police was actually slave patrols. In the north it was something different, like NYPD was formed to keep immigrants in their place. In the west, it's complicated.

Does that mean law enforcement officials? And yes I do find that insistence upon submitting to and fetishizing authority to be very disturbing.

...and close the interstate during rush hour for the procession to the cemetery.

They fly in a special flag. When the flag arrives at the airport a police honor guard is sent to pick it up. An fully dressed out honor guard. For a flag some guy in Texas deemed 'honor flag.' Yeah...I think there's a bit of fetishization going on.

becuase that flag did not come to his funeral.

It might be because we are West of the Mississippi and do not count,

Or to be more precise, that is one piece of propaganda. At the height of the Iraq war we had ten funerals on the same day in different parts of the country for troops. At times you would have to add the police and fire who at times die on the same day across the country.

We have the 911 types here for the fair every year. They used to get a lot of foot traffic, not anymore.

Cops were the new Gods. I notice it didn't affect firefighters the same way.

...to be the first and loudest to proclaim anyone wearing a uniform as a hero.

It's the Hero-Boner Brigade I'm talking about, not the uniform wearers themselves.

I noticed it first just after 9/11, and maybe it was going on before that. But 9/11 certainly kicked it up into Ludicrous Speed.

When I heard they were going to broadcast the funeral of the prison guard, I was like WTF?
Seriously? While I am sympathetic to his family and friends for their loss, his murderer is in custody and likely to be found suicided by whatever prison they send him to next--justice for what it's worth is served to satisfy the blood lust of any southerner.
He is from a small town and the funeral will no doubt be a large affair....however, I personally have no interest in participating in it, yet it will permeate the airwaves.
It just seems so gruesome to me the way that some in this country are so starstruck by anyone in a uniform.
It creeps me out.

small town... many small towns count on prisons as their only major industry. It used to be factories, but we know where those went.

Second, in small towns people are even more star struck by uniforms. In San Diego. 8th largest city... uniforms do not get people what they think.

Honolulu though, still gives discounts to active duty and their families, some retired. But they have been doing that since Dec 8, 1941. It is now baked into the culture.

The worship of police was not so prominent before that time.

And it's one if the defining traits of fascism IIRC.

what Chris Hedges has been talking about, over and over...the worship, fetishization, if you will, of all things military, the fly-overs and the flag waving at football games, and so forth. And this includes the rampant nationalism and the worship of the LAW (when it serves the needs of the PTB, of course). Otherwise, not so much.

Hedges also describes, in detail, "where this is leading" - a discussion for another time and place, perhaps. Look up any of Chris Hedges' talks, of which there are many, on the internet. The Hegemon (or Empire) is dying, and events are unfolding just as he has predicted.

What you find so disturbing, Horse, is also what the Reverend Wright (remember him?) tried to bring to awareness in his infamous "Goddamn America" sermon. It is what Unitarian Universalists call "idolatries of the mind and spirit." Rev. Wright was the pastor of the church Barack Obama attended when he was still a candidate for President.

During the general furor that ensued, nationally, following that sermon, I retrieved, and listened to it, in its entirety, on the internet. I then picked up the phone and called the church and expressed my agreement with what the Reverend had said.

As an aside, I no longer remember the name of Mr. Obama's church, but back then it was in the news every day and one could find it on Google in about 15 seconds.

The singular point I would like to make is that Mr. Obama could have made that sermon a teachable moment for the American people, explaining the dangers of falling into "idolatries of the mind and spirit", although he probably would have phrased it differently and in his own words. Mr. Obama, after all, is NOT a stupid person.

Instead, he chose the path of expediency, as he has throughout his presidency, in my view, and he turned his back on Rev. Wright. I think that says something about his character. YMMV.

So, here we are, today....worshiping various abstractions - fetishizing them, as you said. You can check in with Mr. Hedges to find where this is leading. But you aren't going to like it.

I will delve into that this week.