I’m one of the most privileged people on the planet.
I identify myself as male, over middle age, slightly over weight, caucasian, straight (asexual), in a modern western society who lives alone in a to big house with only a dog as company.
Most of my friends from my youth are dead so I talk to people online.
Half of this planets inhabitants identify as female and because of that(!) they get less pay, less education and are looked upon as some kind of furniture that goes with the house or something.
There are all kinds of people that identify as different colors, cultures and so on.
There are also groups of people that identify as a member of one of the LGBT-groups or doesn’t want a label at all.
To the point!
It amazes me when media tells us “middle-eastern women will not get an education”, “western women don’t get the same pay and/or rights as the male persons doing the same job”, “HBTQ people aren’t allowed to love and/or marry who they like”, people being harrased, killed and even hunted in the streets and so on because of who they love and who they are?!
Why do we (I’m included in this) rob these people of their HUMAN rights?
Religion and the religious cultures is a big part of this.
Over half the population on the planet has less human rights than the rest of us…?!
WTF?!
When I was younger I got arrested a lot.
Criminal things, fighting, drunken behaviour and so on but it’s “the other arrests” I will write about now.
The other arrests was when I got nicked for a cause.
Be it political, environmental or against some religion.
Police, often in full tactical gear, break in or charges, gets you down, handcuffs and off you go.
I should ad that the police in my home town trained riots with civilians a lot.
An ad in the paper and you could be one of around 30 or 40 young men who would spend a whole day attacking the police in riot gear in different ways.
I got some really good knowledge at those “training sessions” and I think it was a good practice for the police too.
As a political and engaged person I see the value of civil disobedience.
I’ve taken part in protests and actions that I knew would sooner or later involve the police in some way.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s fun. It’s not and I have scars to prove it. Sometimes the police are very violent and you get hurt by them, their horses or dogs. Also getting mazed, tazed or hit with batons is no picnic.
You will sometimes find that you have placed yourself in a life & death situation. The police have the right to use deadly force if necessary, remember that.
Before you get involved in things like this, here’s a few tips gathered from a long life together with different police from different countries.
Do not carry any weapons. You have no need for them and the police will get really exited if you have a weapon. The last thing you want is an exited police officer, believe me.
Give it up. You decide when the time comes but in general, you know you’ll have to give it up sooner or later.
Stay as calm as possible, don’t scream or act out. If you’re calm, you’re a lesser threat. Lesser threat, less violence. Also, if you’re calm you will have a clearer head and can remember things better in court
Read up on your rights and state your rights. In most countries you don’t have to talk to the police.
Be nice. Yeah, I know how it sounds but the police are humans like you and me. We all know the drill. you will get arrested and get a sentence so why not be nice. You will be treated better (in general) by the police.
The Swedish police is in my experience, by far the least violent, followed by Great Britain, Germany and France, in that order.
Make no mistake. If you are armed all of the above, including the Swedish police will shoot you if you don’t drop your weapon.
I’ve never been to the US but from what I’ve seen and heard there’s a higher risk of being shot and killed there.
I’m one of the most privileged people on the planet.
When I was younger I got arrested a lot.
The God Extinguisher 