But BigWill,
Aren't the cops who are beating people up without a justifiable reason criminals in their own right?
I am not trying to associate with criminals. To the contrary, I think that cops need to use force and shoudl be authorized by law to do just that in appropraite circumstances. I also abhore the media that paints the whoel police force as corrupt or as racist or as abusers because of a couple of bad apples.
Instead of associating with criminals, try to associate with victims. What about the guy who is in fact innocent? (And I don't care how often this happens - just as long as it a single innocent person get beaten, this argument holds true). In relating to him, I think that if avoiding the unjustified abuse of innocents is stopped, deterred, reduced, anything - it is a good thing. If that means taking metal clubs that shine light from people's hands, then so be it. Their plastic ones will illuminate just as well as the metal ones.
Furthermore, I don't believe that this hampers, in any way, a police officers ability to subdue an offender who justifiably requires a beating. That's what tazers, billy clubs, pepper spary and bullets are for.
