Indiana Cop Responds to Eric Garner Protesters by Selling T-Shirt: 'Breathe Easy—Don't Break the Law'
An artifact of the backlash.
The South Bend Uniform Co., a cop-owned company that sells "only the finest public safety apparel," has responded to those "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts by producing shirts that look like this:

That's tasteless and offensive, but I don't think I would have blogged it if the story had stopped there. If I want to write about the backlash against the anti-police-brutality movement, there are much bigger fish than a guy churning out T-shirts in Indiana. But then the guy in question posted this reply to his critics on Facebook:
And that's the sort of insult to everyone's intelligence that I just have to share. I mean, I suppose it's possible that the company could create these shirts without recognizing that they also carry a second message—roughly speaking, "People who break the law deserve to be choked to death." Possible, but not very likely.
WSBT reports that the store has "already received more than 100 online orders." It adds that the owner "says his shirt is an opportunity to show the other side of the story. He says the other side is the police perspective."
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I don't know what's more disgusting: the pigs who made the shirt or their customers.
I bought two. I cut them up and use them as scarves.
Or wipe my ass.
"Do as you are told and I won't kill you"
Nice.
All they know is 'The beatings will continue until morale improves.'
Keep it up boys, lets see how that turns out for you.
Keep it up boys, lets see how that turns out for you.
Based on what I've seen in the courts, quite well actually.
Jesse, do you really mean this:
"People who obey the law deserve to be choked to death."
because I don't think that's what the t-shirt says... Did you intend to add a negator to the first verb?
And what about this:
He says the other side is the police prospective.
Is that his word? Or typo?
I see he fixed it.
"Obey" was my error; "prospective" was WSBT's.
I'm familiar with the "other side". There was fucking video of it. The other side can fuck off.
Breathe deep, the gathering gloom. Watch lights fade from every room.
These boots were made for licking.
Bedsitter people look back and lament: if only my dog hadn't been quite so friendly.
I hope that any asshole who wears one of these has their car break down in the ghetto at 3am.
"The Law"??
If there was only 1 law, there would be no need to have this T-shirt. But we have trillions of laws, and the police don't know them so they have no idea if you are breaking any laws or not.
Oh, they are sure you are breaking a law, they just have to figure out which one it is. And if they can't, they'll just hassle and threaten you for a few hours and if you're lucky, you'll make it home alive.
And if you call them out on it, they just say they made a reasonable mistake of law in their belief that you were breaking the law, and it'll be totally okay!
Maybe we can get that Supreme Court to do something about that?
In the words of the ever wise Commander Vimes, " It might be just possible, by lying very still in a cellar somewhere, to get through a day without committing a crime. But only just. And, even then, you were probably guilty of loitering."
We should just have one law, making all crimes illegal.
He says the other side is the police prospective.
And I think this shirt captures that accurately.
OBEY OR DIE
These rat-fuck pigs place themselves above the law, the "good cops" look the other way when "those few bad apples" commit atrocities, and then they can't understand why the public is turning against them.
Fuck the king's men!
"He says the other side is the police prospective."
What, that they are shielded from market consequenses and benefit from qualified immunity? That they go around following law antithetical to natural law and liberty, therefore creating conflicts, and making arrests no private company would even dare engage in?
Their salary comes by way of extortion. Funding the police is not voluntary. One can not fund a competing service within the market and reward them for their good performance, while removing their funding from the state totalitarian police force.
That same police force will be ordered to use violence against anyone who doesn't obey. Minarchists like to claim that libertarian anarchy would be chaos, yet ignore the chaos that surrounds them. There is no need for a violent coercive monopoly that forces compliance and obedience through extortion and violence. I'll take my chances and be free, instead of continually being enslaved with the BS notion that one day government will limit itself.
The greater good means the police serve the people. Serving the people means they serve everyone else. You, the individual, serve the police.
This seems like a good time to find the most obnoxious pro-cop shirt...
Here is one.
Another
The fucking irony - it BURNS
The "More honest than we intended to be" award goes to .... May I have the envelope, please?
For the ladies
I wouldn't be so sure of that.
Or any of the ones in this Balko article from HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....79017.html
IT'S A COOKBOOK!!!!
love it.
What the fuck were those 99.9%-ers up to while Garner was gasping his final breaths?
Fuck the pigs.
The Brown and Garner cases are very different for many reasons and the media and activists painting them as the same is much of the problem. I am no die hard supporter of the police and have taught my children that they are not you friends if you are arrested or even questioned. However, some of the comments here are as bad as the abuse which has been charged. The simple truth is both events were not just the fault of the police involved, but a series of smaller events that spiraled out of control. The Black community wants to blame the police for how they are treated, yet refuse to acknowledge they accept behavior which warrants young black men being under intense scrutiny. When 3% of the population commits more than 60% of the violent crime nationwide year after year, who should the police watch? However, police have to also acknowledge not all of those they hire have good intentions or hearts. Clearly there are officers who are on power trips or have other issues which make them unfit to be police. As for the shirt, the message is pretty simple, obey the law and you have nothing to worry about. Seems kinda obvious to me...
Most of the laws out there are immoral and unjust, and the ones that are moral and just go largely unenforced.
Ever been the victim of a crime? Cops don't give a shit.
Ever been suspected of a victimless crime? Then you've got their undivided attention.
Unless they can find a way to pin the blame on you, and don't think they won't try.
My apartment was broken into and I stupidly called the cops thinking they could help. They ran me for warrants, asked for consent to search the place for drugs, and without warrants or consent they left.
It did to me, too, until I started experiencing life.
Brown was a stupid, sociopathic lowlife who brought about his own demise. Garner on the other hand did absolutely nothing to deserve being killed and just wanted to be left alone.
And the t-shirt is beyond stupid. It should be brown in color, because it's a pithy expression of a disturbing love of fascism.
Well, the Brownshirts themselves were eliminated as the Nazi's made their peace with the existing power structure (junkers, military caste). The shirts should be black and red.
Garner was accused of selling untaxed cigarettes. The ultimate price in failing to pay the extortion rate was death by the totalitarian arm of the state.
If government services were so great, they wouldn't be forced upon folks through the barrel of a gun.
Your papers are always at the ready for official inspection, no doubt.
Garner was obeying the law. He's got nothing to worry about... now. He's dead.
CB
As for the shirt, the message is pretty simple, obey the law and you have nothing to worry about. Seems kinda obvious to me...
Good for you.
Don't be suspected of skirting outrageously high sin taxes on America's founding crop, and we won't kill you.
I have a friend in the BATFE who buys cigarettes in Canada every time he goes up there and then leaves them on his desk at his office. Piss his SAC off, bigtime, since they don't have the oh so important US Tax stamp.
He also smokes handrolled. lol
Wow thats pretty cool man, I want one.
http://www.AnonBay.tk
I hate you, Anon bot.
"United States Police Officer"? That's the real WTF here.
Any tax is is too high. If folks don't want others to extort them for "services" and things against their will, or for folks to confiscate their property for failing to pay up because these acts are immoral....then how does it become ok when someone in a fancy suit, or uniform does it??
How would the conservative's, liberals and minarchists feel if libertarian anarchists beat the shit out of them, robbed them, extorted them, took their stuff at will, and forced them to work for the benefit of others against their will? They wouldn't like such slavery, but yet they have no problem advocating and implementing their own version of slavery through politicians. Whether it's a little bit of slavery, a medium amount, or a lot...its effing antithetical to liberty, and natural law and the non aggression principle.
If someone wants to get beat up, dominated, stomped on or whatever you can pay for those services. But quit trying to make free folks submissive slaves along with you.
I agree that Pauline `s storry is shocking... last week I bought a gorgeous Ford Focus after I been earnin $6233 this past month and over 10/k this past-munth . this is definitely the nicest-job Ive had . I actually started 3 months ago and pretty much immediately startad making minimum $71 p/h .
Am join this way but you can join now------------- http://www.jobsfish.com
These are so sweet. I know several people who are getting this T for Hannukah and Christmas!!!
Bo Dietl, who is a FUCKING LEGEND, and one of the most storied and celebrated cops in the history of the NYPD puts it well here...
http://nypost.com/2014/08/14/n.....er-arrest/
Garner, at 6'3 and 330 lbs, and an extremely unhealthy individual witha host of medical problems is very typical of the type of guy that dies an in custody death after a struggle "chokehold " or not
THis case is wholly distinguishable from Ferguson in that in that case, Mr Brown did everything possible to bring about his death and the only person to blame for him being dead is him
Garner on the other hand, is a tragedy, albeit one that is certainly not (based on known case facts), a criminal act on the part of the officer.
I never had somebody die on me while wrestling them into custody, but a guy came damn close and it was scary as fuck! I empathize with the officer, as well as Garner's family.
As a former EMT, I also see that what the EMT's did and didn't do had a huge impact as well, although NYC emergency response personnel on the whole do a damn fine job
You would think that with over 30 arrests under his belt, Garner might have learned NOT TO RESIST, but some people just create their own shitty reality despite all the prompts pointing them in the right direction
some people just create their own shitty reality despite all the prompts pointing them in the right direction
What's it like being the living embodiment of irony?
My reality is pretty awesome. Great job, great family, great life.
Here's a hint. the american dream exists and on the whole, doing the right thing tends to get rewarded
people tend to create their own reality and there are few things more easily correctable and ultimately damaging to a person's life than exhibiting poor attitude and treating others poorly.
Resisting arrest is a perfect example of that type of thing, that tends to just bring unneeded pain, suffering, grief, and unfortunate circumstances.
I interacted with the police a lot as a youth due to my job of concert production and promotion as well as playing in a band (thus generating a metric assload of noise complaints).
I learned early on that having a positive attitude towards responding officers and treating them cordially and with respect has a HUGE impact upon outcome.
Cops are not robots and in a perfect world, being a douche towards cops wouldn't negatively affect a cop-citizen encounter, but in the real world - it does, just like with ANY other type of interaction.
It surprises me not at all that so many people here have anecdotes of bad experiences with cops.
When you act like a haughty douche, that's what happens
hth
hth
You really are a horrible human being.
So, the cops lay hands on someone breaking no law, put him in a chokehold against policy, kneel on him while he is on the ground, he dies.
And, eh, the fat fuck had it coming.
Is that about it, Dunphy.
That's almost as bad as your claim that someone answering their own door at 2 in the morning, breaking no law by having a gun in their hand, can and should be gunned down like a mad dog by the cops.
bitch and moan bitch and moan
waaaaaaaaah!!!
There were always a few buddies, back in the day, who risked martyrdom by mouthing off to the police rather than "moving along" or "going home to sleep it off." Nothing the townie cops liked better than to whale on some drunken college boy who disrespected and resisted them. One guy ended up in jail during finals and flunked out.
On the other hand, his criminal record then kept him out of the Vietnam debacle!
"Knowing the police are there for you"
This is supposed to be comforting? Hell, nothing would frighten me more than being told "Mr. Dean, we're the police and we're here for you."
I knew this guy who grew up in a third world country that was occupied by a foreign army. The local leaders were collaborators and fundamentalist jerks. There were so many laws that no one could keep them straight, and practically everyone was technically a criminal. The army acted as the local law enforcement, there were a lot of executions and the theocrats even made crimes punishable in the after life. Anyway, this guy never did anything wrong, always tried to do the right thing, and he told other people to do the right thing. The authorities killed him anyway. No trial, just beat him and strung him up for everyone to see. Turns out the guy's dad had some pull, so he came back from the dead. Still pretty fucked up though. Merry Christmas everybody.
*applauds*
If he had only done as he was told, all this trouble could have been avoided.
I've got some friends who are former cops and we've talked about these cases at length. Where we don't agree, we DO agree that the cops in the US need to de-escalate the situation pronto. The simple fact is that people now treat the police like they would a rattlesnake. Its not respect. Its fear. And fear will eventually turn to outright hate and things will go pear-shaped quickly. The police are fast becoming recognized as an occupying army and they will learn the hard way what asymmetrical warfare is all about if things don't turn around.
rubbish.
Most encounters people are comfortable with the police and no such dynamic exists.
this is the type of rubbish you believe because you surround yourself with fellow travelers.
look at the stats. the actual data. the average cop never fires his gun a t a person in an entire career and OVER AND OVER AGAIN, POLLING DATA PROVES THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR POLICE, TEACHERS, MILITARY (enlisted primarily), and FIREFIGHTERS
and very little respect for attorneys and journalists.
if this alleged dynamic were true, it would be reflected in the polls, and soccer moms etc. woudln't go out of their way to approach us and ask us to speak to their child or thank us for our service.
show me ACTUAL DATA that the police are being recognized as an occupying army. the protesters etc. do not represent anywhere near the majority.
just because they are loud and in your face doesn't give their bogus laments mainstream appeal
joe average doesn't give a flying fuck about ferguson
Are those surveys done in poor communities? Black communities? I'm pretty sure the overwhelming majority have a much different perspective. But sure, you're a cop, no doubt living in fear for your life all the time.
On a brighter note, did anyone else notice that part of a cop's uniform is a strap on? Or did I read that wrong.
*Are those surveys done in poor communities? Black communities? I'm pretty sure the overwhelming majority have a much different perspective*
The communities in question have very little knowledge of the world beyond the end of their street.
So their opinion doesn't matter. Got it.
How about the Supreme Court -- copsuckers that they are -- referring to ALL encounters with the police as "coercive in nature?"
Cop apologists remind me of muslin apologists. "It's just a few bad apples."
Show me someone who respects the police, and I'll show you someone who has neither been a victim of a crime nor been suspected of a victimless crime.
I guess I can understand a bit from the police perspective. Investigating crimes with victims requires actual work with nothing in return. Victimless crimes are much easier to prove, and have the added bonus of getting to rob the criminal of everything they own.
Freedom and liberty sure are great, unless it's something "we" disagree with, then it needs to be shamed and banned.
Reason, my arse.
Cops should be shamed and banned for their actions. It's not a matter of disagreement.
Don't break the law, don't cite the law, don't be sick or disabled or confused, don't be a friendly puppy, ...
What have I left out?
This goes nicely with his other shirt line, "Live Bruise Free; Have Dinner on the table when I tell you to b**ch."