Greetings.
Recently, I was shown a video clip taken from the reality television series, "What Would You Do." For those not familiar, the show is essentially a series of mock situations that actors perform which lead bystanders to believe are really happening, when in fact they are not. The objective of these mock situations is to determine what kind of responses people would likely have if a real-time situation (like the one being acted out) actually took place.
This particular clip that I was shown was filmed at a New Jersey oceanfront bar. The two actors were posing as a drunk attractive female (celebrating her 21st birthday) and a young man trying to pick her up and take advantage of her. Needless to say, the object of the clip was to determine if anyone would step in, put a stop to it, and stand up for the young woman who, in a real-time situation, likely would have ended up being sexually assaulted.
Thankfully, as you can see in the video, several bystanders DO step up to protect the young woman. Among them are two gentlemen and several women.
Unfortunately, however, those NOT among the alert bystanders are two off-duty police officers who not only don't step up to assist the potential sexual assault victim, but can be heard in the video egging the predator on and even suggesting where he might take the young woman to carry out his crime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QcLs98NeJY
(Note: The entire video is worth watching, but to see the actual portion with the two off-duty cops, watch 6:45-8:15).
It gets worse. After the producers come out and reveal that the entire set-up is a hoax, the off-duty cops are then asked why they didn't intervene. Their response is simply that they didn't want to "complicate" things by stepping in.
Some observations should be made here. First of all, obviously NOT ALL police officers are like this. Many are fine, upstanding citizens who are every bit as principled and sincere as they come. They are great family men who love and invest in their communities and, as such, are to be commended.
On the other hand, though, incidents like this can teach us plenty; not just about law enforcement and government, but about human nature as a whole. And that's simply because ALL OF US are susceptible to the same flawed human condition that lead to misdeeds of commission and omission like the ones that we witness in the video. Police and government officials are certainly no exception to this. But yet, we continue to place a disproportionate amount of trust in our "of the people / by the people" government, often not realizing that "of the people / by the people" necessarily implies that the same people who are just as susceptible to crime as the rest of us will end up representing and protecting us.
For those of us, like myself, whose level of trust in government is often tentative at best, the take-away here is simple: YOU are ultimately responsible for your own security, provision and other life needs. Yes, government has a legitimate role in society; namely the protection of life, liberty and property. Yes, the police need to be involved to a degree when a violent act occurs. But relying on government 100% of the time to have the moral fortitude to do what is right is a dangerously flawed and misguided approach to securing one's life and person. And as sovereign citizens, we, first and foremost, must be prepared to take responsibility for ourselves, our families, and for our communities.
Again, I have no doubt that there exist plenty of fine, upstanding men and women who wear a badge and would have wasted no time in stopping what they thought was a sexual assault in progress, had they been given the chance. But because exceptions to that rule exist, it is incumbent on individuals to ensure that their rights and property are protected and secure at all times. It is YOUR responsibility. And it starts with YOU.
Videos like this one can be hard to watch, but they serve as stark reminders of why we should place trust in anyone (government included) with a great deal of reserve and hesitancy. My hope is that all of us will do that. And that you will live free in an unfree world.
Praesant Libero!
-Warren Brisbane
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