Don’t play it again, Sam!

Ah, Sam, you have really got up my nose. And given that smell contributes roughly seventy percent to taste, I can only say you’ve put me off my food!

How dare you? How dare you presume to speak as a police officer, serving or otherwise, of breaching and belittling the very legal system that every person, citizen, resident or visitor, is entitled to expect will serve them with a just and unbiased view? How dare you, as a person who received his income from the taxes of people such as me, dare to undermine the very constitutional laws and legal torts that form the basis of this country? If the comments you left on Blak and Black are a reflection of how you carried out your role as an AFP officer, I am not only disgusted by you, but disillusioned with the Force.

“You will never get justice from an ALP government so why waste your time …”

Your indication that Bakchos will never realise justice under a Labor Government points to two things. Firstly, that the AFP, in being aware of these issues are gutless and politically driven. They are not independent of the governing bodies and hence, cannot provide unbiased law enforcement within our own borders, let alone in the wider region. Secondly, if the Australian leadership is indeed that corrupt, then it’s time for a new government. If the Liberals are not prepared to deal with this pervasive racism and marginalisation, then they shouldn’t hold the power either. Nor the Greens, nor the Shooter’s Party or whoever. This is the reason that people are expressing dissent and this is what will gradually be the undoing of this country if the powers that be don’t start displaying some backbone and getting on with their jobs, rather than playing at grandstanding and power broking. It is the attitudes of people such as yourself that make the bad apples that allow the racist bullies in positions of power to get away with the very acts that form the basis of the arguments here on Blak and Black.

The role of the police is to enforce the law. No person should be beyond its reach or protection, regardless of their socio-economic position, title or role. In carrying out their role, the police must investigate alleged crimes and collect evidence, protect both victims and accused and serve each with an unbiased attitude. It is the role of the courts to decide on the veracity of any claims made by a victim and/or accused and to determine the veracity of the evidence laid out in court. Once the police take on this role, the division of responsibility becomes blurred and justice ceases to be blind.

“Move on with your life, there is no room for distention [sic] in modern Australia.”

In 1964 and 1965, several students from Sydney University formed the Student Action for Aboriginals group. It’s leader was to become Australia’s first tertiary educated Aborigine and later, the first to hold a permanent position as a head of a Federal Government department. His name was Charles Perkins and he led the Freedom Rides that assisted in exposing the racist attitudes of many Australians. Their search for information led to activism, punctuated by protests and at times, violence. Among those standing by Perkins’ side was a man who would be a greatly respected leader in this country, former NSW Chief Justice James Spigelman. It would seem that two of this country’s greatest leaders disagree with your opinion regarding the place of dissension in the land that we each call home. In fact, their actions in no small part assisted in changing the attitudes and perceptions of many Australians, the subsequent acknowledgement of our indigenous in the 1967 Referendum and the development of their own careers.

“The issue I have with what you are doing is that it is damaging Australia in the eyes of our near neighbors and that you seem prepared to perpetuate this damage even though the AFP are a separate entity to ACT Policing and your issues are with ACT Policing, tot [sic] the AFP.”

As I stated in my original comment, whilst law in the ACT remains under the ultimate control of the Governor General and ACT Policing remains a division of the AFP, the Commonwealth should shoulder ultimate responsibility for the issues raised that occur within the jurisdiction. There is a saying: Don’t do anything you don’t wish to see published on the front page of the newspaper the next day. Well, I guess if Murdoch can be bought off you can get away with a lot more than the average Joe, but the adage still holds true, regardless of the form or readership of the publication.

I object to paying the wages of police who speak an oath that they refuse to uphold and expect MY TAXES to still pay their wage. You are an utter disgrace. In the words of another reader:

“Give me an honest dictator any day!”