[Jeff Higgins]

A guy far wiser than myself (and believe me, there are a lot of them) once said "the truest measure of a man is how he treats those who can do nothing for him". I would only add one thing to that - "or are defenseless against him".

The biggest cowards in our society today are cops that wantonly thump citizens for no reason other than to "teach them a lesson" or because they "deserved it". These "heroes" are effectively hiding behind mamma's skirt while doling out their abuse. They know they have the power and authority of the entire force behind them. They know that lacking any kind of compelling evidence, their word will always be taken over the victim's. I think they also know that in a fair fight, many of their victims would kick their sorry asses.

It's amazing, and a bit distessing, just how much of this behavior gets captured on tape these days. What is even more amazing (and distessing) is how often this behavior is justified, even in the face of clear video evidence. Witness the deputy that body checked the young man into the wall here in Seattle a few months ago. He got away with it. His peers (an internal investigation reviewed the tape captured on a store's security camera) saw no "excessive use of force". The victim, who was standing flat-footed with his arms out at his sides clearly in a submissive position, is still in a coma. And this steroid-crazed deputy is still out there somewhere. And the story repeats itself accross our country almost daily.

Just what does "higher standard" really mean? I have never seen this oft-used phrase manifested in any way whatsoever.