1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Is the name "Kempeitai" insensitive?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic English' started by Knauf, Mar 7, 2018.

  1. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2017
    Messages:
    6,148
    Likes Received:
    9,666
    It was an extra in the Fast&Furious Tokyo (topic) Drift. :D

    You are upstating my case a bit, @stevenart74 , I went to Japan for a year abroad while I was in college, I was medically discharged before I could manage a duty station there. But chances are pretty good I would have spent about 3 years there, with 6 months in Iraq or Afghanistan on each end of the tour.

    And I don't really live in a place that rural, there's a good 500,000 people in the metropolitan area. You need to drive a couple hours before you're really out in the middle of nowhere. But you know what, my home city is one of the preferred refugee resettlement areas in the US. We don't have fucking wastes of oxygen in the police force shooting any black face, or insisting that they need to leave the city before dark.

    Boise PD will fucking shoot your ass if you so much as look like you have a weapon in hand, and the assumption is that everyone over the age of 21 can LEGALLY be carrying a concealed firearm. My driver's license is my concealed carry permit.

    I note that every time I see body-camera footage of a black kid getting shot by a cop, it's a situation where I, as a trained security guard, would have been justified in shooting someone approaching myself or my post because of their hostile actions and failure to follow instructions. I would have been court-martialed for shooting, mind you. The Navy is quite firm about making sure that anyone who fires their weapon outside of a combat zone or shooting range was either justified or is going to spend the rest of their life in Leavenworth Military Prison.

    I will also note that I would EXPECT a police officer to shoot my very-white ass if I was making those same actions.
     
    Belgrim, Dragonstriker, Rizzy and 2 others like this.
  2. prophet of doom

    prophet of doom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2017
    Messages:
    486
    Likes Received:
    438
    You will have to admit that there is an alarming amount of footage of US police shooting people (of any skin type) that does not appear justified at all, at least not to the European eye. This certainly also happens in other countries, but the amount of incidents in the US is far higher than those in other highly developed nations.

    I once participated in a US Army training excercise as an interpreter in 2004. I learned about their rules of engagement and their practice of treating wounded civilians. I can summarise this as: "Killing a civilian is just a minor mistake. Wounded civilians are only helped if we wounded them, and only if we have enough time. Vehicles will not yield for civilians in their way, including children. " I was asked to translate threats of torture by US Army several times. Some Lieutenants had the weird idea that I should (in the exercise) risk my life instead of the soldiers, because if I get blown up, it would only be the life of an Afghani, not a US life.

    With this, I don't want to say that all US soldiers have contempt for civilian lives. Far from it. They do not formulate the rules of engagement, they are unlikely to be the ones executing the torture.
     
    meikyoushisui and Darkvortex87 like this.
  3. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2017
    Messages:
    6,148
    Likes Received:
    9,666
    Oh, I fully agree that there are some shootings that shouldn't happen.

    There's a case of a former Marine who left the service and became a police officer. He responded to an attempted Suicide-by-cop (where the individual wants to die but is unable to pull the trigger themselves, and tries to scare the officer into shooting them), and using his Marine counter-insurgency training, talked the guy down. The officer was fired because the Chief said talking down an attempted suicide-by-cop was unnecessarily risking the lives of other officers.

    It's a sad sign when the police are expected to be more trigger-happy than the Marines. (And I note that US Marines are rather notoriously trigger-happy)

    The man sued for wrongful termination, and I believe he won (either that or the case is still in trial).

    I'd be pushing for the police chief's head on a pike, because the job of a Peace Officer is to protect the public, even from themselves.
     
  4. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2018
    Messages:
    1,200
    Likes Received:
    1,417
    @prophet of doom. . .

    I don't get some of the details of Your post. . .??

    Are You Afghani. .?? Did You partectipated in Mixed Force training for the LEGITIMATE Government of Kabul. . .??

    Or You were supposed to ACT as a Native Local Officer, during a simulation. . .??

    If that (or a similar related issue) then You should know that there are a lot of variance in the approach of Western Armies Mentality to the "Native Troops". . .

    Anyway, this is not the crux of the issue; the problem is that when Soldiers are in a Military / Paramilitary "Theatre" the Rules of Engagement vary a lot based on specific National Army kind of "Paramether Setting" but things are quite muddled when it is "Civilian" Police Officers that should approach a risky situation. . .

    I could, as usual, speak JUST from My PERSONAL Experience, but when I was not on "Riot Police Duty" (usually on the fucking Sundays when European Soccer plays and normal civilians become a crazed mob of Hooligans !!) when serving in the Italian Military Police of "Carabinieri" there exist a typical setting of "Territorial Control" where in a given zone (usually two small adjoining Italian Cities, or many Blocks of a bigger one) there is ALWAYS 24 Hours daily, AT LEAST one Patrol Car with AT LEAST 2 Officers that are supposed to not only be able to be "First Response Team" but also check Traffic and continuosly review License Plates and Driver's Licenses. . .

    We were FIRMLY Trained to behave as in "Occupied Warzones" even if POLITELY asking for Identities. . .

    It was from a bad heritage of the "'60-'70 Lead Years" ("Anni di Piombo") where first Communist Ideology Terrorists and then Neo-Nazi Bombers started to merrily kill anyone of some Political Relevance (to the point that the main "Italian Red Army" formation, the infamous "Brigate Rosse" or "Red Brigade" was POLITELY asked by the Mafia Leaders to RESTRAIN themselves to operate JUST Far North !!) ALL THE WHILE in Southern Italy the Sicilian "Cosa Nostra" warred with Calabria's "Ndrangheta" who stole smuggled goods from the Puglia's "Sacra Corona Unita" (all the while the "Camorra" of Naples laughed their arses off, making a LOT of Money !!). . .

    And it still a Tactical Approach in use; the Officers are instructed to wear cumbersome Heavy Kevlar Jackets (very good against 9mm. / 45 ACP Pistol Rounds; You are lucky to survive a 5,56mm. / 7.62mm. Battle Rifle Cartridge) OVER the Uniforms (smaller Flak Shirts, wore underneath like the ones of American Cops are a personal, and optional choice, paid ENTIRELY by the Officer) and carry the 9mm. S.M.G. (usually a rather "Vintage" Beretta P.M.12 of 20/30 Years old, lucky Elites have comparable far modern equals to H&K MP5 Kurtz) as, in Italy, the Cops does not carry Shotguns for Guard Duty but rather Military Weapons filled with F.M.J. Bullets. . .

    And that is because, in ITALY any Police Enforcer Officer (the Black-Suited Carabinieri are Military Police, the Blue-Suited "Polizia di Stato" are Metro Cops, the gray-suited "Guardia Di Finanza" are a weird I.R.S. Fiscal "Paramilitary Enforcers" and there are smaller forces, such as white-suited Navy Troops doing "River Patrols / Sealanes Police" duties) does NOT have a Nonlethal Approach Option. . .

    There are NO fancy Zap-Sticks, Gun Tasers, Pepper Spray, Bean-Bag / Rubber Slugs "Nonlethal Ammo" for Shotguns and similar stuff OUTSIDE Riot Squad Situations (and there are Tear Gas Canisters for Grenade Launchers, Water Cannon on A.P.C. and obviously "Good Ol'Nightstick"). . .

    You are supposed to extract the Gun (or point the S.M.G. / Rifle), point it to the "Suspect Target" and, if the Perps are armed or endangering someone, SHOOT TO KILL if they NOT surrender IMMEDIATLY after one, two or three summary intimations. . .

    It is a sad state of things THAT IS NOT COVERED BY CLEAR LEGAL LOOPHOLES, but the gist of it, for ALL OF THE ARMED FORCES OF ITALY (involved or not in Law Enforcement, as recently Full Fledged Infantry in Wargear is deployed to support Police Officers in critical zones) is an ancient summation that did NOT change in 100 Years of History:

    "Meglio Un Brutto Processo Che Un Bel Funerale !!!"

    ("Better a Nasty Heaing in Court, probably aimed to Discharge, that receive an Honourable Funeral Service, with the Flag on the Coffin!!"). . .

    Unfortunately in Italy, is ALWAYS the problem if the Public Opinion supporting one Political Thesis or the other; there were Police Officers that had DISHONOURABLE discharge because they manhandled a known Drug Trafficker; there are Officers absolved of ANY Crimes after killing (directly or indirectly; You will be surprised HOW MANY Criminals fell on stairs or knock their heads on doorframes, when INSIDE a Prison Complex !!) many SUSPECTS, in many different times. . .

    As a point of contention, the current Political Trend in Italy is to allow ARMED CIVILIANS to be able to shoot a Burglar EVEN OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES of own private Home. . .

    The Party that sustains this thesis (and has done it from when Donald Trump was busy Junioring in Finance College and Bush SENIOR was P.O.T.U.S. !!!) has recently WON the Elections in Italy. . .

    Merry Times are inbound for My country (Sarcasm Pun intended). . .!!
     
  5. prophet of doom

    prophet of doom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2017
    Messages:
    486
    Likes Received:
    438
    I am German. The excercise took place on a US training ground in Germany. Paratroopers were training for their deployment in Afghanistan. I was supposed to act as an Afghani interpreter. Other Germans were hired to act as Afghani civilians on the battlefield. They did several scenarios including stopping and searching vehicles. They "shot" a lot of civilians in that exercise, other innocent civilians were "arrested". It was amazing how many mistakes were made this way and how little the soldiers cared. But the paratroopers were brave! I asked a young soldier who got shot three times during the exercise whether that worried him considering his imminent departure to Afghanistan, but it did not seem to affect him.
     
  6. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2018
    Messages:
    1,200
    Likes Received:
    1,417
    I know the Bravery of Foreign Deployement Troops. . .

    I was outside the Italian Army Military Police whe the "Shit Hit The Fan-Istan" deployement went, but I had some Peace Officer Duty for U.N. deployements in the Balkans. . .

    Some of My old colleagues and acquaintances where deployed on the "Taliban Warzone" and one of them had a acquired relative that was KILLED in the Explosive Truck Terror Attack in Nassyriah, Iraq, an so I feel intimately that serious issue. . .!!

    Had the Luck to NEVER shot anyone, when ON DUTY of the Carabinieri (well Watercannons and Riot Gas Grenadiers does not count !!). . .

    Unfortunately after leaving State Service I fell with many Vigilante P.M.C. that acted in various "Lava-Hot Spots"; during a stint I STILL NO COULD SAY WHERE I and other Mercs were constrained to arrive to relieve Colleagues that were pinned down by well-armed Criminals. .

    Our "Squad team Leader" was an Ex French Foreign Legion Veteran so brawny to be able to carry an 7.62mm. Belt-Feed L.M.G. with the ease I carried a 5.56mm. Assault Rifle and this could give You the idea of the kind of engagements We faced as "Paramilitary Contractors". . .

    But I risked far more, back in the Homeland, with being Pistol-Armed Bodyguard for Rich V.I.P. rather than "P.M.C. Patrol" in any "Thirld World Firezones". . . . .!!!
     
  7. Solar

    Solar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2017
    Messages:
    3,007
    Likes Received:
    5,384
    My next Infinity RPG character in the making right here!
     
  8. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2018
    Messages:
    1,200
    Likes Received:
    1,417
    Well, @Solar shoud You need further "N.D.A. Unclassified Infos" just feel free to ask. . .!!

    :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::joy::kissing_heart::gun::cop: . . . . .!!!
     
    Solar likes this.
  9. Tom McTrouble

    Tom McTrouble Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2018
    Messages:
    561
    Likes Received:
    553
    Full disclosure here, I'm a white citizen of the US (Philadelphia). I'm of the opinion that while it is not arguable that the US has a larger problem with gun violence than a lot of other places, I think the image that the news portrays and consequently gets shipped to the rest of the world is partially due to irresponsible journalism pushing them farther than is actually justified. Unfortunately I think a fair amount of it (not all though) is manufactured controversy.

    I think the more telling statistics of problems in the US are centered around how other parts of the justice system operate. For example, since 1976 the US has executed 20 white people who murdered a black person and 288 black people who murdered a white prson. That is crazy to me.
     
  10. Solar

    Solar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2017
    Messages:
    3,007
    Likes Received:
    5,384
    I may indeed, although I do have a few characters to play few first! (Hassassin, Nomad Marine Engineer and O-12 Intelligence Agent amongst others!) The setting is so rich and varied, there's no limit!
     
    Danger Rose likes this.
  • About Us

    We are a company founded in 2001 in Cangas (Spain), and devoted to design and manufacture games and figures. Our main product, Infinity the Game, was born with the ambition to satisfy the most demanding audience, offering the best quality.

     

    Why are we here?

     

    Because we are, first and foremost, players.

  • Quick Navigation

    Open the Quick Navigation