Bad to the Bone

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Alex Teach Image

The nice thing about the moon is that it lets you know exactly where you stand—literally.

As of this writing I am staring up at it in all its half-moon glory while smoking a tipped cigar, a 38-degree breeze blowing gently against my face as I pull a woolen collar close to my neck for warmth. Just by looking at it, I know that I am on the side of the Earth on the opposite side from the sun and between those two bodies. I can count on that.

Oh, sure, it inspires poetry as well as the tides, but I’ll settle for knowing exactly where the sun is at this moment. Everything else is suspect. Cases in point?

“No one can condone the actions of Chris Dorner, but ...”

“I do not justify Dorner’s methods, however ...”

“While protesters gathered outside of LAPD headquarters didn’t agree with the violence Dorner displayed, they did however believe ...”

These are lead-ins to multiple stories revealed by simple Google searches and clips from cable television in half-assed support of the late homicidal maniac and former LAPD officer Chris Dorner.

While on the loose, large contingents of people vociferously declared the incompetence of police for not bringing this madman’s rampage to a halt. Such was the uproar that innocent people were wounded for merely driving vehicles similar to his and not responding well to orders once pulled over (which in no way is being justified by the tone of this column, mind you—hell’s bells, boys, train much?!).  

People across the nation were captivated by the subject, a worst-case scenario of a former military and police officer with all the training attached gone mad and waging war against wrongs such as “being fired for filing a false complaint” and the all-powerful “racism” he felt he experienced, which naturally justified a hit list of more than 40 people.

Once cornered in an isolated cabin, after refusing to surrender and not responding to tear gas (as well as clarifying his ultimate message by executing yet a fourth victim during the standoff), the gas canisters ultimately caused a fire in the cabin that consumed him. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head by his own hand either before, during or after the flames had started. At the moment of death, Dorner was transformed (for a few folk, at least) from a rampaging murderer to a “victim,” eliciting crowds (and Facebook pages) in his support.

On one hand, people berate police for not doing enough to stop him. Then once stopped, people blame police for what he did, as opposed to blaming him, the evil shitbag himself, for his own actions. Dorner’s newfound fans seem to feel that he must have been “on to something” since he “wasn’t happy.” Anything else, apparently, wouldn’t make sense.

Yes, cops sometimes use excessive force. Yes, things sometimes go horribly wrong in the course of the chaotic nature of the work itself. Yes, there is even racism. But killing young girls and their fiancés and murdering cops while escaping crimes and placing the nation in fear doesn’t make Dorner a “victim.” Sometimes, people are just crazy as shit and refuse to come out of a cabin after four murders and shoot themselves in the head while the place burns down around the because they are nuts. Period. Sometimes, things really are that simple. Sometimes, a person is simply a crazy piece of shit, not a victim.

Some said Dorner was never intended to be captured, that he deserved a fair trial and that something should have been done differently. No shit, Sparky. I’d say that when he punctuated his résumé with the death of one of the people trying to get him out to bring him to said “justice,” he established with great alacrity how dangerous he was.

Hate it or not in your idealistic world, there comes a time when you just have to stop getting cops killed and shoot a place full of tear gas and let the chips fall where they may. How many bodies does that take, folks? Sometimes, bad guys are just bad. And it really is possible for them to be responsible for their own actions. Not you. And certainly not me.

Standing outside of a building holding up signs in his defense? That is clearly the worst sign of desperation for an excuse to hate the guys who are responsible for capturing, imprisoning and even putting down the bad guys you’re so very afraid of.  To that I say this: The world also has an already over-abundant supply of assholes, so please, I implore you—resist joining their ranks.  Just think.

Alex Teach is a police officer of nearly 20 years experience. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/alex.teach.