Vulnerability and the bureaucracy

[rva_jeremy]

Hey all,

One of the very biggest catalysts in my life is bureaucracy and police.  I recently read David Graeber's excellent The Utopia of Rules that attempts a study of bureaucracy from an anthropological point of view. He had many interesting arguments, but one that stuck with me the most is the way bureaucracies can actually be so rational in how they implement rules that they can actually impel you to do stupid things, simply because you're trying so hard to conform to their rules. People get frustrated with navigating phone trees, or finding the right guy at city hall to talk to, or being passed around the support hotline staff for seemingly ridiculous reasons. It's almost as if the bureaucratic modus operandi is to, time and again, favor a mechanistic approach to life and squelch genuine human connection whenever possible. It's easy to say that one should be patient and use the catalyst, but it's really a question of how we process our loss of power and deal with the inhumane and stifling.

Similarly, dealing with police -- after all, most of their time is spent not actually helping or solving crimes but filling out paperwork and conforming to their bureaucratic routine -- can be a source of quite dangerous catalyst. On the one hand, asserting one's rights with cops is frequently an adversarial exercise, and our conception of constitutional liberty all but guarantees this. One must keep silent in order to flex one's 5th amendment right against self-incrimination. One must actively reject a search if they attempt to perform one in order for your 4th amendment rights to hold up in court. There are countless examples I could give that all but demand that one act with a less than harmonious demeanor.

Our vulnerability is what helps us connect with people. What do we do when a situation clearly calls for us to be defensive and "jealous of our rights"? I think I know, but I'm hoping others have some perhaps novel approaches I haven't thought of yet. Especially with police -- bureaucrats can't usually throw you in jail or shoot you in cold blood and get away with it.

Thanks!

[AnthroHeart]

I didn't know you could give up your 4th amendment rights.

[rva_jeremy]

I didn't know you could give up your 4th amendment rights.

Well I am not a lawyer, but if any of what I'm saying sounds weird I highly recommend a very educational site run by the ACLU: https://www.flexyourrights.org  I don't bring any of this up to argue legal fine points.  It suffices to say that you waive your 4th amendment right against warrantless searches when you authorize a search, or even if you fail to refuse it.

Please do not take my word for anything; read that site for information.  I'm merely asking for feedback on how one should deal with this from a spiritual point of view.

Something that occurs to me on just that subject: perhaps the adversariality of the legal and bureaucratic system is a low-level version of the experience of war.  Ra says that combatants in a war do not necessarily automatically depolarize from positive simply because they have to kill and die.  We were just talking about this at homecoming; it's kind of counterintuitive but killing because it's a survival or crazy situation is not really the same as killing out of desire to infringe free will.  It's all about the intent, so I suppose it's a matter of loving the cop and refusing the service of a search or a questioning, isn't it?

[rva_jeremy]

Bump?

[Jade]

If you feel strongly about this course of action (refusing a cop's search and questioning), you can get away with it without retaliation. It's possible to come across a cop who isn't in an adversarial mood, in that moment. I think you are making the assumption that defying a cop at all will lead to bad times - but more often than not, really, cops prefer to deal with folks who are ignorant about their rights, and if you are well versed, they will have a harder time trapping you.

I guess spiritually, one would potentiate the matrix with thoughts such as, "I deserve to have easy interactions with authority figures/all who I interact with." Of course this won't work out perfectly, but the random chance if you actually being in a situation where a cop tries to search you is pretty low, and then there's still a chance the cop doesn't retaliate further. You'd have to be putting a lot of energy into creating that reality, I think, to activate that rather low possibility/probability.

True faith would be surrendering to the outcome, no matter what. So if your desire is to resist the search, then you surrender to whatever outcome becomes of it, be it for the best or worst in the moment, but definitely the best in the long rung. But I think that having faith that all of your experiences are part of your life plan and for the best overall, in the moment, is the ultimate spiritual ideal with every situation.

[AnthroHeart]

How many cops actually plant drugs when they search your home?

[Jade]

I'm not sure it happens that often, but I think it's an issue dealing with forced invasion of privacy. I think of this issue as a shadow of the evolution into 4D, where there will be no privacy, as we all must be willing to share/accept the thoughts of others. I think it's also reflected with NSA reading all our emails/recording our phone calls/metadata/all that junk. People buck against this, naturally, but I mean, what's there to hide, really? What are we afraid of - ultimately, imprisonment? It's definitely a possibility. But it doesn't have to be. The real imprisonment is when you let others alter your actions because of fear.

[rva_jeremy]

I have much less of a problem with being fully transparent to all, Jade, than I do with full transparency to just people who want to dominate me -- with no reciprocal transparency into their lives! But, yes, I agree that this is prefiguring a much more open fourth density experience. We do need to learn to wield the power of openness, but we also perhaps need to appreciate the element of respect inherent in privacy.

I mean, that's what makes this such a great onion piece: http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/you-mee...pen--34302

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

Interesting notice on the stifling of human interaction...  I never noticed but having it pointed out, I clearly see it now.

...Disturbing.
I followed for a while a group called Cop Block on facebook.  I did it to try and make sure I was aware of all the brutality and reality going on with police in this country.  Instead I recognized the page breeding hatred for police officers.

And while I am not okay with officers murdering, and raping, and getting a paid vacation instead of prison, I am also not okay with cold blooded murder of someone in a uniform simply for being in a uniform...  And while I've seen more than my share of execution styled murders before my phone stopped letting youtube play for me inside America alone, I still did not feel I was in danger, if anything, my heart further yearns for the safety and peace of every non-white human being in this country, from black to mexican to middle eastern to whatever.  Racism is clearly alive and thriving.  There is something wrong, but I am powerless against it, and I don't want to get mixed up as some kind of 'domestic terrorist' for following a group breeding hatred of police.

This entire country was built this way though.  What more can be said, I honestly do not feel American, or proud to be American.  I am Proud to be an American against Corruption and War though.  But nationally speaking, I am ashamed of my country.  I have seen this country do things before I was born that are beyond ungodly, thank you video recording technology...

I just wish the citizens of this country would take back their Federal Government and rearrange the structure to be more...Appropriate.

Instead, I see Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton.

And I wonder if this next year will be THE year s*** hits the fan, or if they're begin forcing people to do things like get vaccinated, register firearms, or such.

Freedom.  I don't think this country actually knows what that word means.  -sighs heavily-

Jade, no offense. But to be caught with even a gram of weed can get you thrown into a FEDERAL Prison with major serial killers, gang members who have body counts behind them, and major druggies, some of which might not be fully there in the head while withdrawing cold turkey, for possibly life (not likely, but years, yes, likely). Fear is one thing, noticing irrational punishment and understanding how close you are to it should be another thing entirely. Perhaps it is fear, or maybe being smart enough to notice suffering is being pursued by those in authority isn't fear, but genuine concern for your own safety in a country that would gladly lock you up for life, just for smoking a plant, with other's who did much more than smoke a plant. Simply put, it's genuine insanity.

It's saddening. I don't really know how to handle it, I've honestly just grown numb to seeing it happen.

[rva_jeremy]

And while I am not okay with officers murdering, and raping, and getting a paid vacation instead of prison, I am also not okay with cold blooded murder of someone in a uniform simply for being in a uniform...

I've followed CopBlock for a long time, and I can't think of a single thing I've ever read there that advocates killing anybody. Besides, the two examples of violence you gave above tilts far more in one direction than the other.

The problem is that cops have been wielding unaccountable power for so long that now it's becoming much more obvious what's going on. People are angry about it. Anger has consequences. But that's no reason to stop shining the light on it. It's just more reason for us to make sure we're shining out light on the world at the same time.

Cops are huge, huge, HUGE catalyst for me. So many essentially comport themselves like bullies. However, the last interaction I had with one was very negative and frankly illegal on his part, yet all I felt was sorry for him. It's clear that the job, good parts and bad, takes a toll on people. They are just people, and that's really what I'm trying to center in myself: to see these guys as not scary monsters but just people doing a difficult job, even if it's a job I don't think should exist at all.

[Jade]

Jade, no offense. But to be caught with even a gram of weed can get you thrown into a FEDERAL Prison with major serial killers, gang members who have body counts behind them, and major druggies, some of which might not be fully there in the head while withdrawing cold turkey, for possibly life (not likely, but years, yes, likely). Fear is one thing, noticing irrational punishment and understanding how close you are to it should be another thing entirely. Perhaps it is fear, or maybe being smart enough to notice suffering is being pursued by those in authority isn't fear, but genuine concern for your own safety in a country that would gladly lock you up for life, just for smoking a plant, with other's who did much more than smoke a plant. Simply put, it's genuine insanity.

Why would I take offense? I know this - in fact, the state I used to live in has some of the harshest penalties for possession. I smoked basically every day for years and never got busted. Why are you so afraid of gang members and major druggies? You do realize the prison system is extremely rigged and that you are assuming the guilt of these people, as well?

Anyway. Let's pull up an analogy. Everyone knows, accepts, and integrates from the vegan threads that animals who are incarnated into factory farms are vibrationally aligned with that type of imprisonment/experience. Are YOU vibrationally aligned with the imprisonment experience, and being held captive with rapists, murders, etc by the police/government? Why or why not? If the animals have a choice, why don't we?

We've been brainwashed to believe that the police have control over us. They don't. If we let our fear get the best of us, then they do - and then the fear drags us down vibrationally, so we DO align with the idea of imprisonment. Authority/power is a huge 3D lesson, so it's not surprising that it is intense catalyst for all of us at this time of harvest.