Upstream. A Mohawk Valley Blogzine.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Nazi Storm Troopers In Albany?

local0831swatCopyright 2006 Times Union.

There is something eerie about this photo that appeared on the Times Union’s web site yesterday. It shows an Albany SWAT team looking for a gunman who fired some shots on Madison Avenue.

If you removed the SWAT and police signs from the uniforms, this photo could be of a group of Nazi storm troopers looking for Jews in some European city. The color of the uniforms and style of the helmets especially make these guys look like storm troopers instead of cops.

That’s not to say that I equate these guys with Nazi storm troopers. But if the current expansion of government and clamp down on civil liberties continue in our country, I wouldn’t be surprised to see storm troopers on our streets in my lifetime.

posted by Anonymous at 5:24 AM

5 Comments:

  • To me they look like brave men willing to risk their lives protecting us from criminals.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:49 AM  

  • they may look a little overly decked-out in protective gear, but i'm sure you would be writing an article about lack of adequate protection if one of those guys were shot and killed.

    as for the drab/fascist-remeniscient uniforms? slap some rainbow stickers on those helmets and call it a day ;o)

    -natalie

    By Blogger York Staters, at 9:22 AM  

  • Maybe you missed this article

    http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=513144&category=SPORTS&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=9/1/2006

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:18 AM  

  • What color do you want them to wear and what style of helmet do you suggest. I am really curious on these questions.

    By Blogger joe, at 11:35 PM  

  • The issue of security vs. liberty has been on my mind lately, spurred by the increased "security" measures at airports. It seems that most people accept the line that we are fed -- that we are safer due to the proliferation of security and surveillance measures -- but I certainly don't buy that.

    I've been trying to determine how much liberty we should relinquish in exchange for safety, but I haven't found a satisfactory answer. After reading Sunny's Ben Franklin quote, I realize that the question is probably wrong!

    I'm reminded that Microsoft releases patches for Windows when a security flaw is discovered, but the "bad guys" take advantage of that information in the patches. It seems that our ramped-up security may provide similar opportunities for would-be bombers.

    Yes, we have come to accept security -- metal detectors, searches of our purses, removing our shoes, etc. -- and I believe we will slowly become acclimated to the presence of storm troopers. Sad.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:20 PM  

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