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Law
Enforcement needs a Chief.
Anarchism is but theory. Essay for epinions.com by aohcapablanca Nov 15 '09 Bottom Line: A close to anarchistic crime-solver was lone wolf Sherlock Holmes. A "real" police department needs a chief, a tail twister, a whip cracker to move a team to solve crimes. On July 11, 2009 I introduced to epinions.com readers the 7th-Day Adventist Conference Center at Cohutta Springs in Northwest Georgia, not far from Chattanooga. [See http://www.epinions.com/content_5330935940]. With wife Mary and eldest grandson Gavin Patrick, I was there on my first ever intergenerational elderhostel with high point being our likewise first ever "white-water rafting." Since then Elderhostel's name has officially changed to EXPLORITAS (disgruntled wags say Explor-ITIS). And Mary and I went back alone last week to do hands on work in CSI -- Crime Scene Investigation. The closest thing I had previously done to "gaming" a crime had been as foreman a couple of years ago on an Asheville jury handed a civil suit to decide. And also to impose punitive damages, if we so chose. And we did. Unexpectedly early in our opening session last Sunday evening, we were handed our fake but very well acted "murder." It was the shooting of Danny, the conference center's chef. Screams, alarums, excursions and a dead body we ten Elderhostelers (Explori-hostelers?) rushed to view. Between then and Thursday evening when deadline demanded a solution, we were in the hands of a seasoned Captain of Chattanooga Police. Jeff Francis had been outlining the scripts and leading these informal CSI simulations for seven years. (One of last week's suspects, Sherri, in earlier incarnations had been thrice throttled; another player had been brained with a can of beans). Captain Francis now walked us through personality profiling, body language, ballistics, fingerprinting and interviewing. Interviewing, we were told, solves 80% of crimes. We had all day Wednesday and much of Thursday set aside to interview witnesses and suspects (all 35 or so Cohutta Springs Conference Center employees). By Tuesday afternoon I found myself thoroughly discontented with the pace of problem solving by us five ancient married couples who had been sworn as the Cohutta Springs Police Force. The deadline was approaching when we had to give Jeff Francis (a "real" Chattanooga police Captain) our list of people to be interviewed and identifying which of us would interview whom. Jeff would then do his best to make sure the parties were available. The clock ticked. The clock ticked. No one volunteered to create the list. Most seemed uninterested. I managed, none too diplomatically, to browbeat a kind little old lady into taking the lead to create the desired list. She, however, was not alone in opining that if I thought it was so darn important to do the wretched list to meet a deadline, I should do it myself. I modestly declined the honor (perhaps I prefer being kingmaker behind the scenes). But once she assumed the role I had in mind for her, she blossomed. She became our forceful but kindly "Captain Kathy." This bump in the road of detection started me reflecting: why was I so annoyed by the failure of anyone among us to draw straws or vote or otherwise pick a "Chief" for our Cohutta Springs CSI police force? I admit to being fascinated with anarchism as political theory in the occasional adult ed poli-sci courses I teach. I also recalled my one and only jury experience. The last thing the judge had told us en route to our deliberations was: "Select a foreman." Captain Jeff Francis, however, gave no such instructions and we did not at once or easily grasp that anarchism may be a fine theory for managing power. But even an anarchistic political state would need an authority-driven army or police force. If you want to get something done, do not turn your project over to a formless group of congenial "equals." Somewhere there has to be a boss. What Cohutta Springs taught me last week was that I by no means demand to be boss, but I emphatically do want SOMEBODY to be boss. Once an identifiable authority figure and power structure are established, I relax and feel at home. I might fall in line with the boss. I might, on the other hand, kick against the goad. But I want structure! Law enforcement demands par excellence structure and authority. For my sins I was given uncrackable "Willis" to interview. By accounts of all the other play actors, Willis lied through his teeth to me, with a straight face, and credibly withal! I could not decipher him. He did, after a long pause, concede that, yes, he thought it important to learn the truth about who had shot his late colleague Chef Danny. But, like most of those interviewed, Willis would not miss Danny, especially his bad cooking! Later I found out from conference center director Olivier that Willis had been a policeman for ten years. "What, Willis didn't tell you!"
"I forgot to ask!" I felt that with Willis I was playing ineffectual mouse to his totally in control cat. In a despairing, clumsy effort to achieve personal rapport (recommended by Captain Francis as one of several interviewing techniques), I explored fishing as a mutual hobby. Nothing there. I then said that I am a student of American religions. At last a flicker of interest in Adventist Willis! But he then fell back into his hunkered down role of defiance. I got nowhere. Minutes before our EXPLORITAS CSI session broke up Friday morning, however, Willis, all smiles and the congenial guy he is known to be in real life, gave me a little gift. I opened it when I reached home by car 5 1/2 hours later. It was a 109 pages paperback of 1986 called WHAT I LIKE ABOUT ...THE LUTHERANS, THE BAPTISTS, THE METHODISTS, THE CHARISMATICS, THE CATHOLICS, OUR JEWISH FRIENDS, THE ADVENTISTS. Author is Adventist divine George E. Vandeman. A book with some good nuggets. But that is a different tale for another time. MORAL: anarchy can be friendly, but it does not solve crimes. COMMENT: we did solve the murder. Murderess was front office stalwart Elaine, because Chef Danny had given her a hard time about the menu for her son's wedding earlier that Sunday at the conference center. PARTING ADVICE: if you ever fall into the hands of Chattanooga, TN law enforcement, ask for Captain Jeff Francis. A kind-hearted cop. He might run you in today, but he knows that in a year or two you may be back, and perhaps, because Jeff was empathetic when (if) he booked you, you will then be ready to inform on a real toughie. -OOO- http://www.epinions.com/content_5364686980 FILE: exploritas_09_CSI file: http://www.patrickkillough.com/government/exploritas _09_CSI.html |