It's a very interesting article, particularly the observation that whimsy in law enforcement patches is giving way to military imagery. Not a happy trend.
But I don't think it's appropriate to call them beautiful. Disturbing, yes, but sophomoric, and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.
It's a little interesting to see the contrast between the DEA as a straight-laced government agency, and the patches they make. Frankly speaking, there's an "edginess" to it that's hard to reconcile with their public image.
This is similar to the extremely serious, straight-laced image doctors and other medical staff present to the public and their patients compared to the gallows humor expressed by them in private.
Many patients would probably be absolutely shocked by what gets joked about.
There are many NASA mission patches that are much better designed and produced in the same medium as these narc patches. The wobbly lines seen most of these drug patches are not inherent to embroidered patches.
That's not a very good picture but they still look less crude than those drug patches. Google image search for "nasa embroidered mission patches" has better images than that for comparison, basically all look better than the drug ones, many by a wide margin.
I've designed a few patches over the years (military). The image submitted to the printer often varies wildly from the look of the finished patch. The forgotten part of this article is the artistic input from those actually building the patches. They take the vision and make it work in thread.
(FYI, the patches that really matter don't come in bright colors. Patches worn by actual operators, the people who put their lives on the line, use only muted colors, certainly not white or silver anything.)
What makes me laugh is seeing how these cops throw around military or legal symbols without any idea of what they mean. The lightning bolts mean something in the military. So too the skulls. And I don't think cops should be using the scales of justice. That is something reserved for judges. By adopting it they are basically declaring themselves judge and jury.
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me[0] is one of the books dedicated to these sorts of patches. My library still doesn't have a copy.
My girlfriend got me this book for Christmas! It's an absolute trip. Some of the Area 51 patches (for black site tech development, etc) have such surprising on-the-nose humor regarding aliens. It's nice to know that even people that work on top secret stuff have a sense of humor!
Just more proof that the drug enforcement community is nothing more than a glorified gang who's members make their living off the misery and pain they inflict upon addicts. Put a bottom rocker patch and a 1%er patch next to those "badges" and they are no different to the emblems currently worn by criminal biker gangs. Law enforcement or criminal drug gang matters not, they are just two sides of the same coin and unless the laws change the general public will continue being victimized by both groups.
I used to take a similar view on the war on drugs- now it's more nuanced given my immersion into the problem. It's hard to say wasting countless lives and millions of dollars to combat organizations illegaly smuggling harmless product (marijuana) into the states is hardly worth the mess left behind. Take a step back and it's easier to justify when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems such as the meth epidemic in california or the opioid crisis across the country. And to facilitate the delivery of these criminalized products, criminal organization have no hesitation of delivering those packs covered in the blood of poorest class of people in the hemisphere (the consumers are dying too, but from consumption, another problem entirely). Lots of people against the war on drugs will say "yeah but if it was decriminalized..." A lot of things would be different if it was decriminalized, but good luck selling that pipe dream to the traditional base of america that has a strong influence across the nation. Not happening anytime soon. In my opinion everything sucks here and I haven't heard a viable solution yet to this very complicated issue
Edit: I do want to say that decriminalization is probably the most hopeful option of them all, I just think it's going to take forever, generations probably. This is really a public health issue in my opinion, it's just not treated as one :/
Maybe at some point in the past a decriminalization approach would have put a stop to the violence that is tied to illegal drugs. Maybe.
But that's not the case anymore. Cartels don't really deal in drugs, they deal in violence that rivalizes that of a state in terms of reach and often legitimacy. That's the source of their power, not the production/trade of drugs. If "soft" illegal drugs are legalized (and I think they should be) actors in the current trade will simply move their efforts to other sectors in which a violent actor can profit from combating state efforts: sex trafficking, racketeering, counterfeit products... politics...
I'm sure there will be a change but I agree with the previous poster -it will take generations.
The great Fred Woodworth, who has been prolifically self-publishing anti-establishment zines since the 1960s while keeping no online presence whatsoever (not even an email), famously referred to law enforcement as the largest and most powerful gang in USA history. And that was before the massive militarization of the past 20 years or so.
I say that's globally as well. I'm not crazy about Kim Dotcom, but in raiding his home the FBI was acting illegally on foreign soil. If any other gang in the world were to attempt such a thing, other law enforcement agencies would be all over them.
Interesting while also reminding me of those weird society rules.
Free access to booze, tobacco and guns: ok, but you're the only one in charge of whatever happens next.
Now: thc, mdma or lsd: no way! Not only illegal, but if you're ever caught somehow transfixed by the shear beauty of your couch surroundings, be sure we'll fuck up your life ;)
25 comments
[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 73.9 ms ] threadBut I don't think it's appropriate to call them beautiful. Disturbing, yes, but sophomoric, and many if not most of them look like they were made in MS Paint.
Many patients would probably be absolutely shocked by what gets joked about.
Isn't that just because of the limited pallet and resolution available with an [cheaply] embroidered badge.
Are there examples of cloth badges produced this way that have better design?
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sNNKQk3uL... are ones using the same tech (by my eyeballing), they don't look so far off.
(FYI, the patches that really matter don't come in bright colors. Patches worn by actual operators, the people who put their lives on the line, use only muted colors, certainly not white or silver anything.)
What makes me laugh is seeing how these cops throw around military or legal symbols without any idea of what they mean. The lightning bolts mean something in the military. So too the skulls. And I don't think cops should be using the scales of justice. That is something reserved for judges. By adopting it they are basically declaring themselves judge and jury.
[0]https://www.amazon.com/Could-Tell-Then-Would-Destroyed/dp/19...
Edit: I do want to say that decriminalization is probably the most hopeful option of them all, I just think it's going to take forever, generations probably. This is really a public health issue in my opinion, it's just not treated as one :/
But that's just it, they wouldn't be criminal organizations if you didn't criminalize it in the first place.
To me, the war on drugs is a proxy for unpopular geopolitical actions or even domestic race wars that the US wants to fight.
But that's not the case anymore. Cartels don't really deal in drugs, they deal in violence that rivalizes that of a state in terms of reach and often legitimacy. That's the source of their power, not the production/trade of drugs. If "soft" illegal drugs are legalized (and I think they should be) actors in the current trade will simply move their efforts to other sectors in which a violent actor can profit from combating state efforts: sex trafficking, racketeering, counterfeit products... politics...
I'm sure there will be a change but I agree with the previous poster -it will take generations.
I say that's globally as well. I'm not crazy about Kim Dotcom, but in raiding his home the FBI was acting illegally on foreign soil. If any other gang in the world were to attempt such a thing, other law enforcement agencies would be all over them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU
At the same time, if I saw an officer wearing this, I'd be inclined to take them less seriously.
The cultures of some police forces are weird. I don't claim to understand it, as an outsider.
And yeah, the drug war is out of control, yatta yatta all that jazz.
Free access to booze, tobacco and guns: ok, but you're the only one in charge of whatever happens next.
Now: thc, mdma or lsd: no way! Not only illegal, but if you're ever caught somehow transfixed by the shear beauty of your couch surroundings, be sure we'll fuck up your life ;)