2008 Woodie Awards
Does Barry Cooper cross any ethical lines?
Amber-Marie Isenburg
Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Opinion
Barry Cooper: Ever heard of the man? Me neither. That is, until I stumbled across his Web site: http://www.nevergetbusted.com.
I must admit that the man is a genius. I am the first to raise my hand to vote for the legalization of marijuana, not because I am a pot head by any means, but because I am against big government. While Barry and I have the same goal in mind, I find his ways of going about this, well, inane.
Cooper was a drug enforcement officer in Texas. He held the record for having the most drug busts in his county. He is also running for Congress. Cooper has now released a DVD explaining how you can "never get busted again."
Now, I figured he got fired because he was one of those hypocritical cops that smoked the marijuana that they seized in drug busts. But, no. According to Cooper's Web site, "in the war on drugs his conscience often bothered him while seeing every day, hard working, non-violent citizens torn from their children and spouses and placed in jail during a raid or traffic stop."
So, why did Barry decide to make a video about how to conceal your illegal drugs from the police? I really do not know. I have found myself wondering if this is a joke. Unfortunately, it is not.
Yes, I do believe cops abuse their power; yes, I do believe marijuana should be legal, and, yes, I do believe that our jails are overflowing with innocent people who were "at the wrong place at the wrong time." But, I cannot understand how making this video is the best way to go about things. How does this not embarrass his family, his co-workers or his city? This man was a police officer, people looked up to him, and he is running for Congress! I would never want a congressman who made videos about how to conceal drugs from police. I would rather have Spitzer, honestly.
My major problem with this video is that it seems as though more can be taught than merely hiding your Mary stash. It can teach you to hide your crack, tabs, meth, heroin. It can teach you to hide every illegal drug that is deadly to you and others. While I am sure these were not his intentions by any means, there will be some stupid person out there who will use these tactics to hide his other drugs of choice. And that is where the line must be drawn. His Web site claims that the video can teach you to "conceal your stash … To avoid narcotics profiling … How police officers can tell when you are lying … And secret drug enforcement tactics."
These methods of deception can only worsen our already corrupt a society that is abundant with criminals by building a society based upon lies and deception.
I must admit that the man is a genius. I am the first to raise my hand to vote for the legalization of marijuana, not because I am a pot head by any means, but because I am against big government. While Barry and I have the same goal in mind, I find his ways of going about this, well, inane.
Cooper was a drug enforcement officer in Texas. He held the record for having the most drug busts in his county. He is also running for Congress. Cooper has now released a DVD explaining how you can "never get busted again."
Now, I figured he got fired because he was one of those hypocritical cops that smoked the marijuana that they seized in drug busts. But, no. According to Cooper's Web site, "in the war on drugs his conscience often bothered him while seeing every day, hard working, non-violent citizens torn from their children and spouses and placed in jail during a raid or traffic stop."
So, why did Barry decide to make a video about how to conceal your illegal drugs from the police? I really do not know. I have found myself wondering if this is a joke. Unfortunately, it is not.
Yes, I do believe cops abuse their power; yes, I do believe marijuana should be legal, and, yes, I do believe that our jails are overflowing with innocent people who were "at the wrong place at the wrong time." But, I cannot understand how making this video is the best way to go about things. How does this not embarrass his family, his co-workers or his city? This man was a police officer, people looked up to him, and he is running for Congress! I would never want a congressman who made videos about how to conceal drugs from police. I would rather have Spitzer, honestly.
My major problem with this video is that it seems as though more can be taught than merely hiding your Mary stash. It can teach you to hide your crack, tabs, meth, heroin. It can teach you to hide every illegal drug that is deadly to you and others. While I am sure these were not his intentions by any means, there will be some stupid person out there who will use these tactics to hide his other drugs of choice. And that is where the line must be drawn. His Web site claims that the video can teach you to "conceal your stash … To avoid narcotics profiling … How police officers can tell when you are lying … And secret drug enforcement tactics."
These methods of deception can only worsen our already corrupt a society that is abundant with criminals by building a society based upon lies and deception.
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