552
"So you don't have to know the law, you don't have to follow the law, and you don't have to enforce the law. What do you do, again?"
(media.kbin.social)
this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
552 points (96.6% liked)
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Jesus.
It is amusing how I'm probably one of the more pro-policing people around on Lemmy, because I have a deep understanding of the history of police and policing, its alternatives, its strengths, its weaknesses, its functions, and its development.
I understand how policing in America has twisted roots in the 19th century that have worsened connections to local powers, decreased accountability to the general population, and increased resilience against regulations; along with cultural developments from the 50s and 60s that have created a hagiography that has rendered them all but immune to electoral consequences; and legal developments from the 80s onward which have rendered what 'responsibilities' they previously had moot, changing the behavior of police from what they're theoretically supposed to do, and into just 'whatever they feel like doing at the moment', putting innocents and criminals into the dubious mercy of people hired with no fucking oversight and a culture of perpetuating that.
I'm critical of police because I want police departments to be better. I'm critical of police because Robert Peel had a great idea, and America has fucked it worse than nearly any other developed country on earth. I'm critical of police because I want to be able to respect police - and right now, I fucking can't.
Man I'm glad somebody else is aware of this. I feel less alone.
And don't forget the lionizing of first responders after 9/11 that turned the effect of the Hays Code up to 11.
We're sharing a drink called bitterness, but it's better than drinking alone