I wish there were some way they could filter out the whole super patriot warrior persona from law enforcement, it's useless to the community and it doesn't feel safe it feels hostile, they have no business being in a position of power over anyone.
I shouldn't see cops with punisher skull and crossed AR15s sleeve tattoos, that's not a law enforcement vibe, that's murderous vigilante cult vibe.
I love cops, they're so funny and silly and always do the right™ thing.
I literally will disgrace the national flag with my own version of it, and you know what? I'll even throw a punisher logo with a thin blue line, because you know, the punisher loved cops as much as I did.
This whole damn nation was founded on respecting the authority and licking boots.
It's double-worse-than-that, because all these dudes loooove The Punisher and like to post his logo on everything, which is a solid, full step worse than them thinking they're Judge Dredd. It's as if they don't understand the core point of their job. See that great season 3 scene from The Wire with the older officer telling the younger one what police work used to be like before the drug war—far less adversarial, a lot more about building ties with the community. "You call something a war, you're gonna get soldiers", I think one line goes.
It's a vicious cycle. As long as the punisher types are cops, the "right" people are disincentivized to join, whereas other punisher types feel welcome. :-(
Another police department got caught bending down the notches on their police badges as a way of signifying how many kills a given officer had, and even had a ceremony for officers first kill. Reports say at least 25% of the precinct participated, probably most knew.
American police live in what we call a “siege” mentality; they believe that they’re the only thing protecting society from chaos and crime. This results in a belief that their actions are inherently just, and that any criticism risks exposure of society to the chaos they’re barely holding back.
It’s not a convincing pitch when viewed in the light of blatant police brutality, but it appears to be what they believe.
Why does the graphic portray police as mean angry people. Police are good people who provide a valuable service. They do a good thing. They are not the enemy.
Anyone can buy a FOP decal though, and as far as I'm concerned, an FOP Decal accomplishes the same thing in practice.
I mean, its not the same as bribery. But its the kind of thing that creates the mindset of people like Rittenhouse (Kenosha Shooter).
Showing off a "pro-police" political affiliation (be it a FOP sticker or a PBA card) makes the cops go easy on you for minor infractions.
The problem happens when people who are "pro-police" start showing up at protests, staying past a 8pm curfew, and then shoots three people in self-defense (allegedly).
On the one hand: the Sheriff of Kenosha refused to deputize these people and had the foresight to see what issues the behavior would cause. On the other hand: there's a low-level expectation "friends with benefits" with Police culture. If you're a friend of the police, the police reciprocate that friendship back to you. And one can argue that things are unfair in that regards. (Ex: failure to enforce the curfew on Rittenhouse)
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With that being said: I've been to countries with explicit bribery. The American way is better. Period. There's no comparison between this behavior and bribery.
But there seems to be an unfairness even in the American way, which is discussed in the core article and exemplified in Kenosha (and IMO: the Kenosha shooter is just the highest-profile example of this debate).
People around the NYC area openly drive around with fake badges mounted on their windshield to indicate they know a cop and should get preferable treatment. And cop unions openly advertise handing out cop union support stickers in exchange for donation.
Cops work is often refered to as duty or service, obviously inflated terms but no one would accuse you of being an ideological zealot for using them. Agenda seems neutral by comparison.
This is a great reminder that the LAPD is largely a bunch of thugs with badges and guns. I don’t mean that in a teenage angst “every cop is a thug” way, but in a “raining federal convictions” way. [1][2]
The current sheriff was a member of the “Grim Reapers” [3] and the battle against the thugs has been on going for fifty years [4]
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