I didn't say the abuse of power was excused by the environment they work in, I was saying that the sorts of incidents we are talking about are escalated to
the level they are at least in part due to our -- ie, civilian's -- attitudes towards the police, and the police attitudes towards us.
As I stated in my post, this is not an excuse for cops behaving badly. They should be held to a higher standard of
behavior. But reality is what it is, and expecting that is unrealistic at best. The system is broken, and a good chunk of it is in my opinion because
civilians in general behave badly towards people who are already tense as-is.
Look at it this way: would YOU mouth off to a soldier on the battlefield carrying a loaded gun? The comparison is deliberately extreme, but the point is the
same.
I've never once said that police abuses of power are justified. What I'm trying to explain is (1) why they happen, and will continue to happen, since
-- hello? -- they're people like anyone else and people are flawed, and (2) in many -- I would say most, but I can't prove it -- cases, the events
leading to the abuse of power are due in no small part to the civilian involved not thinking about the possible consequences
of his or her actions.
Khagler: I'd like to know what you think I'm agreeing with, because based on the tone and content of the rest of your post, I don't think you
understood my point -- nor do I think you tried very hard, as your words were easily as biased as the article linked earlier in the thread. Cops as the
enemy? I don't see cops as the enemy. Nor are they my friend. They're tired, stressed, generally
lower-middle-class average Joes who have one of the worst jobs in the world. Nobody likes them (myself included).
I pity the poor bastards, and I fear them a little, but they're not my enemy. That attitude is half the goddamn problem right there.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
the level they are at least in part due to our -- ie, civilian's -- attitudes towards the police, and the police attitudes towards us.
As I stated in my post, this is not an excuse for cops behaving badly. They should be held to a higher standard of
behavior. But reality is what it is, and expecting that is unrealistic at best. The system is broken, and a good chunk of it is in my opinion because
civilians in general behave badly towards people who are already tense as-is.
Look at it this way: would YOU mouth off to a soldier on the battlefield carrying a loaded gun? The comparison is deliberately extreme, but the point is the
same.
I've never once said that police abuses of power are justified. What I'm trying to explain is (1) why they happen, and will continue to happen, since
-- hello? -- they're people like anyone else and people are flawed, and (2) in many -- I would say most, but I can't prove it -- cases, the events
leading to the abuse of power are due in no small part to the civilian involved not thinking about the possible consequences
of his or her actions.
Khagler: I'd like to know what you think I'm agreeing with, because based on the tone and content of the rest of your post, I don't think you
understood my point -- nor do I think you tried very hard, as your words were easily as biased as the article linked earlier in the thread. Cops as the
enemy? I don't see cops as the enemy. Nor are they my friend. They're tired, stressed, generally
lower-middle-class average Joes who have one of the worst jobs in the world. Nobody likes them (myself included).
I pity the poor bastards, and I fear them a little, but they're not my enemy. That attitude is half the goddamn problem right there.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs