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I've gotten to know Portland police well in a decade plus of public defense work & journalism. The level of contempt they have for authority and oversight is intense & without irony (1)
I've sat in rooms with police leadership who spoke with absolute contempt about the following: reporters, politicians, prosecutors (they hate most prosecutors and see them as weak), social workers, judges. They respect no one. (2)
The police culture isn't just racist and sexist. It's a culture that reviles any authority besides themselves. While currently they support the GOP, this could easily change, because they have zero allegiance to anyone but other police. (3)
It's important to note that police culture is not built on tenets. It's actually a highly emotional culture built on emotions. Anger, resentment, defensiveness, fear. It's purposeless and constantly seeking reason to exist. (4)
This is what makes this moment dangerous. It's not just police cooperating with feds. It's police realizing that they can openly defy those they scorn, whether citizens or local politicians. Since they scorn everyone you see where this leads. (5)
What does it mean when you have heavily armed police forces operating in every city and town in the USA, defying local authorities to do as they please? It means we are in a watershed moment that may end very badly for democracy. (6)
