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I've seen a few people be like "omg the cops are in on it" and what I can't believe that they still don't get is that
the
cops
are
it
That's what we saw all summer. That's what we've seen for *years*
the
cops
are
it
That's what we saw all summer. That's what we've seen for *years*
"oh but it's their training," we heard over and over again as cops on Capitol Hill assaulted peaceful bystanders with enough OC to render long-term effects.
Ok! Fine! I can play that game.
a.) the training is a problem and
b.) a whole lotta the cops are also the problem
Ok! Fine! I can play that game.
a.) the training is a problem and
b.) a whole lotta the cops are also the problem
Now to be clear:
I COME FROM A LAW ENFORCEMENT FAMILY. LITERALLY GREW UP. WITH. COPS.
yes! There are decent humans who are cops (hi dad, love you)! But THEY WILL TELL YOU that it's an industry that attracts conservative people (mostly men!) w/ a boner for militarization.
I COME FROM A LAW ENFORCEMENT FAMILY. LITERALLY GREW UP. WITH. COPS.
yes! There are decent humans who are cops (hi dad, love you)! But THEY WILL TELL YOU that it's an industry that attracts conservative people (mostly men!) w/ a boner for militarization.
Here is what I know from my actual life and the people I know:
- Training changes depending on where you are. Someone close to me once attended an SPD training and reported back that they were literally learning how to tase someone more subtly so that it wasn't caught on video.
- Training changes depending on where you are. Someone close to me once attended an SPD training and reported back that they were literally learning how to tase someone more subtly so that it wasn't caught on video.
- The hiring process also changes BUT it almost always prioritizes people with a military background. This is in the name of hiring veterans which is...good? But also means that by default those officers are coming in with emotional issues and trauma that is N E V E R addressed.
- Training & hiring happen in a bubble; they rarely include community input. One example: Seattle City Council tried to make a rule that would prioritize applicants who spoke a language other than English.
It was voted down because they knew the union wouldn't approve it.
It was voted down because they knew the union wouldn't approve it.
- It's really fucking hard to reform a policing system that is built in this way — where new hires come in with their own issues and then are taught tactics and methods of action which are militarized and, often, pretty fucking aggressive toward people viewed as "threats."
This is why police reform has to — as many smarter people than myself have said for YEARS — happen on a number of levels, from hiring to training to enforcement to the law itself to oversight to dismantling/rebuilding police unions.
WITH ALL OF THAT SAID.
WITH ALL OF THAT SAID.
If you are surprised by the behavior of police at the Capitol today — because you have previously thought that maybe policing wasn't that bad or BLM protesters had it coming or whatever — I want ask:
have you ever followed a cop on Facebook.
have you ever followed a cop on Facebook.
Because the training is a problem. The enforcement is a problem. The lack of oversight is a problem.
But what is also really a problem is the fact that policing, as an industry, tends to just attract people who align more closely with the radical right wing.
But what is also really a problem is the fact that policing, as an industry, tends to just attract people who align more closely with the radical right wing.
This is not anecdotal, although it also is. Pew research has tracked the views of political parties and ideologies by industry and it's pretty telling. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2017/09/13/partisans-differ-widely-in-views-of-police-officers-college-professors/
There is a really substantial us/them mentality among many police officers — and the "us" also includes people like MAGA idiots in paramilitary gear. The "them" is BLM protesters. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/police-views-public-views/
"Fully nine-in-ten white police officers (92%) say the country has made the needed changes to achieve racial equality. Nationally, a modest 57% majority of whites say this, a difference of 35 percentage points."
MEANWHILE, a lot of police unions endorsed Trump. So.
MEANWHILE, a lot of police unions endorsed Trump. So.
The fact is — and a lot of cops will back this up — that police tend to be more conservative than their community due to a number of factors.
So like, it's not just that the cops are giving the bigots in DC a light touch because they're white (though that doesn't hurt!).
So like, it's not just that the cops are giving the bigots in DC a light touch because they're white (though that doesn't hurt!).
It's because BY THE NUMBERS, the cops fundamentally agree with what they're doing and see themselves on, if not the exact same side, then at least on the same end of the spectrum.
