I've been spending some time over the last 10 days protesting tyranny in St Louis. There was a verdict rendered where a police stated intent to kill a suspect, then followed through, and the officer got off. There was a lot of very obvious evidence, yet the officer was still acquitted. The community is justifiably outraged.
In discussing the details about the resulting protest, I've found a disconnect with people who don't understand or support protesters. It seems they look at the situation from a different perspective than people who are in the streets. They view the relationship between police and citizens as they would between a parent and a child, or maybe a Dom and a sub. One group has dominion over the other, so when a command is given, the more submissive group should obey. It's in their best interest, right? They don't want to be punished!
That's not it at all, though. That's not how protesters view the relationship. To them, it's more like a team sport where the game is Police vs Americans. And in team sports, you'll only let the other side abuse you so long before you push back. That's what I saw at protests in St Louis. People would peacefully demonstrate, police would move in and initiate violence, some people would snap and use anything on hand, like water bottles and rocks, to defend themselves or break windows.
Now, there are certainly some people who come to an event like a protest looking to start trouble. This perspective isn't about them. It's about the 98 or 99% of people who show up to have their voice heard, to try to change the system. They'll take some abuse, but they won't back down fully. And if they get enough abuse, they'll strike back.
I'm not sharing this as a way to try to convince anyone that this should be your approach, or your way to think. I'm just sharing how the protesters think. If you think of them less like children that need to mind the police and more like a sports team in the playoffs, you will better understand their resolve and actions. Understanding our fellow humans is key to getting along.
We assume that police officers are mentally stable and fair, the same way we assume this about many careers - such as teaching.
We, as a society, have given police the power to be the prosecutor, the judge, the jury and the executioner.
There's no real qualifying screening to become an officer, so there's no stopping someone who is inherently hateful and violent from becoming an officer (in-fact we tend to see this militant and violent personality-type as "the perfect person for the job).
Therefore - what better career-choice for someone who wants to legally act on their hate and ignorance: "racist or someone who hates teenagers, or women, or hippies, or Mexicans?" It's the absolute PERFECT job for them, and all they have to do is sign up.
Prosecutors work with cops all day everyday. These are their camping buddies and fishing buddies. These are the people who are god-parents to their children. The entire legal system is a fraternity and a brotherhood and the public has become their enemy. It's them against us and they will stick together at all costs - even when they know their buddies are in the wrong.
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I totally agree- the entirety of the justice system in the US (and likely other countries) is a brotherhood. It's like a fraternity or a gang where the members look out for each other and protect them against outsiders.
In the US we get a lot of ex-military people who become police, which certainly doesn't help the culture. The mindset of military and police should be quite different, but increasingly we see police adopting military tactics and military hardware.
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