4 ms·

> It is emphasized mutiple times, even in the HN title. We don't want the audience to forget that and think he is just a regular janitor or plumber here! I beli

by mason55 11y ago

> It is emphasized mutiple times, even in the HN title. We don't want the audience to forget that and think he is just a regular janitor or plumber here! I believe that says a lot about the beliefs that go around -- that cops are somehow more honest, and noble (and so are the troops). Interesting thought. My reaction to the headline was "good, as a cop people will listen to him and he's in a better position to help change this." I'm sure plenty of people out there are more likely to believe him and, while I'm not, he could become a useful spark for change. Even if he's lying there are thousands of other people who experience the situation for real.

rdtsc 11y ago
> good, as a cop people will listen to him and he's in a better position to help change this Yeah I had the same thought. Even if we don't rationally think cops are inherently more noble and honest than the average person, we know that the average person believes it. The news station knows that too.
- c22 11y ago
  When I was a much younger fellow I was involved in an incident that should have netted us a whole bunch of trouble. We were out on the beach at a park breaking about every rule in the book: ad-hoc firepit during a burn ban, setting off fireworks, open alcohol where "No alcohol" was clearly posted, underage drinking, etc. A park ranger happened upon us and was none too pleased with our activities. He had us pack up our stuff and follow him back to our illegally parked cars and I was certain a large fine would be our very best outcome. He started lecturing us as he collected each of our IDs but the moment my friend handed him an active military ID the mood instantly changed. He started talking about how nice the nature was and sent us off with a warning. Blew my mind.
  - brbsix 11y ago
    As a young fellow, my best friend's father was high ranking law enforcement officer. Anytime we encountered any trouble (similar to the sort you mentioned), he'd simply hand the officer his father's card or phone number and off we'd go. You don't even want to hear about the sorts of things wives of law enforcement get away with...
whafro 11y ago
Agreed. We're always more interested when people speak up against "their own" than when criticism comes from outsiders. Football players speaking up about their head injuries? That's a better story than some tenured professor writing from his lab. Employees blowing the whistle on their employer's bad practices, teachers arguing against tenure policies, police calling out police abuse or racism – these are all compelling narratives. Of course, ideally, we'd look to the quality of the argument and the strength of the evidence, but an insider account gives us the mental shortcut to think "this one knows what they're talking about, and they don't have a clear motivation to disparage their own."

by mason55 11y ago

rdtsc 11y ago

> good, as a cop people will listen to him and he's in a better position to help change this Yeah I had the same thought. Even if we don't rationally think cops are inherently more noble and honest than the average person, we know that the average person believes it. The news station knows that too.

c22 11y ago
When I was a much younger fellow I was involved in an incident that should have netted us a whole bunch of trouble. We were out on the beach at a park breaking about every rule in the book: ad-hoc firepit during a burn ban, setting off fireworks, open alcohol where "No alcohol" was clearly posted, underage drinking, etc. A park ranger happened upon us and was none too pleased with our activities. He had us pack up our stuff and follow him back to our illegally parked cars and I was certain a large fine would be our very best outcome. He started lecturing us as he collected each of our IDs but the moment my friend handed him an active military ID the mood instantly changed. He started talking about how nice the nature was and sent us off with a warning. Blew my mind.
- brbsix 11y ago
  As a young fellow, my best friend's father was high ranking law enforcement officer. Anytime we encountered any trouble (similar to the sort you mentioned), he'd simply hand the officer his father's card or phone number and off we'd go. You don't even want to hear about the sorts of things wives of law enforcement get away with...

whafro 11y ago

Agreed. We're always more interested when people speak up against "their own" than when criticism comes from outsiders. Football players speaking up about their head injuries? That's a better story than some tenured professor writing from his lab. Employees blowing the whistle on their employer's bad practices, teachers arguing against tenure policies, police calling out police abuse or racism – these are all compelling narratives. Of course, ideally, we'd look to the quality of the argument and the strength of the evidence, but an insider account gives us the mental shortcut to think "this one knows what they're talking about, and they don't have a clear motivation to disparage their own."