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I really am beginning to wonder what kind of people self-select to become police officers: a strong belief in order, conformity, and demand for unquestioning ob

I really am beginning to wonder what kind of people self-select to become police officers: a strong belief in order, conformity, and demand for unquestioning obedience, with no hesitation for meting out brutal penalties for any divergence. It also seems that the training they receive only amplifies these tendencies rather than screening out these pathological behaviors. The cop with the most abuse complaints (68 complaints) in Chicago was actually given a service award. See here: https://cpdb.co/data/bmEM6b/citizens-police-data-project https://cpdb.co/data/bmEM6b/citizens-police-data-project and compare here: http://guardianlv.com/2013/05/chicago-annual-award-ceremony-in-honor-police-departments-heroes/ http://guardianlv.com/2013/05/chicago-annual-award-ceremony-... Unfortunately, it also seems like this has been going on for a long time, perhaps decades. Movies like Training Day (with Denzel Washington) appeared as pure fiction when they appeared in 2001; now you can watch them as watered-down documentary of the real thing.

torkable 10y ago
It's common knowledge that they are almost entirely people that have something to prove, how tough they are. Many of them are bullies that couldn't hack it in the military and joined a police force. They're all bullies, and all bullies are cowards. The reason these unarmed black men are getting shot is probably not a direct "I hate black people" kind of racism. It's "I'm a fucking coward, I see a big black man and I'm scared, so I'll pull my gun." If you're scared (and probably stupid) and holding a gun, bad things are likely to happen. tl;dr american cops are fucking cowards that were probably bullies in high school and never grew up.
aphextron 10y ago
Interesting data in a really poor format. I'd be more interested in seeing where these officers fall on a national curve. Absolute numbers of "complaints" don't really tell us much.

torkable 10y ago

It's common knowledge that they are almost entirely people that have something to prove, how tough they are. Many of them are bullies that couldn't hack it in the military and joined a police force. They're all bullies, and all bullies are cowards. The reason these unarmed black men are getting shot is probably not a direct "I hate black people" kind of racism. It's "I'm a fucking coward, I see a big black man and I'm scared, so I'll pull my gun." If you're scared (and probably stupid) and holding a gun, bad things are likely to happen. tl;dr american cops are fucking cowards that were probably bullies in high school and never grew up.

aphextron 10y ago

Interesting data in a really poor format. I'd be more interested in seeing where these officers fall on a national curve. Absolute numbers of "complaints" don't really tell us much.