3 ms·

> the taboo on the use of the military for policing on American soil Instead, the police militarized. Then there is the National Guard(?).

noduerme 5y ago
The National Guard are under state level control, and the police although "militarized" technologically, are nothing remotely resembling the US military - or even the Argentine military. I brought it up because in almost every country in LatAm the military has at one time or another overthrown the elected government. That hasn't happened in the US. That's a significant problem if a national military begins operating as a police force.
- the-dude 5y ago
  I don't necessarily disagree with you, just want to add that as a European who lived in the US around 2000 for a while, it feels like a police state from time to time.
  - sanedigital 5y ago
    In France, the Gendarmes patrol plazas and parks in full military attire and arms: fully automatic weapons and combat shotguns. The same in Spain and Italy with the Policia Nacional and the Carabineri. That’s unheard of in the US, outside of some spots in NYC or DC.
  - noduerme 5y ago
    I lived outside the US from 2004, including in France and Spain from 2009-2014. It definitely feels much less militarized there than in the US. Returning to the US after ten years was absolutely shocking. However, I also lived in countries in Asia and Latin America where the actual military plays a major role in policing and putting down protests. Now I live in Portland, where the militarized local police put down protests, and I can say that the qualitative difference between those situations is that the local police do not represent the government of the country. They still answer to the courts. They can't throw you in a black hole without legal representation. They don't have the true power of the state behind them. They may be fucked up as hell, but they aren't the army, in the sense that the actual military is sent in to suppress uprisings around the world. That was my point about what allowed America to escape the tragic cycle of coups that has befallen most other presidential republics ... the taboo on the military engaging in domestic policing. No other country in Latin America has that taboo, and as a result the army in each county functions as a bludgeon by whoever takes absolute power -- usually fascists, but in odd cases (Venezuela, El Salvador), leftist totalitarians.

noduerme 5y ago

The National Guard are under state level control, and the police although "militarized" technologically, are nothing remotely resembling the US military - or even the Argentine military. I brought it up because in almost every country in LatAm the military has at one time or another overthrown the elected government. That hasn't happened in the US. That's a significant problem if a national military begins operating as a police force.

the-dude 5y ago
I don't necessarily disagree with you, just want to add that as a European who lived in the US around 2000 for a while, it feels like a police state from time to time.
- sanedigital 5y ago
  In France, the Gendarmes patrol plazas and parks in full military attire and arms: fully automatic weapons and combat shotguns. The same in Spain and Italy with the Policia Nacional and the Carabineri. That’s unheard of in the US, outside of some spots in NYC or DC.
- noduerme 5y ago
  I lived outside the US from 2004, including in France and Spain from 2009-2014. It definitely feels much less militarized there than in the US. Returning to the US after ten years was absolutely shocking. However, I also lived in countries in Asia and Latin America where the actual military plays a major role in policing and putting down protests. Now I live in Portland, where the militarized local police put down protests, and I can say that the qualitative difference between those situations is that the local police do not represent the government of the country. They still answer to the courts. They can't throw you in a black hole without legal representation. They don't have the true power of the state behind them. They may be fucked up as hell, but they aren't the army, in the sense that the actual military is sent in to suppress uprisings around the world. That was my point about what allowed America to escape the tragic cycle of coups that has befallen most other presidential republics ... the taboo on the military engaging in domestic policing. No other country in Latin America has that taboo, and as a result the army in each county functions as a bludgeon by whoever takes absolute power -- usually fascists, but in odd cases (Venezuela, El Salvador), leftist totalitarians.