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You can replace the police force, nothing will change. When cops feel unwanted and disrespected they act accordingly. There's a reason we have a history of unwa

You can replace the police force, nothing will change. When cops feel unwanted and disrespected they act accordingly. There's a reason we have a history of unwarranted respect for cops and military members. It's not because they always deserve it, but because you want them to feel like they do.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
carom 4y ago
Cops have been useless for a long time. It is why everyone currently hates them. They don't work for us. They don't protect us. They extract money from us to justify their existence. Truly useless.
- jshzglr 4y ago
  - dang 4y ago
    Would you please stop breaking the site guidelines in HN comments? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly, and we have to eventually ban such accounts. If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.
- chasebank 4y ago
  You'd find out very quickly how truly heinous humans can be without a police force.
  - vkou 4y ago
    Yes, it's easy for humans to behave in truly heinous ways if you give them the power to inflict violence on you, with next to no accountability counterbalancing it.
- davidmurdoch 4y ago
  A cop recently rolled into my neighborhood after the hurricane here in Florida while my kids and about 8 other kids were climbing on a fallen tree. He stopped and walked over to check things out, then talked to the kids and gave my 10 year old a coupon to an ice cream shop that said "I was caught doing something cool" and then posed for pictures with all the kids. The day before that 6 cops with chain saws in full uniform parked in front of my house. They spent several hours cutting up and hauling a fallen tree with my neighbors. Maybe people should talk more about the good things cops do.
vkou 4y ago
> When cops feel unwanted and disrespected they act accordingly. Strange, when service workers act that way, they either start pretending that they are helpful and respected, or they get fired. And as for cops, they've been useless for a very long time, certainly prior to the events of the past few years. The tantrum they throw every time they are subjected to any oversight is purely performative.
- jshzglr 4y ago
  Majority of the service workers I encounter are royally pissed at the world so I'm not sure that checks out on my end. And it boggles my mind that someone can truly believe "cops are useless". Go found your own society and see how long you last without law enforcement.
- jshzglr 4y ago
  I'm genuinely curious, what do you propose to replace them with if anything at all?
  - vkou 4y ago
    No need to replace them, I just want them to actually be legally held to at least the same standards the rest of us are. They routinely get away with assault and perjury, because they are in bed with both oversight bodies and the prosecutors. It's an insane conflict of interest that wouldn't be appropriate for a burger-flipper, let alone someone with a gun and a license to swing it around in people's faces. I'll also point out that it's a really stupid idea to send an armed gunmen to do, say, a wellness check, but that's a marginal problem, not a root cause.
    - cudgy 4y ago
      Maybe you can show them how it’s done? Sounds like you have a great deal of experience.
      - vkou 4y ago
        Yes, that's the sure fire way to reform an organization that's corrupted by the external incentives that it operates in, and that punishes and drives out decent people joining it. Don't like the homeless camp in the park near you? Have you tried pitching your tent there, and reforming it? Don't like Russia getting truculent? Go there and fix it. Don't like Amazon behaving unethically? Join it as a janitor and fix it from the inside. What a conversation ender.
digianarchist 4y ago
Didn't they want a new DA? Didn't they get a new DA?
krapp 4y ago
> There's a reason we have a history of unwarranted respect for cops and military members. It's not because they always deserve it, but because you want them to feel like they do. In other words, either we show them obsequience and respect they don't deserve, or else they'll "act accordingly" and just start robbing and killing people en masse. That's no better than the mafia. Actually it's worse than the mafia because at least when the mob shakes people down it's illegal.
- jshzglr 4y ago
  Nowhere in my comment was there anything about tolerating mafia-like behavior. It's really not complicated. Of course cops should be reprimanded for bad behavior, as they are.
  - BigRedDog1669 4y ago
    Reprimand means an 'official rebuke'. Police are not reprimanded except for the most egregious cases. People complain, but they aren't held accountable.
  - the_only_law 4y ago
    > Of course cops should be reprimanded for bad behavior, as they are. Are you delusional? This has been a very hot issue for over a year now.
    - jshzglr 4y ago
      Are you delusional? Have no cops been reprimanded in the past year?
bobkazamakis 4y ago
- rufus_foreman 4y ago
  No one can figure out what is wrong with San Francisco. It's a complete mystery.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

carom 4y ago

Cops have been useless for a long time. It is why everyone currently hates them. They don't work for us. They don't protect us. They extract money from us to justify their existence. Truly useless.

jshzglr 4y ago
- dang 4y ago
  Would you please stop breaking the site guidelines in HN comments? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly, and we have to eventually ban such accounts. If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.
chasebank 4y ago
You'd find out very quickly how truly heinous humans can be without a police force.
- vkou 4y ago
  Yes, it's easy for humans to behave in truly heinous ways if you give them the power to inflict violence on you, with next to no accountability counterbalancing it.
davidmurdoch 4y ago
A cop recently rolled into my neighborhood after the hurricane here in Florida while my kids and about 8 other kids were climbing on a fallen tree. He stopped and walked over to check things out, then talked to the kids and gave my 10 year old a coupon to an ice cream shop that said "I was caught doing something cool" and then posed for pictures with all the kids. The day before that 6 cops with chain saws in full uniform parked in front of my house. They spent several hours cutting up and hauling a fallen tree with my neighbors. Maybe people should talk more about the good things cops do.

vkou 4y ago

> When cops feel unwanted and disrespected they act accordingly. Strange, when service workers act that way, they either start pretending that they are helpful and respected, or they get fired. And as for cops, they've been useless for a very long time, certainly prior to the events of the past few years. The tantrum they throw every time they are subjected to any oversight is purely performative.

jshzglr 4y ago
Majority of the service workers I encounter are royally pissed at the world so I'm not sure that checks out on my end. And it boggles my mind that someone can truly believe "cops are useless". Go found your own society and see how long you last without law enforcement.
jshzglr 4y ago
I'm genuinely curious, what do you propose to replace them with if anything at all?
- vkou 4y ago
  No need to replace them, I just want them to actually be legally held to at least the same standards the rest of us are. They routinely get away with assault and perjury, because they are in bed with both oversight bodies and the prosecutors. It's an insane conflict of interest that wouldn't be appropriate for a burger-flipper, let alone someone with a gun and a license to swing it around in people's faces. I'll also point out that it's a really stupid idea to send an armed gunmen to do, say, a wellness check, but that's a marginal problem, not a root cause.
  - cudgy 4y ago
    Maybe you can show them how it’s done? Sounds like you have a great deal of experience.
    - vkou 4y ago
      Yes, that's the sure fire way to reform an organization that's corrupted by the external incentives that it operates in, and that punishes and drives out decent people joining it. Don't like the homeless camp in the park near you? Have you tried pitching your tent there, and reforming it? Don't like Russia getting truculent? Go there and fix it. Don't like Amazon behaving unethically? Join it as a janitor and fix it from the inside. What a conversation ender.

digianarchist 4y ago

Didn't they want a new DA? Didn't they get a new DA?

krapp 4y ago

> There's a reason we have a history of unwarranted respect for cops and military members. It's not because they always deserve it, but because you want them to feel like they do. In other words, either we show them obsequience and respect they don't deserve, or else they'll "act accordingly" and just start robbing and killing people en masse. That's no better than the mafia. Actually it's worse than the mafia because at least when the mob shakes people down it's illegal.

jshzglr 4y ago
Nowhere in my comment was there anything about tolerating mafia-like behavior. It's really not complicated. Of course cops should be reprimanded for bad behavior, as they are.
- BigRedDog1669 4y ago
  Reprimand means an 'official rebuke'. Police are not reprimanded except for the most egregious cases. People complain, but they aren't held accountable.
- the_only_law 4y ago
  > Of course cops should be reprimanded for bad behavior, as they are. Are you delusional? This has been a very hot issue for over a year now.
  - jshzglr 4y ago
    Are you delusional? Have no cops been reprimanded in the past year?

bobkazamakis 4y ago

rufus_foreman 4y ago
No one can figure out what is wrong with San Francisco. It's a complete mystery.