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The original problem is that news consumers and police spend the majority of their time scrutinizing the smallest and most radically terrible segments of each o
by gmd63 2y ago
The original problem is that news consumers and police spend the majority of their time scrutinizing the smallest and most radically terrible segments of each other's populations
- insane_dreamer 2y agoI disagree that this is the "original" problem. Police misuse of power has been a problem long before the current era of mass/social media. I do however agree that it's a problem (it's just an orthogonal one).
- specialist 2y agoCulture is hard to change. The police in my western town began as a protection racket. Businesses wanted someone(s) to do something about drunks and brawling. So they deputized some bouncers. But they couldn't (wouldn't) pay much. So these newly minted cops got entrepreneurial. Then they branched out into prostitution. /1 Sheriffs in the South started as militia and slave catchers. Texas Rangers started as body guards and quickly transmuted into a paramilitary unit to hunt and kill Comanche people. Thru the North East and Rust Belt, the robber barons paid cops to violently suppress labor. Etc. Old habits die hard. -- 1/ Seattle Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Police Payoff System in Seattle https://www.amazon.com/Seattle-Justice-Police-Payoff-System/dp/1632170299/ https://www.amazon.com/Seattle-Justice-Police-Payoff-System/...