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Give someone assault weapons, train them to believe that they are fighting for good, and remove all legal and moral contraints and watch how quick they turn int
by llamataboot 13y ago
Give someone assault weapons, train them to believe that they are fighting for good, and remove all legal and moral contraints and watch how quick they turn into a "bad apple". It's not a personnel problem, it's a structural problem. See Stanford Prison Experiment, etc.
- jlgreco 13y agoPut a bad apple in a barrel, leave it there for a short period of time, and observe that all the apples are now bad. Rotting apples release ethylene gas which is a ripening agent. Through the release of this gas, bad apples will "spoil the barrel" if they are not diligently weeded out and disposed of. Bad cops don't release ethylene gas. The mechanism that rot uses to spread through a police organization is called "The Blue Wall of Silence". I love the "bad apple" metaphor because when you remember to say the whole thing it becomes clear that it is actually an argument against ignoring issues in an organization because only a few people are the "cause". If a police department "only has a few bad apples" then (according to the metaphor) those bad apples must be removed swiftly and decisively or the integrity of the entire department will be compromised.
- sneak 13y agoExactly my point above; I'm glad it came through. I love this "bad apple" tidbit, it's going in the top drawer of the toolbox. :D
- epsylon 13y ago> Stanford Prison Experiment Relevant SMBC http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=3025#comic http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=3025#comic