3 ms·

Well there are many towns where if the police were Federal agents, it would actually be an upgrade over the corruption and abuse the citizens normally see. So I

by mpyne 13y ago

Well there are many towns where if the police were Federal agents, it would actually be an upgrade over the corruption and abuse the citizens normally see. So I don't understand any intuitive reason why the agency supplying the cops would necessarily make you feel differently, except perhaps for inherent biases.

AnthonyMouse 13y ago
>So I don't understand any intuitive reason why the agency supplying the cops would necessarily make you feel differently, except perhaps for inherent biases. If you don't like what the cops in your town are doing then you can campaign for local political candidates who will rein them in and have some hope of actually affecting the election outcome. Getting anything similar done at the federal level seems to require some combination of mass fatalities that incense the public and a box truck filled with hundred dollar bills to grease the wheels, which is obviously outside the control and ability of most normal humans.
- mpyne 13y ago
  > If you don't like what the cops in your town are doing then you can campaign for local political candidates who will rein them in and have some hope of actually affecting the election outcome. That's a good point, but local civil servants enjoy due process too, so it's not always a matter of simply hiring the right politician, as the politician may not be able to simply fire or replace offending staff. Especially when we're talking about first responders, who typically enjoy strong union protection.
CamperBob2 13y ago
If I don't like the local cops, I can move. Another libertarian principle that's worth defending.
- mpyne 13y ago
  Yes, the libertarian principle that it's OK to do whatever in a certain city as people who don't like it can always move away. Great principle. :P Either way though, your logic applies just as much to Federal cops as it does to local ones. Think the FBI dudes around your city are a bunch of dicks? Move to the other coast, maybe they'll be better. Hell, you can even pick an entirely different nations' cops, if you want.

by mpyne 13y ago

AnthonyMouse 13y ago

>So I don't understand any intuitive reason why the agency supplying the cops would necessarily make you feel differently, except perhaps for inherent biases. If you don't like what the cops in your town are doing then you can campaign for local political candidates who will rein them in and have some hope of actually affecting the election outcome. Getting anything similar done at the federal level seems to require some combination of mass fatalities that incense the public and a box truck filled with hundred dollar bills to grease the wheels, which is obviously outside the control and ability of most normal humans.

mpyne 13y ago
> If you don't like what the cops in your town are doing then you can campaign for local political candidates who will rein them in and have some hope of actually affecting the election outcome. That's a good point, but local civil servants enjoy due process too, so it's not always a matter of simply hiring the right politician, as the politician may not be able to simply fire or replace offending staff. Especially when we're talking about first responders, who typically enjoy strong union protection.

CamperBob2 13y ago

If I don't like the local cops, I can move. Another libertarian principle that's worth defending.

mpyne 13y ago
Yes, the libertarian principle that it's OK to do whatever in a certain city as people who don't like it can always move away. Great principle. :P Either way though, your logic applies just as much to Federal cops as it does to local ones. Think the FBI dudes around your city are a bunch of dicks? Move to the other coast, maybe they'll be better. Hell, you can even pick an entirely different nations' cops, if you want.