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In practice it may work out that way, but I don't believe that the majority of actors within the criminal justice system are acting in bad faith or are intentio
by InclinedPlane 13y ago
In practice it may work out that way, but I don't believe that the majority of actors within the criminal justice system are acting in bad faith or are intentionally advancing a racist agenda. Indeed, many LEOs are racial minorities.
I don't think it's helpful to characterize the actions of officers or DAs as racist per se but rather to point to the racist consequences of drug laws, LEO behavior, and so on. I think the number of people within the system acting in good faith far outweigh the number of bad actors and if we desire change it'll be easier if we can convince such folks into coming to "our side" rather than vilifying them.
- vacri 13y agoLEOs don't make legislation or push for harsh sentences.
- wavefunction 13y agoTheir unions do, however. I'm not anti-union, but do tend to be anti-police union. The California Correctional Officers union is routinely accused of pushing for harsher punishments as a job guarantee, which of course is a problem in a state with such over-crowding of its prisons like California. I would accuse them of gross moral indecency but it takes a pretty indecent person to become a CO anyways.
- scarmig 13y agoJacobin just came out with a great article about this: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/the-bad-kind-of-unionism/ https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/the-bad-kind-of-unionism/