5 ms·

> vilifies them for a few bad apples. What is that saying about "a few bad apples" again?

mikeash 12y ago
For those who are unfamiliar what this is referring to, the full saying is "A few bad apples spoils the bunch." This refers to the fact that overly ripe apples give off a chemical that speeds the ripening process of other apples, so a few bad apples among many good ones can destroy them all. The same thing can apply to people. The fact that there are bad police out there is only to be expected, just like you'd expect to find a few rotten apples in a large bunch of them. But just like the apples, you have to remove them, or the rot will spread. Bad police don't seem to get removed nearly often enough.
- bdavisx 12y ago
  And often, they don't get removed because the "good" police protect them with a thin blue line of silence. Those "good" police aren't really good the very instant they protect the bad.
  - x3n0ph3n3 12y ago
    Those "good" police are just more bad apples.
  - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
    Police are under constant pressure from the public. Everybody they arrest is indignant, angry and certain the policeman is just hassling them. So the police develop a thick skin, and close ranks to protect one another. They couldn't exist otherwise. Its understandable. But it leads to problems when things like police hazing perps is tolerated. It leads to deaths in custody etc. I blame the leadership, which tolerated hazing and mistreatment. That has to be squelched instantly, or it grows without bound until somebody is seriously injured or dies.
    - jodah 12y ago
      > They couldn't exist otherwise. Policing in other western countries indicates otherwise. For example, if police were held personally liable, as a strict matter of law, for the cost of their mistakes (just as individuals in the private sector bear the cost of their mistakes), they would tend to act more responsibly. Britain is an example of this.

For those who are unfamiliar what this is referring to, the full saying is "A few bad apples spoils the bunch." This refers to the fact that overly ripe apples give off a chemical that speeds the ripening process of other apples, so a few bad apples among many good ones can destroy them all. The same thing can apply to people. The fact that there are bad police out there is only to be expected, just like you'd expect to find a few rotten apples in a large bunch of them. But just like the apples, you have to remove them, or the rot will spread. Bad police don't seem to get removed nearly often enough.

bdavisx 12y ago
And often, they don't get removed because the "good" police protect them with a thin blue line of silence. Those "good" police aren't really good the very instant they protect the bad.
- x3n0ph3n3 12y ago
  Those "good" police are just more bad apples.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  Police are under constant pressure from the public. Everybody they arrest is indignant, angry and certain the policeman is just hassling them. So the police develop a thick skin, and close ranks to protect one another. They couldn't exist otherwise. Its understandable. But it leads to problems when things like police hazing perps is tolerated. It leads to deaths in custody etc. I blame the leadership, which tolerated hazing and mistreatment. That has to be squelched instantly, or it grows without bound until somebody is seriously injured or dies.
  - jodah 12y ago
    > They couldn't exist otherwise. Policing in other western countries indicates otherwise. For example, if police were held personally liable, as a strict matter of law, for the cost of their mistakes (just as individuals in the private sector bear the cost of their mistakes), they would tend to act more responsibly. Britain is an example of this.