In my experience, people who hate the police fall into two categories:
1. Groups that lived in high-crime areas where those who commit crimes were seen as heroes, and thus the police were seen as enemies. 2. Groups who have a sense of entitlement.
If you grew up thinking that criminal activity was justified due to discrimination or socio-economic disparity, you're going to dislike when the police show up and enforce the law. If you grew up thinking that you were special and the law didn't apply to you, you're going to dislike the police for forcing you to face the same laws as everyone else.
Meanwhile, most of us still think the police are just like everyone else. There are good and bad policemen, and they have a VERY shitty job and deserve a little latitude.
Those who watch the police waste money by sending FOUR CARS for every pull over. Regardless of whether the car/tags were stolen, whether the driver was armed.
Then there's the case of an acquaintance who had the police conduct an illegal search on her home because a coworker called the police due to her having taken a couple sick days. They didn't just come to see if she was all right. They searched the house illegally. I don't even know.
Yes, sometimes it's not good reason, and some cops are just bad eggs. However, they aren't all like that. Hate the offender, not the institution. Policing is a shit job, and most cops do the best they can in that job, and don't try and abuse it. The ones that do, are the ones that make waves and become the focus of people.
Most cops are bad eggs and the good cop is in the extreme minority. Here is the thing, a cop can think they are a good guy, but as long as they are enforcing unjust laws and punishing victimless crimes, then they are bad guys no matter how they may view themselves.
Yeah, I see what you're saying, but to some degree we have some obligation to follow laws we don't agree with for the sake of the sanctity of the law (a la Aristotle). If the law is sufficiently unjust, it shows a respect for law to break it in the open and call attention to its unjustness (a la Letter from a Birmingham Jail.)
Unless you think we can have a society without laws or law enforcement, or have a society with perfect laws, cops are going to be stuck enforcing some laws that aren't any good. And they should. We don't want the cops themselves being the arbiters of the law.
Also marijuana users like getting stoned and griping about 'the man' but 99% of the time can't be assed to be politically conscious, donate or volunteer for NORML or the MPP, write a letter, read a book, etc. It's frustrating.
If they are bad eggs, that's one thing. However enforcing a law someone else made doesn't make them the bad guy. Change the law.
Additionally, a lot of cops do not always enforce those crimes. A cop knows full well that sometimes being aware of a prostitute or a pot smoker, and making friends with them, can keep them in the loop on bigger issues. A lot of cops don't immediately prosecute the "lesser" crimes, if it's apparent no immediate harm is caused.
This "most cops are assholes" attitude that so many people have pisses me off sometimes. Most of them are doing the best they can in a job very few people would want.
I agree it's a suck job to try to protect pple who view you as the enemy. When I grew up, you showed officers respect. and I do respect the position. you were referring to two categories of pple who hate cops. If you've ever grown up in a small town & been harassed, been pulled over because of racial profiling, or beaten down by cops who protect & cover for each other... I would say that's a legitimate third category of pple that disrespect cops.
generally, those people fall into group 1 or 2 already. I'd bet money the examples you are thinking of either were committing a crime at the time or provoked the police.
I was treated very badly by a black man the other day. I suppose that means that all black people are terrible and I should consider them to be bad people.
Just taking your "reason" to the logical conclusion. If you had a bad experience with a small set of cops, then you should hate THOSE cops, not the institution of law enforcement.
was treated very badly by a black man the other day. I suppose that means that all black people are terrible and I should consider them to be bad people.
A cops chooses to be a cop, you don't choose your skin color.
Why did Abraham Lincoln say that you'll know a man's true character when you grant them some power or authority?
I think the problem is that many Americans seem to think they can treat police however they like. If anyone spoke to me or treated me the way I've seen people, in person, treat policemen, I'd beat them until they couldn't speak. The policemen in this case just took the abuse and tried to do their job.
What I'm saying is that for every story you have of how the police abuse their power, I can point out a counter-story where the police tried to give someone the benefit of a doubt and got shot, stabbed, etc. for their trouble. People are shitty, and the police exist because we have to have some way to identify the truly bad ones and get them out of the population.
Now, I agree that there are terrible people who are drawn to positions of power. And we need to put them away just as we do the criminals. I just refuse to paint the very people who are trying to help us with the same brush.
3.5 - A member of groups that have been historically harassed by the police not for actually doing anything, but for being a member of a group that has been stereotyped as especially criminal or aggressive.
1. Groups that lived in high-crime areas where those who commit crimes were seen as heroes, and thus the police were seen as enemies.
Not all minority groups live in high-crime areas. For one, I'm thinking specifically about African Americans. Even African Americans who live in middle-class areas and are surrounded by affluent whites are more likely to be nervous around the police, and that's because historically the police tended to harass African Americans for no good goddamn reason, like I said.
Even in the inner-cities they may "prefer their criminals to the police," but that's not just from glorification from the criminal lifestyle (which a lot of people stereotype these groups as without knowing anything about them or actually looking into the neighborhoods. They just rely on rap lyrics). It's also because historically, the police have harassed them for no good goddamn reason. Blacks are no more likely than whites to commit violent crimes, and yet they are incarcerated at MUCH higher rates than whites. They also tend to get harsher penalties for doing the same crimes. It's no wonder that blacks don't trust ANYONE in the justice system, much less the police who are the visible, public arm.
I think that some cops are good and some cops are bad. The larger problem is that minor law-breaking has been turned into a revenue stream, and more resources appear (note I say appear) to be dedicated to that then to stopping actual crime. In the suburban area I live in, all the police departments get new cars seemingly every year, and they are increasingly larger SUVs. Then the cops sit by the site of the road with the SUVs running, and look to pull you over for going 8 miles above the speed limit so they can issue you a $75 ticket.
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September 27 2009, 14:17:48 UTC 2 years ago
1. Groups that lived in high-crime areas where those who commit crimes were seen as heroes, and thus the police were seen as enemies.
2. Groups who have a sense of entitlement.
If you grew up thinking that criminal activity was justified due to discrimination or socio-economic disparity, you're going to dislike when the police show up and enforce the law. If you grew up thinking that you were special and the law didn't apply to you, you're going to dislike the police for forcing you to face the same laws as everyone else.
Meanwhile, most of us still think the police are just like everyone else. There are good and bad policemen, and they have a VERY shitty job and deserve a little latitude.
September 27 2009, 14:35:04 UTC 2 years ago
September 27 2009, 15:10:44 UTC 2 years ago
Those who watch the police waste money by sending FOUR CARS for every pull over. Regardless of whether the car/tags were stolen, whether the driver was armed.
Then there's the case of an acquaintance who had the police conduct an illegal search on her home because a coworker called the police due to her having taken a couple sick days. They didn't just come to see if she was all right. They searched the house illegally. I don't even know.
September 27 2009, 16:35:36 UTC 2 years ago
September 30 2009, 02:25:37 UTC 2 years ago
September 27 2009, 15:10:46 UTC 2 years ago
There, fixed.
Yes, sometimes it's not good reason, and some cops are just bad eggs. However, they aren't all like that. Hate the offender, not the institution. Policing is a shit job, and most cops do the best they can in that job, and don't try and abuse it. The ones that do, are the ones that make waves and become the focus of people.
September 27 2009, 15:36:53 UTC 2 years ago
September 27 2009, 15:59:58 UTC 2 years ago
Unless you think we can have a society without laws or law enforcement, or have a society with perfect laws, cops are going to be stuck enforcing some laws that aren't any good. And they should. We don't want the cops themselves being the arbiters of the law.
Also marijuana users like getting stoned and griping about 'the man' but 99% of the time can't be assed to be politically conscious, donate or volunteer for NORML or the MPP, write a letter, read a book, etc. It's frustrating.
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September 27 2009, 16:09:55 UTC 2 years ago
If they are bad eggs, that's one thing. However enforcing a law someone else made doesn't make them the bad guy. Change the law.
Additionally, a lot of cops do not always enforce those crimes. A cop knows full well that sometimes being aware of a prostitute or a pot smoker, and making friends with them, can keep them in the loop on bigger issues. A lot of cops don't immediately prosecute the "lesser" crimes, if it's apparent no immediate harm is caused.
This "most cops are assholes" attitude that so many people have pisses me off sometimes. Most of them are doing the best they can in a job very few people would want.
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September 27 2009, 15:42:40 UTC 2 years ago
and I do respect the position.
you were referring to two categories of pple who hate cops. If you've ever grown up in a small town & been harassed, been pulled over because of racial profiling, or beaten down by cops who protect & cover for each other... I would say that's a legitimate third category of pple that disrespect cops.
September 27 2009, 16:38:03 UTC 2 years ago
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September 27 2009, 16:48:22 UTC 2 years ago
Chris Rock: How Not To Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXE
September 27 2009, 16:34:28 UTC 2 years ago
Just taking your "reason" to the logical conclusion. If you had a bad experience with a small set of cops, then you should hate THOSE cops, not the institution of law enforcement.
September 27 2009, 17:48:41 UTC 2 years ago
A cops chooses to be a cop, you don't choose your skin color.
Why did Abraham Lincoln say that you'll know a man's true character when you grant them some power or authority?
Hmm...
September 27 2009, 19:25:16 UTC 2 years ago
What I'm saying is that for every story you have of how the police abuse their power, I can point out a counter-story where the police tried to give someone the benefit of a doubt and got shot, stabbed, etc. for their trouble. People are shitty, and the police exist because we have to have some way to identify the truly bad ones and get them out of the population.
Now, I agree that there are terrible people who are drawn to positions of power. And we need to put them away just as we do the criminals. I just refuse to paint the very people who are trying to help us with the same brush.
September 27 2009, 21:45:53 UTC 2 years ago
September 28 2009, 02:16:56 UTC 2 years ago
September 28 2009, 03:34:14 UTC 2 years ago
September 28 2009, 12:39:06 UTC 2 years ago
Not all minority groups live in high-crime areas. For one, I'm thinking specifically about African Americans. Even African Americans who live in middle-class areas and are surrounded by affluent whites are more likely to be nervous around the police, and that's because historically the police tended to harass African Americans for no good goddamn reason, like I said.
Even in the inner-cities they may "prefer their criminals to the police," but that's not just from glorification from the criminal lifestyle (which a lot of people stereotype these groups as without knowing anything about them or actually looking into the neighborhoods. They just rely on rap lyrics). It's also because historically, the police have harassed them for no good goddamn reason. Blacks are no more likely than whites to commit violent crimes, and yet they are incarcerated at MUCH higher rates than whites. They also tend to get harsher penalties for doing the same crimes. It's no wonder that blacks don't trust ANYONE in the justice system, much less the police who are the visible, public arm.
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September 28 2009, 03:33:00 UTC 2 years ago
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September 29 2009, 02:46:23 UTC 2 years ago
September 27 2009, 16:45:06 UTC 2 years ago
September 27 2009, 19:58:47 UTC 2 years ago
The Largest Street Gang in America
The Largest Street Gang in AmericaInvalid video URL.