• Ignacio@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    14
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Le wholesome agent of the biggest carceral state in the world.

    I dont care what little nice things cops might do when they exist to enforce a system of law designed to ignore the crimes of the wealthy while punishing the poor for the societal conditions the rich have created.

    If theyre good people at heart they should take a career that actually serves society.

    The US has a 25% of the world’s prison population while only being 5% of the global population. ACAB, ACAB and ACAB.

    Seriously, it makes me so mad that people dont see how shameful it is to praise a cop for being nice to a black kid while working in an institution that has been intentionally destroying black communities since its inception.

    • pivot_root@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      I dont care what … cops might do when they exist to enforce a system of law designed to ignore the crimes of the wealthy while punishing the poor for the societal conditions the rich have created.

      This sounds like a systemic problem, not a cop problem. Don’t get me wrong, but you’re complaining about the wrong people if that’s all your argument is based on. Law enforcement is just one part of the shit sundae that’s the judicial system. They have the most power to immediately end someone’s life, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s the legislators that both give them that power and their directives to follow.

      The US has a 25% of the world’s prison population while only being 5% of the global population. ACAB, ACAB and ACAB.

      That’s a consequence of a private, for-profit prison system that uses incarcerated individuals as legal slave labor. The cops drag you off the street, but it’s the lawmakers who created the policies that give them an excuse to do that, and the prosecutors and judges who choose to exercise leniency or lack thereof. A lot of cops are bastards, but you know who’s a bigger bunch of corrupt bastards? The fucks in office taking legally-not-bribes bribes from lobbyists representing the prison-industrial complex.

      Being shot, in my opinion, is a leniency compared to going through the judicial system. The moment you’re convicted for anything that isn’t a white-collar crime, your life is as good as over. You’re not getting loans or job offers because of your criminal history, and if you’re lucky enough to find a job, your employer knows they can damn-well underpay you because you have nowhere else to go. Unless you have someone willing to bail you out of the situation you’ve been put in or were already rich before getting thrown in prison, you’re probably not getting back on your feet. And when your best source of guaranteed food and shelter is to get thrown in prison again, it’s no fucking wonder why recidivism is so high.

      The war on drugs was an abject failure and channel for institutionalized racism, and politicians are getting their pockets lined for neglecting to fix it or even actively making it worse. They are the people who should be held accountable for ruining the lives of millions. Blaming the cops first just distracts from the actual problem.

      Want to stop getting hit in the face with a rake whenever you step on your lawn? Get rid of the asshole putting the rakes there first, then get rid of the rakes already on your lawn.

      • Ignacio@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        11 months ago

        This sounds like a systemic problem, not a cop problem.

        You dont think there’s anything wrong with enlisting to enforce this system? Would you do it? Knowing you’d be sending drug addicts to prison, destroying their life even further, when what they need is access to mental health care?

        Being a cop is a decision like any other, and we can judge people for it like we judge any other set of actions.

        • pivot_root@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          It’s fair to judge someone for willfully enlisting if they were aware of their contribution to this system and wanted to further ingrain it, but dissuading those who want to do it for the right reasons will only skew the demographic towards those that don’t.

          An optimistic kid deciding to be a cop when he grows up so he can help people shouldn’t be judged the same as an army reject enlisting because he got kicked out of the military for abusing his authority.

          • archomrade [he/him]@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            but dissuading those who want to do it for the right reasons will only skew the demographic towards those that don’t

            The issue isn’t the individuals deciding to pursue a career as a cop, it’s that policing as an institution itself is broken. You don’t praise dictatorships just because you have a benevolent one right now. The problem isn’t who is in that position, it’s the position itself being vulnerable to (and inclined towards) violence and authoritarianism. If you think you can fix the institution just by filling it with the “right people” then you’ve missed the forest for the trees.