I'm conflicted on the one hand can understand a lot of Police are the problem in the UK, but as a whole had less problems with Police in scotland despite their reputation and in fact this meme ACAB --- bothers me, yet I have American's accusing me of being bootlicker and then some people saying I live in UK, then bring up one story ---

I know Police Scotland far from perfect but compared to England and America it's far better --- I oppose pigs brutality and 'so-called' justice they met out --- but wish people would stop treating things like zero-sums games.

I just am frustrated because I am sick to death of American's applying their ideological views to every nation...

@PaladinQuinn I think it’s helpful to separate two issues: (a) who staffs police departments & (b) what the institutional role of the police is. There’s good evidence that a significant number of US cops hold far right & white-supremacist ideologies, but that may or may not extend to any particular department here or abroad. The role of police everywhere, though, seems to many to include defending property owners from the exploited.

@PaladinQuinn … If one views the social order as a small number of very rich people exploiting the rest of us to keep them rich, one often views the police as the necessary tools of that oppression: the people who evict you if you can’t pay your rent, the people who would turn up to keep the mansions safe if starving hordes turned up to take back the product of their labor.

@PaladinQuinn … And that’s true regardless of who they, personally, are. So if a cop is just a person trying to make a living, or even if they are the sort of nice person who got into the job thinking about helping cats out of trees and stopping people from robbing ordinary people who can’t defend themselves, they’d ultimately be tasked with doing objectionable things.

Does that help?

@drifa

This is spot on.

My best friend since childhood used to be enamored with societal justice; his favorite flavor was mythical samurai ideology. Protect the innocent, right wrongs, make the world safer - better.

Some time ago he got a job in private security (gov't contracts). Over the years I have watched in dismay as he has been through phases of racism, homophobia, classism, increasing fixation on violence, and ultimately an overt disgust for people in general.

He got out a couple years ago. The damage is lasting but he's slowly returning to decency.

Law enforcement destroys your soul. It really says something about those who choose it.

@PaladinQuinn

@mordremoth @drifa not to be rude and yes you are helping a lot, if ACAB then what then, reform the Police or restart it from scratch, since some sort of police force is necessary for serious crimes? I dunno I just like you said am idealistic, and introverted so I really am naive and ignorant.

@PaladinQuinn
Mutual support and organizations between members of a community while actively social capitals and monetary capitals is the way to go. Concentrating this decision of "crime fighting" to a small number of people with authority is much worse of an idea - 1/2