I'm very suspicious of authority in general, so unsurprisingly, cops make the list.
I think there is a real problem. The federal government has been dumpling tons of cash on local police departments to armor up which is troubling in and of itself. For instance, my town of thirty thousand got an armored troop transport capable of taking bomb blasts the other day. Why? Just in case. This sort of militarization has been going on across the country from what I've heard. There's a book called Government of Wolves that documents this thoroughly
Then, there's a bad attitude among some police officers, and I've also heard reports of this spreading though this part is just hearsay. I can say that in my own town, I know lots and lots of people who have had bad experiences with cops; rarely outright abuse mind you, but minor harassment and lots of attitude. Many cops act like they are better than you, and with any class that has special privileges, this is likely to happen. Every time I see a cop speeding down the road, I want to scream in rage since I'd be pulled over for doing the same.
With racism, my gut instinct is to say it's not a huge factor because I don't see much racism in my daily life, but I do have a friend who married a cop, and the first time I met him, I heard him mention pulling someone over because they were black. It was across the room and I didn't hear the whole conversation; it might have been a joke, but ever since then, I've wondered if it really is a big problem among cops.
Regardless, I don't believe most cops are bad. Obviously, there are some bad ones, but if most caps were evil, the nation would be in much worse shape. I think the biggest problem is just this attitude of being elite that many I've seen have had, and I hope police will try to keep that in check.
And of course, there are lots of wonderful things police do for us everyday, and those moments go largely unrecognized, so for every good cop in the world, thanks and keep doing the good work guys!
Basically this. A lot of SWAT departments are getting anti-terrorism funds and military surplus gear, and basically are just sitting on them. Sooner or later, more and more minor incidents become 'SWAT worthy" to simply justify the large amount of funds, training, and equipment the police department is getting. That's why more and more of the police brutality incidents in the US come from SWAT raids on a kid in Nowhereville, Nebraska for possession of like 1 gram of pot or something like that.
In any case, I agree that the problem of police corruption is a major problem in other countries far more than it is in the US, but as usual on this site, world problems are only talked about in the context of one country. I have a best friend from Venezuela (who now lives in Miami) and he tells me every time I see him about how police in that country are basically OWNED by cartels. Yeah sure, the USA has its problems with bored departments and the oversized application of force, but compared to other places, it seems trivial in comparison.
Anyone played Max Payne 3 here?
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