Fogdog
Well-Known Member
There is a code -- the blue code of silence -- that enable bad apples and denies justice to their victims. So, yeah, what you said is true -- about being exposed to vile people affects a an otherwise good person. But what are the corrective mechanisms? The blue code of silence causes survivor bias that shifts the force ever farther toward vile. The vile people are protected and remain while people who can no longer stand it leave, leading to a cycle that favors those who do not observe rules and regulations designed to prevent police corruption and brutality. There is a lack of impartiality, professionalism, standards and humanity in the blue code of silence. It turns our police forces into criminal gangs.I don't claim to know the % of good/bad,professional/unprofessional,humane/inhumane ratios nationwide of police,I'd bet that those committing repulsive atrocities via the public are in the minority.Those individuals who take pride and try hard to plant seeds of goodwill in their respective communities and give respect to get respect are back at square one every time this shit happens. It takes special people to witness the ugly side of humanity on a daily basis and maintain impartiality,professional standards,and humanity all while experiencing things on the dark side day in and day out. Obviously there are not enough of them to fully staff police depts. across the country.
This, I believe is why any externally driven attempts to reform the police system will fail. It's why we need to change the structure of our police forces. We don't fewer men with guns who are trained to act with deadly force and more people trained to act without deadly force to contain the majority of situations that call for empathy and understanding. For example, we don't need men with guns to respond to a non-violent person experiencing drug induced psychosis.