Hi German here, we say fuck ICE a lot because it's a fast Train who always comes late. But to make a long story short, I am missing something here, what does ICE stand for?
And don't forget about separating parents from children, holding illegal immigrants in overcrowded cells made from chain link fences inside buildings.... They are America's version of the Show me your papers patrol.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, border patrol. They're notorious for the abuse of immigrants(even legal ones) trying to cross over from Mexico.
For real, fuck ICE. My fully booked evening train got cancelled after we had already boarded, the next two that day were fully booked as well, I had to find an airbnb with a toddler and travel the next day, and they replaced just half of the ticket price because I cOuLD HaVe tAKeN AnOtHer TrAiN
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Basically the federal border control cops that for some damn reason have jurisdiction anywhere within 250 miles of the border.
Well, you see. Those in charge want that apple there. Because when push comes to shove that apple will also kill activists, protestors and political opponents without asking questions or refusing orders. He will keep fellow apples in check and keep them from speaking up as well. They like that apple.
We can do it, we can create our own Internet, I mean Lemmy, without pitchforks and torches! At least until Lemmy gets relevant. Well, as "relevant" as reddit used to be.
Every "good cop" is one that looks the other way when the bad cops do bad cop things. Or they are actively in the process of being harassed out of the department for "making trouble".
Though it should also be said that the modem anti-cop movement comes from the correct understanding that their primary purpose is to protect private property interests, not your safety. Even the theoretical "nice" cop is spending their time, effort, and focus on store break-ins and broken windows and harassing homeless people that a business owner calls an "eyesore" or worse. But again, if they don't carry water for the rest of their gang members that "nice" cop is getting kicked out of the department.
Well, I get it. There's better places to spend ones time than being a nice cop.
Either they comply of they're out. But... You know. People are pressured to pay for housing, and food, and health. Maybe they're paying for someone's cancer treatment in their family. And cop work pays well.
People don't have much of a choice. We're all fucked. But individuals are not the problem here. The system is. The chain of command is. Capitalism is.
Fuck the police, as the repression apparatus for the bonjoursie state. Care for the people.
They're also seems to be a lot of issues with policy that they're expected to follow. And when they do unconstitutional stuff, they get defended for doing it.
If money wasn't needed. If people had access to dignified work to pay for housing, food and health, they would have a choice.
Cop work is always available, on a very low entry bar, paying generally better than equivalent positions elsewhere. And shitty people get to vent their violence unchecked.
Nice cops "just" have to sell their should a bit. Some people get desperate and are willing to pay the consciousness price.
In my opinion these positions shouldn't even be available, the whole chain of command should be replaced by people representing the oppressed classes, committed to ending oppression.
I'm not defending police, I just think the criticism has to focus on the institution problem, not at the individual problem. Individuals are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, systems are everything.
I think non-militarized cops, so most non-American ones, are not that bad and are generally more decent people than militarized cops. It's amazing how much better policing can be when cops don't carry guns with them all the time
In Europe all cops carry guns and yet most cops I’ve gotten to talk to are great. I’m Italian and all Italian cops I’ve talked to have been great to me and often times I ask them for directions when I get lost in our metropolitan cities. I don’t think it has got to do with guns, but rather police training. Compared to the US most EU countries have a training period of 2yr rather than the 6mo I’ve heard from friends and family typical of the US, which ultimately allows cops to be better prepared and police trainers to weed out the unsuitable.
I explained to a police officer in my beer sharing circles during the George Floyd protests:
Damn near every kid in a high school cafeteria knows who the bad kids are and what tables they sit at. It's no different anywhere in the real world. Every cop at every precinct knows which cops are the bad ones.
Unlike a highschool cafeteria, you, as a police officer, have a civic, professional, and moral duty to do everything in your power to get those cops kicked the fuck out. And the idea that doing so might somehow harm your career? That's why "all cops are bastards." It's rotten from the top down. A few bad apples, in the case of police officers, spoils the whole bunch.
I disagree with the second part. That means everybody living in a first world country is inherently a bad person just by accident of their birth location. We're well past the point of choosing whether or not we participate in most systems, and at the end of the day, somebody needs to do the job of law enforcement.
I agree with the first part, not the second. All those black kids who end up in the military because of poverty are not all evil.
But you're right about the system so work to change that rather than damning a whole class of people.