At the risk of venturing too far off topic, it is understandable that type A personalities with the desire to wield deadly power over their fellow human beings might be attracted to a career in law enforcement, whereas the would be peace makers might be a little apprehensive about joining a group dominated by the former...
I think it is kind of related actually.
Thinking about the complaints that many anti-police people have, how does one change them? Are their complaints really because of the type-A personality? I know part of my own motivation to try to join a police force was because I thought I could do the job (my back and knee joints disagreed) in a just manner and therefore was obligated to. What way do they think they will get better police officers? Now there are many possible mechanisms to get that. I'm for evidence based best practices being advanced throughout the country, pysch requirements, training, anti-corruption measures, recording, oversight, and the like. Is that what motivates people to keep on with the '**** the police' posts, and continued talking about how
all police are asses, pricks, power-tripping, racist, race-traitor, violent, jack-booted thugs?
Generally, no. In my experience they want the police to have less power and to leave them alone. Now I am very much for checks and limits on police power, but I still want speeders to get 'hassled'. Many of these people don't want the police to have much if any power, and it's generally because they buy into some parallel power structure. Some are idealistic (sometimes naive in my view), but many are simply parallel power structures they feel they have more input or power over. It's something they feel more connected with. That could be a homeowner's association, or private security firm, or criminal organization. The problem is though as corrupt, incompetent, and inefficient as the police can be, it absolutely
pales in comparison to almost all these parallel power structures. The same things that tend to make people feel they have a stronger connection and more control over them are the very things that make them susceptible to massive corruption. 'Strong men' might have more a connection to the local populace, but also no checks or balance.
So my suggestion that they themselves become involved in the police forces, or in oversight/planning thereof, is made to make them think about the power structure, how it works, and how they actually are connected to it. Police aren't raised on some island training facility. They aren't a class, or a title gained through birthright. They're people from the same pool as the general population (or at least they should be!). However, the people I'm making the suggestion to never seem to realize that some of the same things that make them unsuited for becoming a police officer are some of the same things that make what they do feel connected with open to abuse as well. They never see their own connection to the police forces. This is something the police can, and need, to address in many places. They're part of the community, and if the idea that they're apart from or above it takes hold in either the force or the community there
will be problems. Big ones.
