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earlpostsaboutwhatever:
shadesofmauve:
The quote from Seattle City Council President Harrel in the article about bias-free policing is also, I think, the appropriate response to anyone who defends police brutality by saying that policing is difficult or that someone with a desk job can’t understand how hard it is.
“If a police officer isn’t willing to do their job and do their job effectively, perhaps this isn’t a good line of work for them.”
Harrel was referring to the possibility that more oversight would result in officers being afraid to make stops, but it applies both ways.
I don’t know how to do or want to do lots of jobs, but that does not mean I can’t expect them to be done to a decent standard. I would hate being a garbage collector, but it’s still okay to criticize if trash is left all over the street, because they’re not doing the job they signed up for. Even if I were physically capable, which I’m very much not, I would not want to be a police officer – but my disinterest and inability does not mean someone who chose that profession gets off the hook for screwing up.
In this case, the job is to protect and serve. Not to kill innocents, or suspects who’ll then never have a shot at a trial.
(The same line of defense is occasionally used in high level politics. “You have no idea how stressful it is to be president!” Nope, and I don’t want to. But anyone who busted their ass to get that job had damn well do their utmost best, and the inherent stress of the job is no excuse).
“You can’t know how you’ll behave until you’re in that situation” is a fantastic reminder for unavoidable trauma and tragedy. It is NOT a get-out-of-responsibility-free card for a job you sought and should have been trained for (and yes, I do consider that ‘lack of training’ or ‘poor training’ is probably culpable in some cases; I don’t want to defund the police, I want to demilitarize them).
“You have no idea how stressful it is to ____!” Well, no, I probably don’t. But I DO expect the people who sign up for the job to have some idea, and to be prepared to handle it. If they’re not, then maybe it’s not the job for them.
earlpostsaboutwhatever:
shadesofmauve:
The quote from Seattle City Council President Harrel in the article about bias-free policing is also, I think, the appropriate response to anyone who defends police brutality by saying that policing is difficult or that someone with a desk job can’t understand how hard it is.
“If a police officer isn’t willing to do their job and do their job effectively, perhaps this isn’t a good line of work for them.”
Harrel was referring to the possibility that more oversight would result in officers being afraid to make stops, but it applies both ways.
I don’t know how to do or want to do lots of jobs, but that does not mean I can’t expect them to be done to a decent standard. I would hate being a garbage collector, but it’s still okay to criticize if trash is left all over the street, because they’re not doing the job they signed up for. Even if I were physically capable, which I’m very much not, I would not want to be a police officer – but my disinterest and inability does not mean someone who chose that profession gets off the hook for screwing up.
In this case, the job is to protect and serve. Not to kill innocents, or suspects who’ll then never have a shot at a trial.
(The same line of defense is occasionally used in high level politics. “You have no idea how stressful it is to be president!” Nope, and I don’t want to. But anyone who busted their ass to get that job had damn well do their utmost best, and the inherent stress of the job is no excuse).
“You can’t know how you’ll behave until you’re in that situation” is a fantastic reminder for unavoidable trauma and tragedy. It is NOT a get-out-of-responsibility-free card for a job you sought and should have been trained for (and yes, I do consider that ‘lack of training’ or ‘poor training’ is probably culpable in some cases; I don’t want to defund the police, I want to demilitarize them).
“You have no idea how stressful it is to ____!” Well, no, I probably don’t. But I DO expect the people who sign up for the job to have some idea, and to be prepared to handle it. If they’re not, then maybe it’s not the job for them.
