I think this requires us to look into what the definition of that word is, as a verb.
To “police” is to dominate and enforce conformity, often with the threat of overwhelming consequence. A lot of people don’t realize that the origin of the modern police department was crowd control. They were invented in cities in the early twentieth century to suppress riots and protests. The day-to-day patrol work is just an extension of that core mandate.
I think that if you trained folks up the way we do for volunteer fire brigades that’d be a lot more like working as an EMT than a soldier. Sometimes you might have to lay some hands. But, imo that is not policing if you only respond when someone calls for help as opposed to showing up uninvited to enforce the state’s prerogatives.
Showing up to assist and protect someone who is crying out for help isn’t actually “policing”, imo. That’s rendering aid. You aren’t acting to disincentivize non-compliance with state directives. So I would not consider such a group to qualify as police, semantically.
Normally theyre called gangs. The thing that made the black panthers special is that as a cause it was killed before it deteriorated. A lot of gangs form to protect from other gangs, police corruption, and general sense of community.
Usually most folks aren’t willing to do things free, so it devolves as it grows. Loses the original basis for formation. It’s why christians is a confusing term, you have atheists, catholics, buddhists, etc. All lumped in while all can and are christian, there is degrees of severity.
Oh so like first it starts out protecting the community from issues but then it turns into “the crips have to pay” and now heroin to pay for a turf war…
You start protecting the community but who is paying you, your rent, or your food? You have to start charging and now you’re another tax. Tensions rise. And yes this would impact drug trafficking which is usually lethal. Note, junkies are relatively safe, dont get between their drugs or stare and you are good.
Trying to do good is difficult because by definition, the only good thing you can do is retain the status quo. Any change will have negative repercursions.
A good goal quickly deteriorates when the power structure forces you to deal with the devil. And where does he reside?
Couldn’t those community patrols be considered a type of police
I think this requires us to look into what the definition of that word is, as a verb.
To “police” is to dominate and enforce conformity, often with the threat of overwhelming consequence. A lot of people don’t realize that the origin of the modern police department was crowd control. They were invented in cities in the early twentieth century to suppress riots and protests. The day-to-day patrol work is just an extension of that core mandate.
I think that if you trained folks up the way we do for volunteer fire brigades that’d be a lot more like working as an EMT than a soldier. Sometimes you might have to lay some hands. But, imo that is not policing if you only respond when someone calls for help as opposed to showing up uninvited to enforce the state’s prerogatives.
Showing up to assist and protect someone who is crying out for help isn’t actually “policing”, imo. That’s rendering aid. You aren’t acting to disincentivize non-compliance with state directives. So I would not consider such a group to qualify as police, semantically.
Normally theyre called gangs. The thing that made the black panthers special is that as a cause it was killed before it deteriorated. A lot of gangs form to protect from other gangs, police corruption, and general sense of community.
Usually most folks aren’t willing to do things free, so it devolves as it grows. Loses the original basis for formation. It’s why christians is a confusing term, you have atheists, catholics, buddhists, etc. All lumped in while all can and are christian, there is degrees of severity.
Oh so like first it starts out protecting the community from issues but then it turns into “the crips have to pay” and now heroin to pay for a turf war…
That’s interesting
You start protecting the community but who is paying you, your rent, or your food? You have to start charging and now you’re another tax. Tensions rise. And yes this would impact drug trafficking which is usually lethal. Note, junkies are relatively safe, dont get between their drugs or stare and you are good.
Trying to do good is difficult because by definition, the only good thing you can do is retain the status quo. Any change will have negative repercursions.
A good goal quickly deteriorates when the power structure forces you to deal with the devil. And where does he reside?