These are situations where police enforce rules for the better of all.
There is more to being a police than just muscle.
The police in my country held siege to our parliement building to remember our politicians and government the police is sworn to uphold and defend the country and constitution, not governments and politicians.
And by this sentence alone, I understand you didn’t paid attention to what I wrote.
I understand americans make up the bulk of Lemmy users but - for crying out loud! - there is more on this freaking space time faring rock than that trench coat nation.
Do try to broaden your horizons. Read a little. Watch non american media and shows. Get your head out of your ass, while you are at it!
My country threw a dictatorship less than 50 years. I was born and raised during the early years of the new democracy.
Back then, basic requirements for joining the police was being able to read and write; coming from the military, especially from the army, was a guaranteed entry.
People were afraid and instilled fear of the police into their children. Really bad times.
Fast forward to the 2000’s and a new generation of police is entering service. Being a former military is not a guaranteed entry and can even prove to be a detracting factor. New candidates have to pass aptitude tests, evaluations, screenings. Need to have the mandatory schooling years (by then already 12 years, equivalent to american high school). And undergo a grueling physical and theoretical training: one year.
When the new generation hits the streets, the kind of “cop” you describe was washed out, by their own comrades, because being a police meant being a trustworthy figure, someone any person can approach for help and aid, especially children.
Are there any bad apples? Obviously. In the same way you can have bad agents in any profession. Even the best cloth get stains. But you can trust a police officer in my country.
A police is mandated by law to salute a civilian when aproaching one and is obligated to present identification if requested for and even take the breathalizer test if you demand it.
A police officer also has the freedom and obligation to go against orders they understand as against the law, good social standing and moral and can take action against superior in court of law, where hierarchy means nothing.
A very superficial analysis of what being a police agent in the US tells me you have a militarized police, unfit and untrained to deal with people, and ignorant of law, except that what can be delivered by the pulling of a trigger and brutality.
That was our police, 50 years ago.
Your average cop here would get beat up by their comrades and thrown in jail, assuming they would made it through the evaluation.
Again, the US is not the world, not a good example on any front and even less when it comes to civil rights and police work.
Police have unions for negotiating better conditions but they don’t displace power to the polices: police does not have right of strike. At best, what police officers can do is a strike of zeal, where they overlook most situations except for the most grievous.
This implies a speeding ticket will not get written but a bank robbery will be dealt with.
Again, the US is no example for anything, and even less for this.
Police is not a for-profit organization; it’s a pillar of the democratic state and as such is moved by a mission not an production objective, which some ingenious politians and high ranking officers have tried to do, with horrible results, like police agents openly denouncing it to the public.
The checks and balances you fear will be knocked down are so scattered, it would take the complete dismantling of our entire country to remove it. Just recently, it was eliminated a specialized police tasked with immigration and border control and the back lash has been immense: people want specialized agents for specialized functions, regardless the previously dismantled force being disbanded for serious and proven cases of abuse of power and corruption, which led to arrests.
To prevent one force to feel unchecked we have three different polices, a plethora of specialized agencies and a central investigation department directly under the orders of the republic prosecutor. Too many people checking on too many people. This model works so well, even politians have been connected to serious corruption schemes lately.
We solved our war on drugs by removing the crime frame from consumption and carry for personal use, thus releasing police resources to contend with real traficking, not petty matters.
For some reason I can’t explain, I find myself more attracted by intense situations as I grow older, which goes completely against all basic rules of self preservation.
There is an ugly backdrop of “bad”, “coercion”, “oppression” and “authoritarian” to this conversation.
And while I try to concede, to my hability, your good points and ilustrate steps have been taken to remove or diminish points of concern, in an effort to advance for something better, there seems to be an ever deeper entrenching on your part to build up the same points.
The state, which authority emanates from the people, does have the monopoly of force, which is a tool to ensure peace and stability inside a society looking to get rid of the need of it.
Your stance, to my understanding, veers towards an ideal anarchism, a philosophy I support myself.
But like any other social system, anarchy is affected by bad actors, motivated by selfish motives like indifference for their similar, greed or the simple appeal of basic violence against their fellow.
How are we supposed to deal with these? Are we all to become vigilantes? Allow angry mobs to apply “justice”? Or should we create special groups, prepared to deal daily with this kind of situation, to make our best collective effort to ensure “force” does not become “violence”?
You are the state. You, your neighbour, your community, your district, etc. You live in a crooked system you have allowed to flourish. Do you expect change to happen by spontaneous generation? Your default stance is of distrust. The “man” is out to get you. Guess what? You are the “man”. You trapped yourself by your own actions.
Your reality is not universal. That is what I’ve been trying to pass across. Regardless a perfect system not existing, better than what you experience is possible and exists.
In Portugal, e-scooters had to be severely regulated as many gruesome and bloody accidents happened because their users entered high speed ways, heavily modified the scooters to achieve over 80km/h speeds, were left abandoned by users of rental services everywhere, invaded sidewalks and endangered pedestrians or public transports lanes.
The ever growing size of cars is a worthy cause of worry: I drive a Ford Ranger for professional reasons and the vehicle is ridiculously cumbersome, wide and clumsy for the roads I have to use. Lawmakers need to cull the auto makers arms race on bulky vehicles.
But lets not overlook that e-scooters are a very big source of traffic accidents by themselves and let this micromobility solution run amok.
I have a national entity that collects and processes such data and elaborates the statistics.
Just out of sheer number, car accidents have to be more numerous: more cars, more accidents.
But car related accidents do not have to be fatal by default, or bring severe bodily damage to passengers and bystanders.
escooters have no protection neither for the user nor bystanders, with the added risk factor that a gross number of the users of these scooters invade, willingly, walkways and other reserved lanes, with often serious consequences.
escooters brought an entire new pletora of problems
These are considered for all purposes motor vehicles and can use as such any road, except for highways. These even have an incentive for adoption, being exempt of some taxes.
Riding these in a city and getting into an accident follows the same rules; a car hitting one is pretty much screwed, as these vehicles do not have the same defensive capabilities as a car. The average car drivers respects and gives room to these vehicles.
The only blatant flaw for better acommodating these vehicles is the lack of reserved parking spaces, which forces many drivers to occupy sidewalks just like what happens with conventional scooters, and most people understands and tolerates.
By comparison, these have quickly become the bane of safe travelling for allbecause whoever uses these tends to think is better or smarter than anyone else.
These were originally considered equivalent to a bicycle and as such could use those lanes as well as common roads, observing the same traffic regulations (keep to the right, no more than two bicycles side by side, wear helmet, etc). And bycicle accidents are not rampant.
Unlike those contraptions that are constantly seen invading sidewalks and other pedestrian reserved areas and endangering people and animals. There have been several sightings of these machines doing 110km/h in highways; those people are reckless and stupid. Rentals are often abandoned anywhere and everywhere. Users of these often swerve in front or between traffic, invade BUS lanes and endanger themselves and others.
Accomodate these any more? How about some basic civility?
It’s the first time I drive one. In my private life I drive either hatchbacks or station wagons (because dogs) which handle and are built very differently.
These machines being tinkered with and heavily modified happens almost exclusevely in urban areas where good public transportation already exists.
Every article I’ve read usually boils down to thrills, a hollow sense of being against the system or just disrespect for the place because tourist.
Even giving all the wiggle room for bad reporting, it feels something is very wrong with this particular mode of transportation, in that setting.
I live in a rural area, with essentially no public transportation, and these alternatives have been growing in popularity with no issues. Even the older folks get intrigued and often strike up conversations with the people using it.
Let’s keep in mind the UK dove into directions so divergent from the EU, on such trivial matters, just to face those demands - so trivial it will feel as petty - will make the UK negotiators twist their hands in anger.
And to crown it all, just the demand to drop the pound would be nurderous to the british pride.
So, if I’m following correctly your reasoning, you’re in favor of allowing the “person” that abandoned the team to return, in their own term, and with special previliges? Unfair to all other parties.
“The UK had special entering rights; we want them as well.”
Probably all other nations wanting to join.
And a huge drawback of relations of trust between already in place members.
No. The EU bent the knee to Tatcher in order to grow in relevance and stability internationally. A rejoining UK needs to recognize it is joining an established and relevant bloc, not an upstart project.
Maybe the UK, after dredging the bottom of the barrel, perhaps in another 25 or 30 years, realizes the gravity of its mistakes and realizes the exit from the EU was a mistake for itself, by itself, and approaches the EU to rejoin, like any other member state.
My country has had the country as an ally for centuries and we went to great lenghts to facilitate the movements of brits to and from but the UK needs to recognize it is not more than any other member of the EU.
That stupid and hollow pride needs to come down and mistakes have to be recognized.
Better yet: wake at random, feeling as if an entire night of sleep is already done. Look at the clock and only two hours have elapsed and there is still an entire night to sleep.
Nonetheless, wake up before the alarm rings, feeling fully refreshed, as if two full nights of sleep have been had.
When I get these episodes, I feel like a champ the entire day. Sadly it also makes me a bit annoying, as it makes overjoyful.
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