# Shifted perspective



## KevinsAhPunk (Oct 25, 2016)

So some (maybe a lot) of ya'll are going to disagree with most of what I have to say here or think I'm wrong or whatever. That's perfectly fine, and even encouraged, so long as we can keep it polite/civil/punk/whathaveu. The first thing I always ask myself when I'm going to reply or add my voice to a conversation is usually "is this nice?" followed by "is it constructive" unless I'm pissed or just bothered that day. Then I'll flip out on ya'll, realize what I'm doing, hit backspace for a while, and slink away into the shadows. Anyway that was a good ramble to get me goin, hopefully you're with me!

What happens is I get to writing, and just ramble the fuck off to nowhere. I think the annecdote is relavent and I don't particularly like to edit shit for no good reason, editing this feels like it would have been a waste of time. 

Anywho

I've recently had a change in the way I look at a certain group of people. For the longest time, I'd just despised the concept of them. On top of that, I suggested anyone that wanted to join this group is typically either mentally ill with some kind of authority complex or has an unhealthy desire for power/control. 

When I examine this kind of thinking this way, it's obviously not very nice. I like to think I'm a nice person. I like to consider myself empathetic and understanding and I strongy hold to the idea that we all are deserving of love. Not only are we all deserving, but the worst of us need that love much more than others. 

For most of (I use this phrase here a lot) my rationally thinking life, I have been strongly opposed to the concept of policing. I have been looking at police as a whole, as if they weren't actually people. I've said insulting things about people that have a desire to be cops. I've said mean things about people who are cops. I'm ashamed that it took as long as it did for me to examine this way of thinking, and recognize it for the cynisism and hate that it is. 

While I understand that there are bad officers, and of course we all agree there are good ones as well. We also likely agree that something should be done about the bad ones, and the entire approach that the country has to policing needs to be adjusted or improved.

For me, what I think happened is I was angry and found it difficult to understand how policing has gone off the rails. With the recent militarization, as well as the (frequently being exposed more often) rampant racisim. It's very easy to look at this group of individuals, where for a significant portion of the population it's the SAFEST to assume the very worst is and often will happen. It's easy to look at these people, as abusive and corrupt monsters. 

Who needs more empathy, and help, than those of us who become twisted by the constant irrationality of the world. A group of people, that at some point likely thought the entire job would be to help people, not hurt them. I suggest, people that show the most hatred, and anger, need our (all peoples) compassion. These men and women, likely as children, decided they would dedicate their lives to making the world a better place. It's clear that something has gone terribly wrong, between that childhood fantasy and the reality of their daily lives. I doubt any child, with a desire to be a police officer, is looking forward to the day that they'll get to beat a black person (sometimes to death). I find it difficult to think that many children fantasize about arresting Natives, and then abandoning them in the woods during the winter. 

What I find very easy to belive though, is that as children, they fantasized about helping people. They thought, they would get to fight bad guys. These children likely still lived in that fantasy world where the good guys always win, no matter what. Now, they have to cope with reality, and reality can be fucking harsh. 

I suggest that the attitude of "Fuck Tha Police" that (though we were all thinking it) NWA said to millions of us, isn't a very constructive way of thinking for those of us that still think we can make the world a better place.

I'm not saying, that seriously black people don't have to be afraid of cops they just need to love them more. I'm not saying anything close to that. There is still a large population of us that needs to be aware of and careful to avoid a bad situation that's often unavoidable.

The same way an old white lady might get nervous around a black dude, black dudes get nervous around the police. The main difference here is that, these people have something legitimate to be afraid of.

I'm not saying, that we shouldn't draw attention to bad cops. It's still very important that we have that discussion, that we let the world know bad cops are not okay and that there's not enough being done. 

What I am saying, is a little understanding and compassion might be a good start. yo.

Love, Kev4realsisyo

Here's a link to what I originally typed out, but thankfully decided not to post here directly. Hopefully at least an interestng read... https://sketchingtheflow.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/shifting-perspective/

*my sites not monetized, to my knowledge; also it's very rarely visited.


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## Mankini (Oct 25, 2016)

Read Hannah Arendt. Her expose of the banality of evil is enlightening, to say the least. As you say, irrational hatred is counterproductive. Let me ask you this: Is there such a thing as rational hatred? The hatred cattle or poultry may feel for their executioner at the moment theyre led into the abattoir and hear the piercing shrieks of their fellows...when they thought the humans were feeding them and sheltering them just to be nice? The hatred the moron feels for the staff of a mental hospital, as they ooze thorazine into his brain and zap his cerebrum with therapeutic lightning?...The hatred a felon feels for his jailers?

Most Nazis weren't 'evil'. They were loving parents, spouses, members of the community...not blathering monsters at all. They were just 'followers'; sheeple; however you want to phrase it. You don't -have- to feel anything to do evil. You can do it mindlessly, bureaucratically, aseptically...without an iota of sentiment.

Yes, I believe in the power of empathy and compassion, too. It is the strongest force in the universe. Ya aint gotta hate anyone, or kill them. But do remind them that they exist at the convenience of the people.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Totalitarianism

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1969/02/27/a-special-supplement-reflections-on-violence/


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## codycodnyk (Feb 2, 2017)

I went through a phase where I was really anti-police and figured most had power boners. My dad got killed by the police when I was young so that shaped my perspective a lot.
I think a lot of cops just want to help people and that's why they became cops. There are definitely some who had bad intentions from the start, whether it's having power, turning fantasies of violence into reality. 
I do believe there's a lot of racism involved but I don't think it's the only factor. I think a lot of the problems with police today are from cops feeling unsafe and acting too fast. Or it can be from being pressured to enforce certain laws more to benefit someone else (like driving homeless people out of cities with anti homeless laws, to keep property values and tourism up). 
In my opinion, cops get a lot of shit because of bad cops fucking up and corrupt policies. They're the face of those corrupt policies so they get blamed for it. 
It's like when people on here complain about shitty travelers giving everyone a bad name (I think there's even a thread on that). 
Hate never made a good decision and it only hurts you.


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## black (Apr 13, 2017)

had this conversation the other day. I don't think that the hate of the person themselves accomplishes anything but hating police as an institution is perfectly alright and I would encourage it. they might not all be power hungry aspiring autocrats with a small dick but they do believe in and participate in an organization that represents authoritarianism, statism, and the numerous other problematic purposes the police serve. sure, those people could just be misguided. not everyone is an anarchist. not everyone believes that society can function without the state or policing. in that case they are still the enemy until that changes. you could make the argument that they just want to do the right thing all day long but it doesn't change the fact that they still participate in the enforcement of statism and I will never tolerate that on a personal level, no matter how well intentioned they are.


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