this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
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But there's like 2 good cops, so it must be copaganda.
Out of how many?
Well, the action happens in Chicago. And there's a special investigations unit that's not very respected as far as I can remember(it's a sort of dead end job that nobody wants) that he deals with and there's a couple of good cops and a couple of bad cops there. For all the rest, the books keep mentioning how he doesn't trust other cops, how many of them are in the pockets of mobsters and other villains, etc. There's even corrupt fbi agents as antagonists in the second book.
Which is a very American mindset that is built upon our sense of "freedom".
The bad guy is a bad cop. Bad cops exist. But the cavalry (in this case, Murphy and her partner and Butters and Michael and so forth) are the good cops. Because, when the chips are down, the real heroic cops come to help.
It is much more prevalent in military fiction because... ACAB is a common phrase for a reason. One of the best examples is the Bradley Cooper A-Team movie (also a really fun movie). On its surface? The villain is a rogue CIA officer (also maybe a rogue general? Been a minute). But throughout the entire movie we have the titular team regularly talk about how much they learned in the military and Rocket Raccoon can't help but want to bang the hell out of the good military cop who both wants to capture them AND wants to know the truth. And, when the chips are down, she is there to save the day.
Its one of those things you don't pick up on until you do a lot of reading... or think about why The Military is so willing to allow the use of men and material in filming. If they weren't okay with the idea of a rogue officer then they would have refused the use of IFVs and so forth. PLENTY of movies end up stuck using stock footage because of that.
But no. It is very much the extension of "a few bad apples don't ruin the bunch" that is used to handwave evil shit that cops (and the military) does.
Butcher isn't the only writer who does that shit. But it is one of those things where "So... does he realize he is doing it?" up until the "cops are the light in the darkness" wank fest during The Battle of Chicago (I forgot which book).
It is up to you whether you care or not. I semi-recently rambled about/glazed a movie that I outright consider CCP propaganda that stars "The Tom Cruise of Hong Kong". And... I will watch basically any Donnie Yen movie because he is just that charismatic and physically magnificent. But I also make it a point to think through WHY specific roles were chosen or specific dialogue was spoken even as I am cheering on him fighting his way out of essentially a favela.