Thanks for your perspective. Would a tiny little insular department be just as much part of the larger system as any another? Maybe compared to a department say pulling over out-of-state motorists all day.

Glad I’m reading this, since yesterday I shared:

I’m hard pressed to think of any group of 10m (global) or 700k (domestic) people where I can use the word “All” before describing them. I prefer “PEB”: Policing Enables Bastards. I may be too literal: “PEB” has been downvoted perhaps 2 or 3 of the 3 or 4 times I’ve mentioned it.

The most ethical department in the US probably has like two cops and they’re probably great to every single one of the couple hundred residents they serve. (Speculating) Why lump them in with even 99% of the rest of departments even if we believe those 99% all have at least one bad cop who the other cops covered for?

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To quote you now:

The entire point of ACAB as a movement is that it's a systemic problem, and until that system changes, every officer is part of the problem, even if they as individuals are "good" cops.

Policing has systemic problems and every officer is part a problematic system. Some officers who are part of the problematic system are not themselves part of the problem. I don’t know the numbers – I could be referring to 10 or 12 cops.

To drive this point home, imagine elder care devolves to the point where 100% of caretakers are abusive to their patients. All caretakers would be part of the problem. If one caretaker quits in as replaced by a non-abusive provider, they would be part of a disgracefully problematic system. Given their behavior is not problematic, they would not themselves be a part of the problem.

If 51% of caretakers are abusive, are 49% of caretakers part of the problem?

If 49% of caretakers are abusive, or 1% of caretakers are abusive, are the remainder part of the problem?

If a trans Lemming in Unix socks sees cops kill trans people and wants to take on the impossible challenge of reforming a department from the inside, I don’t know why I’d try to discourage them. “Noo you’re only allowed to vote, protest, and run as a politician, no ground level actions!” I want trans people on the force. PEB, but trans Lemming cops aren’t necessarily bastards. And if their chief takes 30 days to fire them, “ACAB” insults them unnecessarily during that. Besides opportunity cost, the more good people are stuffed into an evil system, the better… provided they won’t think twice before committing terminable offenses (whistleblowing, disregarding immoral orders).

Thanks for entertaining my verbose, overly literal exploration.