Marc MacYoung
Hang on folks.
Yeah it's easy to go rawr rawr about political agendas. This is a LOT more dangerous and complex than you might think.
In Terry Pratchett's "Nightwatch" he spoke of an idea (part of which I use in my teaching). That is the idea of the police is smoke and mirrors. The people outnumber the cops. And what keeps them from taking the cops out is a little image inside the people's head of a cop with a "Do not attack" attached. (That's the part I use.) The character musing about this is the head of the city watch during a time of civil unrest.
Pratchett also has some keen insights about what happens when the supply chain to and the mechanisms of a city are interrupted by civil unrest. (It ain't pretty.) So I would recommend reading that book.
But what if we expand that smoke and mirrors idea? I mean take it past just the police. Most people (at least those who don't have to deal with it) have this imagine inside their heads of an all-powerful legal system keeping us safe from bad guys and violence. This safety umbrella of laws, punishment and protectors lets us go about our daily business; because someone else is looking out for us we don't have to worry about it.
Again we're talking MOST people. As long as most people buy into this idea, things work. (Do me a favor and don't try to soapbox about corruption, oppression, all that other happy horseshit. A- I know more about that than you do. B- While I'm the first to say the system needs serious reform, reform doesn't mean trashing. C- Something else I know more about are the typical consequences of revolution/rebellion/civil war. D - I've heard all the canned rhetoric, cliches, 'proofs' and arguments before. That actually means, I've sat and listened and considered. It they're not outright wrong, they're lies and bullshit —and I can tell you why. E- Unless you have something new to add, I don't want to hear the same old bullshit. It might have convinced you, but it doesn't convince me. ) So anyway, things 'work' if most people believe in the power of the legal system.
However, there are very real limits to the legal system, They come in all manners and ways. One of which is it can only handle so much before being overwhelmed and collapses.
On a daily basis a lot of cockamamie laws and attitudes push the system this way anyway. Yet the system finds a way to adjust and keep up the image of being powerful, fair and working (Put a pushpin in that, we'll come back).
A fast example is/was mandatory arrest for domestic violence. What a noble idea! What a wonderful way to protect victims of domestic violence! Arrest anyone who physically attacked a domestic partner. With great sturm und drang this victory for women and advocates was announced. Yeah and that nearly overwhelmed the system. While the numbers were expected to rise, they weren't expected to hit orbit. That's what happened when reality met up with mandatory arrest laws. The system couldn't handle the fact that women are just as violent in domestic situations as men. The original interpretation for mandatory arrest resulted in arrest rates of 54 men /46% women because BOTH went to jail for physically attacking the other. To keep the system from crashing the laws had to be amended so only the primary aggressor (a.k.a. men) would be arrested.
I tell you about that so you can understand both the reality of the system can be overwhelmed and to introduce you to the politics and maneuvering to keep that from being noticed. That's the pushpin I mentioned. It's looking at the quiet-behind-the-scenes maneuvering and public- statements about keeping folks from recognizing the following.
Using their own standards the system can't handle the current situation. They cannot arrest and prosecute all the rioters and looters without overwhelming the system.
However, the smoke and mirrors about their power and legitimacy must be maintained. So when you can't handle the numbers —and there's a good chance of if you tried things would become a compete nightmare for you because your base supports this behavior— you make these kinds of statements about why you're not doing your job. AND at the same time, deflect criticism and movement against you.
This is not a batshit crazy leftist conspiracy. From a political self-protection, propaganda and doing-what-you-can- to maintain-legitimacy -over -the -long -term perspective this announcement actually is a cagey move. Unfortunately, it also happens to be a bad move.
