How so?
The way police (as a whole) are trained and they way they operate in America is unacceptable. The people (of all races) need to stand up and demand that this changes. Police training, culture, and their methods of self-policing need to change.
You disagree?
The way gun owners (as a whole) are trained and they way they operate in America is unacceptable. The people (of all races) need to stand up and demand that this changes. Gun owner training, culture, and their methods of self-policing need to change.
How about that version?
You can take a small subset of a population and extrapolate into great generalizations and go on and on about how "they need to change as a whole," but you are still generalizing. There are hundreds of thousands of good officers in this country - you just never hear about them because nobody really gives a shit. Bad news is what sells.
Police are public servants (supposedly). The people have a right to hold them to whatever standards they deem acceptable. Right now we hold them to standards lower than what we want. Simple.
The vast majority of officers conduct themselves properly. Fostering a narrative of "it's us vs them" is not productive, nor is it honest.
Do the majority of officers conduct themselves properly? Maybe. But that's not the point. The point is that many conduct themselves improperly.
My
limited, anecdotal, personal experiences:
I have been pulled over 3 separate times in my life. Never got a ticket, all 3 separate officers were courteous and professional.
When I was 18 or 19, I was walking down the sidewalk. Two cops were walking towards me. As I passed them, I nodded and said "how's it going guys?"
They stopped me and pulled me aside and this was the exchange:
Cops: What?
Me: (Confused) How's it going?
Cop: How's it going, GUYS?
Me: Yeah man.
Cop: Man?
Me: Uhh....
Cop: The word you are looking for is "sir".
Me: Uh... (nervous laugh) sorry.
Cop: You mean, sorry SIR! That's it, turn around.
I spent the next hour handcuffed sitting on a bench. No charges, no ticket, I didn't get put into a car or taken to jail. Just sat there until they released me.
Two other cops walked by and asked what they got me for. The "arresting" cops said "Nothing, just teaching him some respect." All 4 of them laughed and went about their business.
So in my experience, I have had encounters with 3 good cops, and 4 who thought nothing of committing false imprisonment. Not a good track record with me.