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Comment by input_sh | Hacker News Reader

Absolutely not. It's a profession, every cop out there can just... not be a cop.

Comparing that to skin color or someone's ethnicity is absolutely ridiculous.

Technically speaking, all cops can’t be bad, so the phrase is pretty dumb anyways even if one has issues with their country’s policing system.

While it's true that not every cop is actively corrupt, or violent, they have this whole "Blue Code" thing that means that if you ever report a coworker for being corrupt or violent, you're out. The cops who enable bad behavior, and perpetuate the bad system, are just as bad as any other corrupt or violent cop. So yeah, they certainly can all be bad.

The idea behind the phrase is that cops are either bastards or they sit by and let other cops be bastards and are themselves bastards. Any cop who doesn't sit by and let other cops abuse citizens isn't a cop for very long.

> Technically speaking, all cops can’t be bad

What technique are you using? Who was the good concentration camp guard?

Does France have concentration camps manned by police or something? What are you even saying..

> It's a profession, every cop out there can just... not be a cop.

Yeah, and every coal miner can just stop complaining about tough working conditions and decreasing number of jobs in their field, and instead learn how to code. It is that simple[0].

0. https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/47...

Coal miners don't have any sort of authority over you, cops do. And they carry deadly weapons with them, and they overreact. Not all the time, but let's say a noticeable amount of times.

While it may be a profession, it's also a critical community service. Unlike some professions that come and go, or could theoretically disappear tomorrow, we'll likely need police for the foreseeable future in at least some form.

Binary positions like "every cop out there can just...not be a cop" are a form of false choice fallacy and ignore the reality of what this would actually entail.

"Just don't be a cop" is not a solution to the systemic problems, and introduces a whole new set of problems that I think most would argue are just as bad, and likely far worse.

Ultimately all of this distracts from real policy discussion.

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