Comment on Why do they turn Federation into a dystopia?

• ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I certainly am not a fan of policework as it is currently, commonly conducted, but I have a hard time imagining a society that has laws, but doesn’t have a dedicated system to uphold those laws that involves some kind of police.

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  • WoodScientist@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Police have only existed for about 2% of the history of human civilization, and yet you cannot imagine a future without them. You’ll accept physics-breaking technologies like transporters and warp drives. But a world without cops? That’s a bridge too far.

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    • ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      If you can offer a compelling argument about how those other 98% were more fair and just, and can outline exactly what that better system was, I’m all ears.

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      • WoodScientist@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Our modern police grew out of slave catchers. That’s the root of the institution. Traditional law enforcement methods were more fair and just because they kept law enforcement within the actual communities. In Medieval cities, it was common for every able-bodied male to have to spend a certain number of nights per year working in the town guard. It was your civic duty, just like jury service is today. There were no cops on the streets of ancient Rome.

        Policing in the US right now isn’t local. Cops rarely actually live in the cities they work in. Ideally police would work in their own communities so that they have a firm connection to them. However, police had laws written that prevent cities from only hiring residents to work their police forces. That’s why in many American cities police feel more like an occupying army than an actual expression of the people’s legal authority. They don’t feel like they’re part of the community, because they literally aren’t part of the community. Police don’t like to live where they work.

        Making law enforcement a full-time profession was a terrible mistake. It creates a barrier between citizens and the people that are supposed to be their public servants. Sure, some specialties, like crime scene investigator or detective, require a professional approach. But average beat cops should be replaced with citizens serving short-term roles as community guards.

        Honestly, if you’ve seen how police respond to calls, I would trust the average citizen with a weekend quick course under their belt a lot more to respond to a 9/11 call than a police officer. Such temporary officers wouldn’t get infected with the us-vs-them “warrior policing” mindset that has so damaged the American police profession. It’s hard to smash an innocent person’s skull against the pavement when that person is your next door neighbor who you have to look in the eye every day.

        Making beat-cops a full time job was one of the greatest mistakes we ever made. And it is one we have the power to correct.

        Abolishing the police does not mean embracing anarchy and abandoning law enforcement. There many ways of enforcing the law other than mob justice or a professional police class.

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  • Grail@multiverse.soulism.net ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    A neighbourhood watch would be way cooler. Daddy Kirk’s neighbour pulling up next to little Kirk and going “Whatcha doing with dad’s car, kiddo?” would be way more Trek but wouldn’t satisfy JJ’s craving for pointless action sequences.

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    • ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      It’s an interesting idea, but it also tiptoes right up to the line of “neighbours spying on each other on behalf of the state” - not great!

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      • Kirk@startrek.website ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        LPT just buy a Ring doorbell instead

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• justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  You realize that for millenia, philosophers fantasized about the concept of a police force that existed just to enforce laws, and not just be military guards?

  The issue is not the concept of police. It is the leadership and the police unions.

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• otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Preach it, citizen.

  … Oh. You meant in Star Trek.

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  • Grail@multiverse.soulism.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Both is good

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