but people are just people
A conversation with a friend who is mad about the failures of the police -- specifically two things: a friend of his was recently charged with "resisting arrest" while supposedly doing nothing illegal (although the friend had been engaged in a physical struggle with another friend); and he strongly criticized the police response to the Uvalde school shooting back in May ("Why have none of those police committed suicide yet," he asked).
My point to him is that police are just people, that police commit murder at about the same rate as the rest of us, that we scapegoat police for society-wide problems. Police make mistakes, like we all make mistakes. I also pointed out that we have thousands of separate police organizations with no effective national oversight, training, or standards -- and it is only the supposed mistakes that generate stories like those upsetting him now. We could try doing policing in a different way.
His response (as a former Catholic), "They said the same thing to justify sex abuse by Catholic priests, that they commit sexual abuse at the same rate as the rest of the population."
So I widened my point -- yes, you're expecting people in positions of authority to behave better than everybody else. Where did you get that expectation from? Why do you have it? People are just people.
He then asked, "What is the point of institutions if the people running them are no better than anybody else?"
Why do you want to have institutions? You were brought up as a Catholic believing that the Catholic hierarchy was closer to God. But they never were. That was an illusion. Now you're disillusioned. But you continue to think that the people in a hierarchy are supposed to be closer to God. But there is no God. Climbing a hierarchy does not bring people closer to God. Climbing a hierarchy is only that -- climbing a hierarchy. The hierarchy is still populated by people who are no better (or worse) than anybody else (except maybe they're better at climbing hierarchies). Why do you expect climbing a hierarchy, putting on a badge, or putting on a robe --> to magically transform a person and turn them into a God?
-----
I don't know whether it is as widespread on the Right, because I rarely hang out with right-wingers, but on the Left I keep encountering suspicion of and hostility toward the police, which seems to be only one aspect of a generalized distrust of authority, especially among younger adults. Younger adults feel their elders have fucked up the planet, and operate in racist, sexist, homophobic ways, while grabbing all the wealth. So fuck authority.
As an elder -- I'm older than most people, and I'm the oldest surviving male in my family -- and as a supervisor at the office -- and as a government attorney -- I'm comfortable exercising authority within my legitimate domain. I try to exercise my authority gently and in the best interests of all, without prejudice. I try to find easy solutions that are perceived as "win-win". I try to explain why instead of ordering people around.
I believe in the concept of "servant leadership" -- that the purpose of leadership is to serve the group, not to feather my own nest.
But I do not believe in any sort of mystification of authority, or following the rules because they're the rules, or doing what I say because I'm the one who said it. I also do not follow the rules because they're the rules -- an honest accounting of my own life would show that I'm willing to break the law when I think the law is stupid. When looking for a job as an attorney, I was careful to select jobs I would believe in -- I didn't want to work for an organization waging a war on drugs, for example.
Authority is a tool. It can be used wisely, foolishly, or selfishly. Picking up and using the tool of authority does not magically transform the user into a God. And like any tool, there are limits to how authority can be used. Authority is not appropriate to solving every problem, and even when appropriate the power of authority is limited.
As a result, I think "totalitarianism" is a myth. I don't mean Soviet gulags were a myth, anymore than the US incarceration system is a myth -- we've currently locked up 1.5 million people in the US, which is comparable to how many people were in the Soviet gulags at any one time. Some countries lock up a larger proportion of their residents than other countries do. But the word "totalitarianism" makes it sound like authority is (or can be) total -- 100% -- in some countries, whereas other countries are "free". That's never been true, it is mere propaganda. We set up one system of rules we call "freedom" while we label another system of rules "totalitarian". All systems have rules and authorities, all systems have punishments, it is only a matter of emphasis -- which rules are enforced more than others.
Authority is a tool. It would be great if the only people who use this tool would use it wisely. But people are just people.
You might personally decide you're not going to use this tool. OK. But the endlessly unsolvable conundrum of anarchism is this: you cannot stop everybody else from using this tool. You might want to abolish the police. Yet, the police persist, in every country.
The same youngsters who want to get rid of the current authorities, it turns out they have their own rules that they follow and that they expect others to follow. For example, they want to get rid of racism. Great, I'd love to get rid of racism. But then what are you going to do when others do something racist? If you punish them, aren't you wielding authority just like cops do? They also want to get rid of greenhouse emissions, but how will they get everybody else to stop? They want a universal basic income -- OK, where will you get the money from, and how.
Each generation has its rebels, yet somehow each generation grows up and takes on the role of authority, and is rebelled against in turn. Because putting on a badge, or a robe, or a suit -- doesn't turn you into a God. It turns you into a hypocrite.
My point to him is that police are just people, that police commit murder at about the same rate as the rest of us, that we scapegoat police for society-wide problems. Police make mistakes, like we all make mistakes. I also pointed out that we have thousands of separate police organizations with no effective national oversight, training, or standards -- and it is only the supposed mistakes that generate stories like those upsetting him now. We could try doing policing in a different way.
His response (as a former Catholic), "They said the same thing to justify sex abuse by Catholic priests, that they commit sexual abuse at the same rate as the rest of the population."
So I widened my point -- yes, you're expecting people in positions of authority to behave better than everybody else. Where did you get that expectation from? Why do you have it? People are just people.
He then asked, "What is the point of institutions if the people running them are no better than anybody else?"
Why do you want to have institutions? You were brought up as a Catholic believing that the Catholic hierarchy was closer to God. But they never were. That was an illusion. Now you're disillusioned. But you continue to think that the people in a hierarchy are supposed to be closer to God. But there is no God. Climbing a hierarchy does not bring people closer to God. Climbing a hierarchy is only that -- climbing a hierarchy. The hierarchy is still populated by people who are no better (or worse) than anybody else (except maybe they're better at climbing hierarchies). Why do you expect climbing a hierarchy, putting on a badge, or putting on a robe --> to magically transform a person and turn them into a God?
-----
I don't know whether it is as widespread on the Right, because I rarely hang out with right-wingers, but on the Left I keep encountering suspicion of and hostility toward the police, which seems to be only one aspect of a generalized distrust of authority, especially among younger adults. Younger adults feel their elders have fucked up the planet, and operate in racist, sexist, homophobic ways, while grabbing all the wealth. So fuck authority.
As an elder -- I'm older than most people, and I'm the oldest surviving male in my family -- and as a supervisor at the office -- and as a government attorney -- I'm comfortable exercising authority within my legitimate domain. I try to exercise my authority gently and in the best interests of all, without prejudice. I try to find easy solutions that are perceived as "win-win". I try to explain why instead of ordering people around.
I believe in the concept of "servant leadership" -- that the purpose of leadership is to serve the group, not to feather my own nest.
But I do not believe in any sort of mystification of authority, or following the rules because they're the rules, or doing what I say because I'm the one who said it. I also do not follow the rules because they're the rules -- an honest accounting of my own life would show that I'm willing to break the law when I think the law is stupid. When looking for a job as an attorney, I was careful to select jobs I would believe in -- I didn't want to work for an organization waging a war on drugs, for example.
Authority is a tool. It can be used wisely, foolishly, or selfishly. Picking up and using the tool of authority does not magically transform the user into a God. And like any tool, there are limits to how authority can be used. Authority is not appropriate to solving every problem, and even when appropriate the power of authority is limited.
As a result, I think "totalitarianism" is a myth. I don't mean Soviet gulags were a myth, anymore than the US incarceration system is a myth -- we've currently locked up 1.5 million people in the US, which is comparable to how many people were in the Soviet gulags at any one time. Some countries lock up a larger proportion of their residents than other countries do. But the word "totalitarianism" makes it sound like authority is (or can be) total -- 100% -- in some countries, whereas other countries are "free". That's never been true, it is mere propaganda. We set up one system of rules we call "freedom" while we label another system of rules "totalitarian". All systems have rules and authorities, all systems have punishments, it is only a matter of emphasis -- which rules are enforced more than others.
Authority is a tool. It would be great if the only people who use this tool would use it wisely. But people are just people.
You might personally decide you're not going to use this tool. OK. But the endlessly unsolvable conundrum of anarchism is this: you cannot stop everybody else from using this tool. You might want to abolish the police. Yet, the police persist, in every country.
The same youngsters who want to get rid of the current authorities, it turns out they have their own rules that they follow and that they expect others to follow. For example, they want to get rid of racism. Great, I'd love to get rid of racism. But then what are you going to do when others do something racist? If you punish them, aren't you wielding authority just like cops do? They also want to get rid of greenhouse emissions, but how will they get everybody else to stop? They want a universal basic income -- OK, where will you get the money from, and how.
Each generation has its rebels, yet somehow each generation grows up and takes on the role of authority, and is rebelled against in turn. Because putting on a badge, or a robe, or a suit -- doesn't turn you into a God. It turns you into a hypocrite.