Do progressives dislike the police?

[Suburbia]

It has been seen for years that progressives "do not respect" the police or the law enforcement community in this country, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement. Is this true, or is it false.

http://www.fireandreamitchell.com/2016/02/24/occupy-leftist-radical-martin-wirth-anti-cop-sign/

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/12/_liberal_lies_killed_the_two_nyc_cops.html

[Figueira]

Speaking as a "progressive", I think many (most?) police officers are probably decent people who do great things, but that doesn't excuse the bad ones for what they do. I'm not sure where "progressives" as a whole stand on this.

[Virginiá]

A lot of kids I grew up with in the burbs (multiple states even) did not like police, but did understand there were bad and good ones.

There are a lot of problems and abuse by police and people, especially minorities, have been calling for reforms for years and years now, and police unions/"tough on crime" lawmakers block them every time.

Police unions need to wake up and realize people are only going to get even angrier as they continue to block worthwhile and much needed reforms. They are here to serve the people, not the other way around.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Yes.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

A lot of kids I grew up with in the burbs (multiple states even) did not like police, but did understand there were bad and good ones.

There are a lot of problems and abuse by police and people, especially minorities, have been calling for reforms for years and years now, and police unions/"tough on crime" lawmakers block them every time.

Police unions need to wake up and realize people are only going to get even angrier as they continue to block worthwhile and much needed reforms. They are here to serve the people, not the other way around.

A quality answer. I have no issue with police in general (I remember thinking how absurd it was that my fellow UCD students were calling for the abolition of the campus police after the pepper spray incident), but when there are repeated abuses by a specific department against minorities, I can understand the anger. There are many things that should be done to reduce police abuses.

A big one is civil asset forfeiture. Fortunately some states are making strides in that aspect. There are many other cases where a gun probably should not have been used (against those fleeing from the police with their backs turned, for example).

[ProgressiveCanadian]

Yes.

LOL actually no we don't.

[dead0man]

I just looked at some past polls on cops here and yes, we generally don't like them, but it's very close.  So yes, Progs don't tend to like cops.  No, not all Progs, but enough of you to clearly state that yes, Progs don't tend to like cops.

and thinking about it for 3 seconds will give most of us the same conclusion.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

like all professions, the police are often fine individuals but should not be trusted as a block group. I mean it's a useful tool for the right to allege that the left hate the police, but it's about as scurrilous as the allegation that the right hates teachers.

[dead0man]

like all professions, the police are often fine individuals but should not be trusted as a block group. I mean it's a useful tool for the right to allege that the left hate the police, but it's about as scurrilous as the allegation that the right hates teachers.

Allege?  Many on the left proudly claim to hate the cops.  Nothing needs to be alleged.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

yes they hate them as a group, much like the right often bitches about teachers as a collective. More to the point they hate the polciing profession as it exists, which is fair enough. I dislike the music industry, but if I meet a session musician I wouldn't immediately punch him or her in the face and throw their trombone in a lake.

[dead0man]

The right doesn't hate teachers...at all.  They have serious issues with the two big teacher's unions (as would anybody that wants quality education for the kids), but that's not the same as hating them as a group.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The right doesn't hate teachers...at all.  They have serious issues with the two big teacher's unions (as would anybody that wants quality education for the kids), but that's not the same as hating them as a group.

Yes they hate the teaching profession as it exists, like the left hates the policing progession as it exists; and in both cases it can (and is) expressed in hatred of the teachers/police as a group.

[dead0man]

Agreed, the left hates the policing profession as it exists.  The right isn't alleging anything when they say the left hates the policing profession.

[Bismarck]

The left talking about police reminds me of a racist talking about African-Americans. "Well yah know um I'm sure there are some good ones but um yah know as a whole they're a problem."

[Virginiá]

The left talking about police reminds me of a racist talking about African-Americans. "Well yah know um I'm sure there are some good ones but um yah know as a whole they're a problem."

What does that say about the right, who seem to blindly support and/or rationalize every good or bad thing the police do?

[NeverAgain]

Unlike those that apparently no nothing about what a "Progressive" think. Progressives (at least I) completely support the police, my uncle is actually an officer. But I am in strong support of BLM's ideas. Saying that there is a problem with the current system, like systemic racism, doesn't mean you cannot support the practice.

[Badger]

Unlike those that apparently no nothing about what a "Progressive" think. Progressives (at least I) completely support the police, my uncle is actually an officer. But I am in strong support of BLM's ideas. Saying that there is a problem with the current system, like systemic racism, doesn't mean you cannot support the practice.

Bingo

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

any reasonable person dislikes the american police system.

[Beet]

yes they hate them as a group, much like the right often bitches about teachers as a collective. More to the point they hate the polciing profession as it exists, which is fair enough. I dislike the music industry, but if I meet a session musician I wouldn't immediately punch him or her in the face and throw their trombone in a lake.

Right. I don't dislike the police, I like them. What I am suspicious of is the imbalance of power when one person has both legal and lethal authority over another person. The use of that authority responsibly is critical.

[Green Line]

The Black Lives Matter movement has made it obvious that most "progressives" don't give a damn about the police.  Hundreds of black men have been killed since Jan 1 this year.  Unfortunately, since they weren't killed by white police officers, the BLM people don't care.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The Black Lives Matter movement has made it obvious that most "progressives" don't give a damn about the police.  Hundreds of black men have been killed since Jan 1 this year.  Unfortunately, since they weren't killed by white police officers, the BLM people don't care.

The NAACP protested after a white man named Michael Tyree was killed in a San Jose prison. Some of the guards involved weren't white.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Rally-Michael-Tyree-Santa-Clara-County-Correctional-Deputies-Murder-Jail-324381401.html

[Green Line]

The Black Lives Matter movement has made it obvious that most "progressives" don't give a damn about the police.  Hundreds of black men have been killed since Jan 1 this year.  Unfortunately, since they weren't killed by white police officers, the BLM people don't care.

The NAACP protested after a white man named Michael Tyree was killed in a San Jose prison.

The point flew right over your head.

And I see VERY little protest over Michael Tyree, especially compared to recent protests. It's not comparable.

[Beet]

Police killings are an especially sensitive matter because the police have the full force of the law and the community behind them. They are supposed to represent the community, so when they kill someone, it's like the whole community saying yes, we hired you to kill this person as a part of your job.

The private murderers you speak of already have everyone against them. If police officers who killed without proper justification were treated the same as private citizens who did the same, there would be no protest.

[Green Line]

Police killings are an especially sensitive matter because the police have the full force of the law and the community behind them. They are supposed to represent the community, so when they kill someone, it's like the whole community saying yes, we hired you to kill this person as a part of your job.

The private murderers you speak of already have everyone against them. If police officers who killed without proper justification were treated the same as private citizens who did the same, there would be no protest.

So the lives of people killed by the police matter more than those killed by the gangbangers? Not trying to create a strawman argument, but I don't understand what you're saying.  The fact is that thousands of "progressives" have marched against and spoke out against the police this past year, while at the same time hundreds of black men have been murdered in our cities, yet no one is bothered by that.

[Virginiá]

Police killings are an especially sensitive matter because the police have the full force of the law and the community behind them. They are supposed to represent the community, so when they kill someone, it's like the whole community saying yes, we hired you to kill this person as a part of your job.

The private murderers you speak of already have everyone against them. If police officers who killed without proper justification were treated the same as private citizens who did the same, there would be no protest.

So the lives of people killed by the police matter more than those killed by the gangbangers? Not trying to create a strawman argument, but I don't understand what you're saying.  The fact is that thousands of "progressives" have marched against and spoke out against the police this past year, while at the same time hundreds of black men have been murdered in our cities, yet no one is bothered by that.

Sure - Selective engagement on this matter seems sh**tty but that doesn't excuse any wrongful behavior of some police officers, and/or the overly-punitive or flat out terrible criminal justice policies in this country.

Also, a big part of those murders are from drug violence, created by a pointless and destructive "drug war" and fueled by the felonization of the African American male, that only serves to continue devastating certain communities.