People (speaking generally, not of the APS membership) have an innate trust for authority. It takes time and effort to wear that down. Police (again, as a group in society not necessarily as individual officers or departments) are the enemy, and anything I can do in my own small and humble way to erode trust and confidence in them is all to the good.
Perhaps in the minds of your intended audience your crusade is making headway. For me specifically, it comes across as mindless, kneejerk reactionism which dilutes the laudable goal of publicizing, addressing and reducing real abuses of police authority. Your heavy-handedness in trying to show the violence inherent to the system make it seem that you are blinded by your own biases. Just as an anti-gun spokesperson considering gun safety, or a Klansman addressing Black violence lack credibility despite the fact that real issues exist, your intense prejudice significantly reduces the impact of your statements.
You've become essentially a mirror-image to CSD. If a cop story comes up, we know where you both will come down no matter what the facts of the story. Each of you appear to come at the situation not merely with a presumption of guilt or innocence, but an absolute assurance of it based solely on the fact that one party is a cop, and work backward from there to try to prove it.
Cops aren't your friends, they're the enemy.
If you said something like "The Police State Apparatus is not your friend, it is the enemy," I would agree. Of course, that goes beyond merely police and also includes prosecutors, legislators, lobbyists, judges, magistrates (not you Chris, you know we still love you), and bureaucrats where they further the police state or work to conceal malfeasance.
Alternatively, you would have been entirely correct saying simply "Cops are not your friends," and leaving it at that. One should not behave as though police have one's best interests at heart and should at all times be careful and guarded when interacting with them for a variety of valid reasons we don't need to elaborate on now. However, taking it to the next step and label all cops as enemies (whatever that means), you lose me.
Lawdog isn't an enemy. Matt G isn't an enemy. My close friend with whom I ride along with periodically isn't an enemy, nor is his brother. Hell, for that matter some random cop I don't know who truly serves and protects isn't an enemy. The only cops who are
my enemy (each to varying degrees) are the ones who are either criminals, protective of criminals or supportive of an increased police state. That number is much smaller than I used to think it was.
I know, I know, "But I'm not talking about individuals!!!" Except when you say "Cops are the enemy," you kind of are. When someone labels Christians as enemies because they didn't like Westboro Baptist nutters, they are on equally bad footing. Moreover, you (and others here such as BMoZ in this very thread) have more than once averred that all or most cops are bad cops.
Besides, I'm usually commenting on particular stories, about cops getting away with rape or assault or murder. Speaking on those particular cops requires no nuance, they're criminals and should be punished as such.
When your comments are limited to guilty cops and those who protect them, sure. However, it isn't exactly rare that criticism of a lone scumbag cop becomes general criticism of everyone in the profession. Finally, you tend to treat any accusation of impropriety as the same thing as guilt when the accused is a cop.
