> I remembered the police arent here to protect the vulnerable, they are here to protect freedom of speech.
The police, like every entrenched power structure, are "there to" serve their own interests. Sometimes that's expressed in terms of lofty ideals, but it's fundamentally about power relationships - for instance their casually attacking you with an explosive.
If you were someone "important" - politically connected, rich and looking like it, or even just upper-middle but persistent, it's likely they would have responded to your brother's issue with more attention. And if they mistakenly judged you and didn't, you would escalate to their superiors. That dynamic isn't a free pass, but it informally goes a long way.
My point was this attention could very well shift to putting a priority on policing online threats, perhaps even to the detriment of investigating physical crime.
Well put, and as you say theres a tradeoff somewhere in what they can pay attention to. I dont deny that and i also dont really know how they "should" be handling things. Its just pretty bizarre when you and your friends have no expectation of privacy, the police have palantir, and the munitions are for defending nazis.
Strangely enough am family friends with the person likely to become chief. I doubt ill ever raise the issue because i dont think he would be able to have any positive effect without losing the position.
> I remembered the police arent here to protect the vulnerable, they are here to protect freedom of speech.
The police, like every entrenched power structure, are "there to" serve their own interests. Sometimes that's expressed in terms of lofty ideals, but it's fundamentally about power relationships - for instance their casually attacking you with an explosive.
If you were someone "important" - politically connected, rich and looking like it, or even just upper-middle but persistent, it's likely they would have responded to your brother's issue with more attention. And if they mistakenly judged you and didn't, you would escalate to their superiors. That dynamic isn't a free pass, but it informally goes a long way.
My point was this attention could very well shift to putting a priority on policing online threats, perhaps even to the detriment of investigating physical crime.