And even the basic fact that there was any sort of colorable mission with a defined goal is a stark difference. Here it's just "this place bad, soldiers make better!"
In a quarter century of working full-time in the music business I've avoided succumbing to drug or alcohol addiction, but goddamn will I ever stay up all night playing XCOM and achieve what I'm pretty sure is roughly the same toll on my aging body
One need only look at the countless videos in the body-cam era of obvious abuses that never even got litigated and extreme/fatal ones that failed to secure conviction or meaningful sentencing.
The problem is that in practice such claims are virtually unwinnable. Between qualified immunity and the acceptance of the very flimsiest justifications (by police) of "feeling endangered," only the most extreme cases get anywhere and often not even those lead to conviction or real consequences.
The blithe acceptance of "that's what you get for pissing off a cop" is absolute cultural poison. No, it's fucking not, because you are not allowed to hurt people just because you're mad, even (especially) if you are in a position of power
The reaction to the viral "don't tase me bro" video always struck me as a canary in this coal mine. It became this universal punch line with no horror/outrage at the fact that the guy being tased was clearly no threat to anyone and it was just allowed to happen
If an officer inflicts physical pain/harm absent immediate danger posed by the person being harmed, it should be treated like any other assault and the officer should be barred for life from serving in law enforcement
One of the absolute most urgent things that we need to change in how our society currently functions is the way we allow police to hurt people just because they feel like it. They do not have a right to punish and we need our legal system to reflect that in practice.
