| >It has a constitution and an elected legislature, so it's definitely not an "authoritarian state" I probably should have used the word "totalitarian". Yes, MA is a representative (some groups being much better represented than others) democracy. It still carries out the will of "the people" with an iron fist though. The people and government of MA basically worship government authority as though it is some inherent force of good in the world. When the government is doing something wrong the socially acceptable thing to do in MA is to bend over and take it. In other, less authoritarian, places it's socially acceptable to disobey the government or at least walk the line by complying with the letter instead of the intent. And by socially acceptable I mean that even the people working for the state will exercise discretion. It's kind of hard to convey in an internet comment but the people of MA kind of treat the government like people used to treat the church 200yr ago. I got chastised by a couple of my coworkers for replacing my own damn water heater (one of the state's more asinine laws is that all plumbing requires a licensed plumber), not because "OMG, it could leak" but because I disobeyed the law. I find that kind of religious devotion to the authority of the state even when it is nonsensical to be very disagreeable. >It has one of the lowest rates of police violence in the country The cops are too busy meddling in matters of economic interest to them. Also it's a fairly left state and the police aren't idiots so they know they can't get away with rampant violence. It definitively could be worse. That doesn't mean the current situation is in any way satisfactory. >I don't understand the quip about the cops either The state police has tons of influence at all levels of government so the government given a choice between something that's good for the people vs good for the police will side with the police. The only time they typically don't is when the trade-off is between the government in general vs the police. MA judged are very much known for reading political pros and cons between the letters of the law. This is is a longstanding gripe many people have. That a MA judge read the law and interpreted it to deny power to the police is an unexpected outcome. |