[mindslight]

I think people who "hold the truncheon" should be intelligent enough to appreciate humor, yes.

FWIW framing things as if officers' job is to perform violence on behalf of the state is a big part of the problem. The state's monopoly on violence should be in the hands of the courts, and not individual officers doling out punishment. Police officers should be seen as citizens getting paid to do a good job at something that any other citizen could do if so inclined.

[ch4s3]

> The state's monopoly on violence should be in the hands of the courts, and not individual officers doling out punishment

I would generally agree, but at the end of the day any state prohibition must eventually be enforced by some level of violence or more mildly, coercive force.

One could write several books about the nonviolent crimes US police have killed people enforcing. And this is my point. The arm of the state must be reigned in somewhere.

[mindslight]

We're definitely in agreement that the arm of the state must be reigned in somehow. I'm just saying that most violence done by police is not de jure state violence backed up by any legal order, but rather personal decisions on their part for which they should be held personally accountable.