[cptcobalt]

Yes, this, exactly. Two different people who bullied me in high school aggressively (for my sexuality and general nerdery) have gone on to be cops—they were the type to post pictures of themselves on Facebook shooting guns.

I would run from them without hesitation if they ever pulled me over. They're not the right type to be cops. And I'm relatively confident that many, many cops are like them. It's chilling.

[Volundr]

I spent several years as a security guard, so I've interacted with cops on the regular both when they are on duty and moonlighting as security guards themselves and all I can do is validate this perspective.

Yes there were the cops who really did believe in/want to protect people. This was possibly even most of them. Then there were the cops who were downright scary. Talking about want to drag people into the street and beat them up. Or idolizing Jason Statham in the transformer movies as some kind of "supercop" (their words). Or the guy who refused to tell the teenagers skateboarding in the parking garage they had to leave because he wasn't allowed his gun. A gun, seriously, to confront a few tell a few teenagers with skateboards to leave.

Should I ever have to interact with the cops again it honestly scares me which of these groups I'll get.

[LordKano]

In my opinion, there are 3 types of people who get into law enforcement. 1. People who legitimately want to serve and protect their communities. 2. People who want a steady government paycheck and benefits. 3. People who have a psychological need to be in control of other people.

[LordKano]

I post pictures on Facebook of myself and my children shooting guns.

I had one high school classmate who wanted to become a cop. He was a runt who discovered weightlifting and steroids. The thing that kept him from becoming a cop was that he got caught stealing from vending machines when we were teenagers.

It's fantastic that he didn't get to carry a badge and gun.

[cptcobalt]

Yeah! I totally don't mean to cast such a wide net, but I think it was part of the character I saw in them as someone abused by them.

I'm personally not much of a gun person myself, but I've been to a range a few times with friends, so gun ownership & use is not a "one and done" indicator by any means, but it's a concerning sign when correlated with various other negative personality ticks.

[moistly]

The difference between people who have guns as a sports tool, and those that have guns as an expression of their personal identity. Hunters & trap shooters, versus ammosexuals.

[LordKano]

I'm probably one of those people that you hold in contempt. There are more guns than there are fingers in my house.

I am unabashedly pro gun. I have testified at hearings on behalf of gun owners.

Still, the point I'm making here is that there is something especially troubling about those cops who see themselves as the protagonist from an 80s action movie.