The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by wave46

The problem with the blurring of the line between the military and police is that they're fundamentally misused with very negative effects.

The United States spent a good portion of the Iraq War using their military as a police force to restore order in Iraq. The military's purpose is to destroy the enemy through the use of force, not the administration of laws. A military can fight the enemy quite effectively, but it has very limited capacity to enforce order and law on domestic citizens.

The problem with the police adopting military-style tactics is that military tactics involve the 'enemy'. When the police become the military, the people become the enemy. That's not something you want in a democratic society.

Go on any military forum. You'll find plenty of concern about militarization. It's not so much the blurring of the line as the lack of training and accountability.

If deployed troops did some of what cops do, it would be instant charge and courts marital. The military standard of conduct is high. Rightfully so. So you'll see plenty of concern that cops in the US are getting kit that is usually reserved for military forces with none of the requisite training, force discipline and accountability.

Originally Posted by wave46

There's a damn good reason why there is distinct lines between the roles of the military and their use in free societies. One the military becomes a political entity that is unresponsive to civilian control, you're headed the way of many broken countries.

The most fascinating thing to watch for me personally is watching how the US Armed Forces as an institution react. On one hand a President who wants an American Tiananmen Square. On the other, National Guardsmen refusing their orders to activate and deploy in several states. And whole Chain of Command being oddly passive-aggressive with their Commander-in-Chief while doing everything to avoid an erosion of public trust in the institution.

Should be noted that in Canada, we have no legal limitations on the deployment of military force at home. And we have much more routine cooperation with police forces throughout the country. But we, thankfully, don't have a political system which would have a single megalomaniac elected in charge of us. I'm so much more grateful for our constitutional monarchy after watching what our southern neighbours go through.