Picture from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/enforcing-the-law-is-inherently-violent/488828/
Law enforcement rips breastfeeding babies from their mothers and separates families. We suddenly seem to be woke now about that. Think about that the next time you say "there ought to be a law". Check out this excerpt from an article in The Atlantic at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/enforcing-the-law-is-inherently-violent/488828/:
"Law professors and lawyers instinctively shy away from considering the problem of law’s violence. Every law is violent. We try not to think about this, but we should. On the first day of law school, I tell my Contracts students never to argue for invoking the power of law except in a cause for which they are willing to kill. They are suitably astonished, and often annoyed. But I point out that even a breach of contract requires a judicial remedy; and if the breacher will not pay damages, the sheriff will sequester his house and goods; and if he resists the forced sale of his property, the sheriff might have to shoot him.
This is by no means an argument against having laws.
It is an argument for a degree of humility as we choose which of the many things we may not like to make illegal. Behind every exercise of law stands the sheriff – or the SWAT team – or if necessary the National Guard. Is this an exaggeration? Ask the family of Eric Garner, who died as a result of a decision to crack down on the sale of untaxed cigarettes. That’s the crime for which he was being arrested. Yes, yes, the police were the proximate cause of his death, but the crackdown was a political decree.
The statute or regulation we like best carries the same risk that some violator will die at the hands of a law enforcement officer who will go too far. And whether that officer acts out of overzealousness, recklessness, or simply the need to make a fast choice to do the job right, the violence inherent in law will be on display. This seems to me the fundamental problem that none of us who do law for a living want to face.
But all of us should."
Link to article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/enforcing-the-law-is-inherently-violent/488828/
Click GIF pic below to follow me, @touchman. Thanks for this GIF, @son-of-satire and @shenanigator.
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/enforcing-the-law-is-inherently-violent/488828/
Thank you. I already referenced that in my post.
Congratulations! This post has been awarded a 100% upvote by @lottobot! This post was the winner of lottery #1906, which had a total of 1 entries. @lottobot always has a lottery going on! If you would like to nominate a post for the current lottery, just send 0.1 SBD or STEEM to @lottobot, and include the url of the post you would like to nominate as a memo. Learn more by reading the introductory post! Good luck!
Congratulations @touchman! You have completed the following achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCongratulations @touchman! You have completed the following achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPDo not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
SteemitBoard and the Veterans on Steemit - The First Community Badge.