2012-08-23 14:31:00.905409+00 by meuon 3 comments
comments in descending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2012-08-24 16:11:45.819651+00 by: petronius
Basically, all displays of authority are a sort of psychological jiu-jitsu. When the populace believes in your authority, you have it. I remember my father's comment about my brother-in-law, a Chicago cop: He has the ability to make an instantaneous decision based on no information whatsoever. He did not mean this in any good way, but I can see where it would work for a cop.
It also works at a national level. Why didn't any of his underlings just shoot Stalin? Being in Koba's sight sat any level was fiendishly dangerous, so why not?
#Comment Re: made: 2012-08-23 18:50:35.013376+00 by: Dan Lyke
Holy crap, the section up to the paragraph that contains:
... The absence of principled use of force at the checkpoint undermines the possibility of authority. As efficacious as the soldier at the checkpoint might be, Palestinians will never see him as powerful. ...
is absolutely essential reading for people looking at power dynamics, punishment, conformance, and depersonalization. The notion that we aren't shamed by others that we have ceased to see as part of humanity, who have debased themselves by their actions to only have violent authority, not moral authority, is very well communicated there.
Fantastic find!
#Comment Re: made: 2012-08-23 14:59:39.950923+00 by: Dan Lyke
I'm half-way through and: Wow, this is a must read, especially when we think about policing and "DUI" checkpoints.