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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 4, 2023

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I don’t know what squishy means sounds like inconvenient fact to me.

Most of the how to fix policing recommend things like more people from the community or atleast same race but also recommend things like more education. But it’s very tough to hire both qualities in the communities with the most policing issues.

But it’s very tough to hire both qualities in the communities with the most policing issues.

If the requirements are mutually incompatible, it’s worth looking at if they’re both necessary, and at least ‘more education’ is probably a dumb recommendation.

I don’t know what squishy means sounds like inconvenient fact to me.

My meaning was that the comparison breaks down when any pressure is applied. My apologies for the shorthand, I was in a rush. I probably should have just held off. That one's my bad.

Most of the how to fix policing recommend things like more people from the community or atleast same race but also recommend things like more education. But it’s very tough to hire both qualities in the communities with the most policing issues.

How about devolving autonomy down to these local communities? It inherently deals with the first half. Worst case is that these areas end up being horribly dangerous and known as the place you don't go after dark, and the communities around them place extra police presence just across the boarder. That is to say, roughly the same situation as it is today. The best case is that the new cops that were raised in the community can actually make some sort of difference. Seems like mostly upside to me.

I don't buy the education side of this being a problem though. The average IQ in the areas we're talking about is what? 70-75? Because of the Flynn effect, that's roughly what the US as a whole was working with around 1900 or so, and the US, and each of its cities, managed to recruit plenty of competent police officers. Might have to back down from really abstract crimes and focus on the basics like property crime and violent crime, but my guess is that's what these communities need.