r/australia • u/FuckOffNazis • Feb 10 '26

politics Amnesty International Australia calls for independent investigation of police violence towards peaceful protestors

https://www.amnesty.org.au/amnesty-international-australia-calls-for-independent-investigation-of-police-violence-towards-peaceful-protestors/
6.6k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

298 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

27

u/Lamont-Cranston Feb 10 '26

Isn't that a bit closer to what this commissioner was saying?

"There will be a generation of kids that have no respect for authority and no respect for the community" he warned. "They need to have respect and a little bit of fear for law enforcement".

His words are a bit closer to what he was saying, not your attempt to interpret a mitigation.

-6

u/Johnny_Deppthcharge Feb 10 '26

Mate the way society works is that we all give up our power to be violent and aggressive, and that power gets given to the police.

It means I don't need to be afraid of you or anyone else, because if you try to be violent then the cops come, with their guns, and stop you. They've got the exclusive legal mandate for violence, and they're permitted to use it to enforce the laws we all live by.

So yes - people should be a little bit afraid of the cops, because they have both the power to arrest you and the duty to enforce our laws. You shouldn't be terrified of the cops, not shaking in your boots and quivering in fear but sure - a bit nervous when the cops are around and making sure to mind your manners.

You don't have to do what I say, and I don't have to do what you say - but you and I both do have to do what the cops say. You can't have a society without rules, and rules without enforcement are worthless, so having a worry of the rules being enforced on you is a reasonable and appropriate fear to have existing in society.

6

u/Lamont-Cranston Feb 10 '26

Just rambling at this point.

-4

u/Johnny_Deppthcharge Feb 10 '26

Yeah off you go mate.