Role of Law
If American Democracy Collapsed, You Almost Certainly Wouldn’t Notice It
Working from these two points—democracy is a pattern of behavior, and laws only constrain if people behave as if they are constrained—it follows that we would be correct to say that democracy has collapsed if the explicit or implicit patterns of behavior that govern access to political authority no longer operated. And we would not look to the passage of a law, or necessarily even the outcome of an election, to determine if democracy had collapsed.
emocracy, in fact, makes it particularly challenging to know if democracy has collapsed. That is because when democracy functions, challenges to it are usually hidden, and when they emerge in the open, they are processed through a system that presumes that challenges can be handled democratically. Political actors invoke laws and Constitutions as if they were binding constraints. Stresses that pose questions about the stability of the regime over time, therefore, are fundamentally ambiguous. They may be regime-altering, or not. And the responses to them by those who hold power may be regime-altering. Or not.
And that is why, if American democracy were to collapse, you almost certainly wouldn’t notice it. Not right away, at least.
Dimitri Tsafendas – Exposing a Great Lie in South African History – ROAPE
In the South African House of Assembly, on 6 September 1966, Dimitri Tsafendas knifed to death Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. Shortly after, Tsafendas was declared to be a schizophrenic who had no political motive for assassinating Verwoerd. Declared unfit to stand trial, Tsafendas went down in the history books as a deranged murderer. Harris Dousemetzis exposes one of the great lies in South African history and shows that Tsafendas was an extraordinary man, with deeply held communist and anti-racist politics.
Why Did Women Vote for Hitler? Long-Forgotten Essays Hold Some Answers
Dissatisfaction with the attitudes of the Weimar era, the period between the end of World War I and Hitler’s rise to power, is clear in the women’s writing. Most of the essay writers express distaste with some aspect of the political system. One calls women’s voting rights “a disadvantage for Germany,” while another describes the political climate as “haywire,” and “everyone was everyone’s enemy.”
Remembering Attica
On the eve of what would become the US’s�most famous prison uprising, the inmates of Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York endured�deplorable�conditions. Their infections went untreated, their teeth fell out due to negligible dental care — they even lacked adequate access to soap and toilet paper.
On September 9, 1971, these pent-up�grievances simmered over when roughly�1,300 inmates took over the prison. For four days they were effectively in charge. They made demands on�the state (better medical care, fewer limits on their�freedom of expression, immunity from prosecution for rebelling), negotiated with mediators brought in at their behest (including, briefly, Black Panther leader Bobby Seale), and generally asserted their worth as�human beings.
But whatever the prisoners�gained in those few days was quickly pulverized�by the brute force of the state. Seeking dignity, they instead unleashed the wrath of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller.
NPR
Researchers say police should not be using tear gas or pepper spray against protesters: They make people cough droplets and damage the airways in ways that will make people sicker from COVID-19.
The NYPD Has Its Own Scandinavian Welfare State | The Indypendent
"Starting annual pay for an NYPD officer is only $42,000 but it quickly soars to $85,000 after five and a half years on the force. With abundant opportunities for overtime, that can boost annual pay to over $100,000 per year. Higher-ranking members of the force fare even better. Officers also qualify for full medical coverage, full prescription, vision and dental coverage, unlimited sick pay and 26 days of paid vacation per year.But it’s the pension plan that provides the golden handcuffs that bind any would-be rebel to his or her job. NYPD officers can retire after 22 years on the force and receive half their annual pay every year for the rest of their lives. The pension formula is based in part on average pay during the final three or five years on the force when an officer will try to rack up as muchovertime as they can get.Mass protest movements like Occupy and Black Lives Matter annoy the fuck out of cops — the long hours, the disrespect from many demonstrators, their refusal to follow orders or be in awe of authority. But truth be told, mass protest movements are also a windfall for police officers in the final stages of their careers.As Joe Biden would say, here’s the deal. Most NYPD officers retire in their mid-40s. If they live to be 80, they will collect close to $2 million in pension payments on top of the roughly $2 million they earn during their active-duty years. That’s $3.5 to $4 million in lifetime earnings, plus all the non-cash benefits for 22 years of work. For the white-shirted commanders who love to throw protesters around like rag dolls, it’s far more.Would you make the trade-off? Twenty-two of the best years of your life spent as a cop in return for a lifetime of economic security? For many, the terms are irresistible. In 2019, the NYPD had 36,038 active officers on payroll plus another 53,441 retirees and beneficiaries.Think of it as affirmative action for bullies; a Scandanavian-style welfare state for a warrior caste deeply committed to its mission — suppressing the lower classes to keep the city safe and profitable for market-rate real estate and its occupants."