benjamin melançon
boosted
In my opinion there is no legitimate 'monopoly on violence'— each person/group and action needs to be evaluated on its own merits. But if media organizations are going to give official representatives of government an implicit aura of legitimacy, that has to be reserved for agents of the state that put some minimal effort into looking and acting the part. Secret police in rented or stolen cars wearing full face masks and off-rack camouflage, vests, or sweatshirts cannot be allowed to claim the supposed legitimacy of "law and order" while violating Constitutional rights, basic traffic laws, and any sense of human decency. (And yeah, police do all those things, but at least they look the part of government agents!)
