… but it’s just a few bad apples. Most cops are very fine people.
Edit: /s Jesus
I was hopeful the two separate clues - “just a few bad apples” plus “very fine people on both sides” would be a banger. Maybe it was just too good.
Nah it’s because there are people who actually believe that shit so it’s hard to gauge sarcasm.
It’s a lot like how people make jokes about landlords. A lot of the people are being sarcastic but there’s enough of them that are serious that you can’t really tell the difference.
The original intent of that metaphor is correct in your use, but it’s rarely recognized. It began as “a rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor.” Over time, it became “one bad apple ruins the bunch.” Now it’s used as just “one bad apple” to infer minimal or selective corruption, completely discrediting the point of the analogy.
It’s also worth noting the implication of the full phrase. If you remove the bad apples quickly enough, then you can save the rest. If you can remove the corrupt elements, then you can protect the group overall. If you leave them to fester then you’ll have a lot more cutting required to clean up.
It’s kind of ironic that you had to add the /s since most people never think to finish the adage.
A few bad apples spoil the bunch
But you’re not wrong. It’s a sampling bias.
I only know like 2 dozen cops. One’s an absolute blowhard, but the rest are decent people. I don’t expect them all to be nice, because I’ve seen reports on TV otherwise; it’d be foolish.
The cherry-picking starts with US newsmedia. I’m glad our cops are different, at least.
Can we take a second to appreciate that those hands were drawn very well? Like, most times I draw a hand, it just ends up looking like a stupid blob, but this poster has gotten the shape and proportions pretty decently. And not just once, but twice. Good.
Even worse. The police has both the authority and the budget to:
- Test candidates before they hire them as cops.
- Train their cops.
- Discipline the violent cops.
Protest organizers can’t do these things. Anyone who wants to join the protest just needs to arrive at the appointed time and place, and if they behave badly - the ones allowed to punish them are not the protest organizers but the police.
And, whats more, is that if your in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas, the protest organizer, too, gets punished for the bad behavior of others.
Its even more true when the most violent in a protest are working with the cops or are cops themselves.
It’s interesting how much in this thread aligns with what people on the right say about Jan 6.
i support this sign and its artist but someone needs to teach them forearm anatomy they kind of said
