The End of Policing

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If your ideology is left-wing, you will enjoy this book. If you're on the right, you won't. However even if you know going in, you won't like it - and I did - I consider it worth reading. With respect to the rating I gave it 4 stars not because I enjoyed it but because the writing is smooth and the author articulate.

What I wanted was to understand the worldview of those individuals who are on the extreme left of the political spectrum. How do they view the world? What do they consider 'normal'? It seems to me, the polarization in North America today runs deeper than politics. It seems not only cultural but psychological as well. There are fundamental differences in how individuals see the world.

As I said, I didn't like the book. This author and I disagree on just about everything. In fact the only thing we agreed on was the idea police should be removed from schools. Even then, I think they should be replaced by restoring disciplinary powers to teachers thereby removing the need for officers. If teachers could mete out corporal punishment without parental repercussions, children would behave better, respect authority, learn a sense of decorum, and focus on learning. As a result, society would be better off. This isn't going to happen of course and we will continue to see massive polarization and the rise of violence. Mr. Vitale on the other hand thinks police should be removed because in his eyes, chaos, disruption, and a complete breakdown of discipline within the school setting is totally acceptable.

I think the following is a good example of where his values and mine are utterly incompatible. In discussing protests he argues, "The right to protest cannot be abridged because of the threat of illegal activity or even the commission of violence nearby." In short, anarchy supersedes the law.
This is a crystal clear line between left and right which cannot be bridged.

As I suggested at the beginning, even if your politics are on the right it's worthwhile reading this book. It's important to know your enemy.



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