the following was written as the first comment in lieu of the automatic tip jar to the resposting of a diary from March 31, 2010, about the lack of accountability, in that case of the Roman Catholic Church. My thoughts in that diary seemed applicable to the similar institutional protectionism we are seeing among police departments.
When I began the comment, I had no idea how long it would be. I am reposting it as a separate diary just so those who might not read it in the thread on the diary to which it was originally appended have an additional opportunity to consider it. Then you can tell me I am a total blowhard and ought to forget about blogging in the future.
My immediate reason for posting this was reading Ferguson "White Construction Worker" Harassed As Drug Dealer, where the police were doing their best to discredit/intimidate any potential witness who represented a threat to Darren Wilson. That is "the blue wall of silence" in action, and simply put it is wrong.
As a public school teacher I am accountable/responsible for my actions. First and foremost I am accountable to myself, to my own high standards. I am then accountable to my students and their parents, to respect them sometimes even when they do not respect themselves. I am of course accountable under rules and laws established in my school, my school district, my local government, the state in which I teach, and the Federal government. I would no more cover up for a teacher who abused a student than I would abuse a student myself.
It is said to think the the code of the tribe against the world - which is what the blue wall of silence represents - remains so prevalent among so many in law enforcement.
And yet, as the diary I just reposted and to which this is attached hopefully demonstrates, that occurs in the broader context of how wide-spread similar attitude are across our society. Think of the idea that well connected people have "suffered enough" so we should not prosecute them as we would the ordinary folk. Think of the notion that we have to keep paying bonuses to Wall Street types with money intended to bail out the economy as a whole because otherwise the banks paying the bonuses might not be able to retain the services of traders who oh by the way helped create the financial crisis in the first place. And yes, think of how the CIA has managed to avoid accountability because as a defense they were following "legal advise" that was phony, that they were therefore following "legitimate" orders. Baloney. Only a person who lacks a moral compass would fail to recognize that torture is repugnant, and can never be justified. That the leadership of this administration has refused to hold some in the intelligence community accountable, that it refused to draw the line on past offenses, not only makes it more likely similar offenses will occur in the future, it also contributes to the mindset in which a blue wall of silence operates.
I'm not sure anything I say in this posting makes any difference, ore represents any original thought, but I felt obligated to offer it, as half-baked as my thinking might be.