The Nuremberg Defense.
“They were just following orders.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“It wasn’t my decision.”
“I have to follow the Law.”
“It’s the law.”
All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to say nothing. When I refer to the Nuremberg Defense, I don’t specifically refer to the Nuremberg Trials themselves, but of what the horrors of World War II brought and the larger culture of those who are “just following orders.” In the end, the idea of “just following orders” wasn’t a sufficient excuse for committing atrocities. For those not familiar with the Nuremberg defense, it goes that the Nazi officers who carried out the atrocities of WWII said they didn’t have a choice because they were given orders by a superior officer.
We hear all the time that police officers have a hard time, dealing with enforcing the laws that are in place, often working long hours, dealing with the public who would rather not deal with them and sometimes seeing and responding to some pretty horrific events. On a human level, I can genuinely say that I understand, all of that is pretty rough. It would be hard to walk away from that job without it affecting you at your very core, but in the end, you as the person can choose how you will react. Will you escalate the violence because that’s the easier path and peer pressure is pushing you that way, or will you opt out, and nullify and work to abolish unjust laws.
Every time I see a video of a police officer tasing a kid that’s half their size while the kid is sitting obediently on the curb waiting for instruction, or police officers “mistaking” a cell phone, car keys, or even a goddamn colostomy bag (yes, a colostomy bag, look up that video) for a firearm, my blood boils. Every time someone flippantly says “don’t blame them for doing their job” it makes me involuntarily roll my eyes.
Every individual had autonomy over their mind and their actions. Following orders rather than reviewing and acting on the merits of the situation in front of them is one of the most dangerous things a police officer can do. One of the most dangerous ways the general public has been brainwashed into believing is that the moment someone puts a police uniform on, that person becomes not a person, but an extension of the all-powerful State. It’s dangerous for the public because nothing should be “unquestionable” and its dangerous for the officer, because the officer seemingly doesn’t know how to react when they are questioned and grossly overreacts.
We have voluntary police forces here in the US. Not one police officer was forced against their will to apply and go to police academy to become an officer. Every officer, at any time, can resign and walk away. This is the biggest reason I can’t get behind the “just doing their job” defense. With a little financial planning, any officer who disagrees with what they’re being asked to do can resign.
Any time we accept blindly the orders we or someone else is given, we are complicit in any atrocity that results. The age of digital media makes this abundantly clear when. Movements like Photography Is Not A Crime, The Free Thought Project, and Police The Police have immense power to turn the tide and stop Police overreach.
