The Use of Force

We’re in the midst of a national debate about the proper use of force by the state and by individuals. It all overlaps so nicely. Sometimes, I wish I was teaching political theory again.

There’s the CIA torture techniques. Hummus up the butt! Surprising stats on American approval of torture techniques.

There’s the huge discussion of appropriate use of police force, especially against minorities. A friend of mine who teaches at a community college in Manhattan was recently despairing about her students’ conservative attitudes about appropriate police force. My dad who taught at CCNY for many years often said that he was surprised by his students’ views on this subject. He said that they thought that we should return to chain gangs. I once had a student who thought that cosmetics should be tested on prisoners, not bunnies. My dad always thought that minority students were conservative on this issue, because they were ticked off at their neighbors for not working as hard as they did. I’m not sure.

Check out George Will’s surprising column on Garner. He arrives at the same conclusions as liberals, but uses libertarian arguments. “The scandal of mass incarceration is partly produced by the frivolity of the political class, which uses the multiplication of criminal offenses as a form of moral exhibitionism. This, like Eric Garner’s death, is a pebble in the mountain of evidence that American government is increasingly characterized by an ugly and sometimes lethal irresponsibility.”

And then there the rape discussion over incidents at college campuses and by celebrities. Rape is a form of force, as well. It’s different from the other two cases, because it’s force by individuals and not the state. However, the state comes back in when it has to determine and punish inappropriate uses of force.

There is no question that Bill Cosby-style drugging girls is rape, but what about between two students who are loaded from the kegger party? Is consent possible when the woman is drunk? I was surprised by commenters who thought that all drunk sex is non-consentual. If all drunk sex is non-consensual sex, then we’ve got some serious problems. How can a government regulate drunk sex?

Can effective policing occur when police feel hamstrung by regulations? Will police be willing to work in high crime areas, if they are unable to defend themselves against attacks? When does the enforcement of small laws become harassment? How can the state effectively defend itself against foreign terrorists who behead journalists in the desert? How does one remain civilized in an uncivilized world? These are issues that Americans are going to grapple with for some time.