Things I would like to know about police violence in the US

[Igel]

7. Why?

It requires a lot of centralization of data and required reporting. It requires, in some sense, for the top guy in DC to have some authority over every single federal, state, county, city, and town employee.

The more centralized the authority, the greater the support for a strong leader, the less likely that authority remains with the population and with local control and the more likely it is that local citizenry will have much say over much of anything.

Given US history, where threats to some groups have been primarily and regionally local while the knights in white have been strangers that say the right things, this makes sense. The outsiders grant you power--typically in exchange for getting the votes or support of those they've helped. Ultimately it's trusting a central authority to be moral and uncorruptible and assuming that those around you are less moral and more antagonistic. It's rooted in what's often a well-founded lack of social trust and capital and institutionalized ill-will.

However, the more central authority there is, the more the motivation to try to control it and manipulate it. The more motivation for lobbyists. For deadlock over life-and-death control of power. The more motivation for those involved to increase their power and the greater their ability to thwart political enemies and pander, to coerce and compel people to do what those in power want or believe.

I just don't see the link between ultra-centralized reporting and democracy. Now, the link between social control and micromanaging, wresting political power and using it as a cudgel by "we the people" against all those other apparently non-people citizens ... That I see.