question about police 
So, if you're someone who sees police as "protectors of society", here's a question for you: has the police ever kept you, personally, safe from harm?
And I mean something very specific here: a situation where they prevented harm through "immediate response", in a way that bystanders or emergency services (ambulance, fire brigade, etc.) could not.
So *not* first aid, prosecution, moral support, or anything like that. But an actual first-responder situation where they were uniquely positioned to do so in a way that others couldn't.
This is mostly a rhetorical question, but also one that I am asking you to consider seriously, and that you can reply to if you have a genuine answer to it.
re: question about police
@lambda I'd consider that just as valid a response!
What I want to illustrate with this question is that there's a huge difference between "the protection that police are claimed to provide" and "what police actually do", and I would say that "how often are they actually needed in the first place" is also an important component of that.
re: question about police
@joepie91 While I don't feel like elaborating, I'm just going to say that I've sat through at least six separate experiences that are all evidence that they will not, under any context, keep me safe from anything.
And I've been of this position since I was about 10 years old. (And I'm very near 40 now, so.)
question about police :boost_requested:
@joepie91 I don't see the police that way (ACAB all the way baby) but yeah, the police have helped me before. Mainly because the police's job is to protect and serve the state's interests, and in this case making sure that businesses are able to run smoothly is one of the state's interests.
Specifically, I was a retail worker and had to call the police on someone who was harassing a coworker and causing a scene
re: question about police
@virgil And did they respond in time to be useful?
re: question about police :boost_requested:
@joepie91 Yes, due to a number of factors. A business called them, so it's not like I was a rando they could just ignore, but I think the biggest factor is that they're small town cops (big city cops and small town cops are different from each other, in both good and bad ways)
question about police 
@joepie91 They arrested me during a depressive episode and locked me in solitary confinement for two days to scare the depression out of me.
question about police :boost_requested:
@joepie91 having never been in a situation where this would have been required, I'm not sure my "no" counts for much.