# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=46 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 47 --- ## [What is the definition of "Good Cop"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-definition-of-good-cop/921159)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-definition-of-good-cop/921159 "2020-09-24T19:43:37Z")
We have had many discussion on this board, on the internet and in real life about police activity and whether good cops should be lumped together with bad cops. But what is a “good cop”? Is it someone who doesn’t acti… --- ## [Do gender differences in indecent exposure laws violate the Equal Protection clause?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gender-differences-in-indecent-exposure-laws-violate-the-equal-protection-clause/921271)
**Author:** [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gender-differences-in-indecent-exposure-laws-violate-the-equal-protection-clause/921271 "2020-09-24T03:44:31Z")
Pantastic posted something interesting, Until today, I had never even wondered whether indecent exposure laws that differentiate on the basis of sex might violate the equal protection clause. But now I am wondering. U… --- ## [Civil unrest post-election?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-unrest-post-election/920804)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-unrest-post-election/920804 "2020-09-22T02:52:11Z")
Trump is strongly implying, insofar as it is possible to make sense of what he says, that a Biden victory will inflame things, will embolden the protesters by validating them. I think it would, rather, satisfy them – th… --- ## [The Holocaust, its Causes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holocaust-its-causes/920769)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holocaust-its-causes/920769 "2020-09-22T02:38:10Z")
The general theory of the cause of the Holocaust has been that Hitler was not a very nice man. He felt the same antisemitism common among Europeans of his age, but he felt it much more deeply. The Holocaust was therefor … --- ## [Justice R.B. Ginsburg dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-r-b-ginsburg-dies/920969)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-r-b-ginsburg-dies/920969 "2020-09-22T02:34:49Z")
This is not a debate or retrospective on her record or legacy. It is about the only important question right now: Who replaces her, and when, and on whose appointment? We are, after all, on the eve of a presidential el… --- ## [Is there any reason face clothing is more difficult to police than other clothing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-face-clothing-is-more-difficult-to-police-than-other-clothing/920450)
**Author:** [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-face-clothing-is-more-difficult-to-police-than-other-clothing/920450 "2020-09-21T20:42:48Z")
One thing that I’ve heard often from authorities during the COVID era is that they can’t police mask wearing. Schools state that they can’t possibly enforce something like that, lawmakers and some LEOs argue that it’s a … --- ## [Internet: blessing or curse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-blessing-or-curse/920913)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-blessing-or-curse/920913 "2020-09-21T18:50:35Z")
OK, I’m no Luddite; I’m a web developer, and early on I’ve been amazed and fascinated by the awesome power and potential of the internet. Basically having almost the entire collected knowledge of humanity at one’s finger… --- ## [Is Antifa a thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-antifa-a-thing/855309)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 122\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2020, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-antifa-a-thing/855309 "2020-09-21T06:21:45Z")
I’ve seen a lot in the news, one way or another, that Antifa is (or isn’t) involved in hijacking some of the recent protest. I’ve also heard that there IS no real Antifa group, i.e. no organized group. Then there is th… --- ## [More climate-change denialism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-climate-change-denialism/920958)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-climate-change-denialism/920958 "2020-09-20T22:37:07Z")
My brother, who has at least an engineer’s scientific literacy and claims to have studied the subject in depth, insists fiercely that anthropogenic climate change is not, after all, settled science, because: Satellite … --- ## [Is meritocracy overrated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-meritocracy-overrated/817385)
**Author:** [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Replies:** 295\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-meritocracy-overrated/817385 "2020-09-19T21:23:08Z")
There once was a time when meritocracy was seen as a vehicle for overturning racism and the advantages of a privileged background. Now it is seen as a mechanism to maintain the racial disparity in the status quo and p… --- ## [Identity, politics, and the in-fighting of the left](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-and-the-in-fighting-of-the-left/843199)
**Author:** [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Replies:** 626\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-and-the-in-fighting-of-the-left/843199 "2020-09-18T23:27:14Z")
Identity, in one way or another, has been at the center (or at least, the shadowy background) of politics in recent years. In Germany, we have the ‘Identitäre Bewegung’ (identitary movement), a far-right extremist group;… --- ## [We have met the enemy and s/he is us: "good white people"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-met-the-enemy-and-s-he-is-us-good-white-people/917012)
**Author:** [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Replies:** 185\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-met-the-enemy-and-s-he-is-us-good-white-people/917012 "2020-09-18T03:11:13Z")
Interesting editorial on CNN with which I largely agree: White liberals' dangerous hypocrisy on race | CNN The gist is that while white social liberals (of which I am decidedly one) talk a good game, when it comes time … --- ## [Russia has invaded Ukraine. How will the West respond?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-has-invaded-ukraine-how-will-the-west-respond/682513)
**Author:** [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Replies:** 3839\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-has-invaded-ukraine-how-will-the-west-respond/682513 "2020-09-17T19:53:38Z")
It appears that a Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically the Crimea, is ongoing, or at least the Ukrainian Interior Ministry thinks so, and the Russian Parliament is readying laws to incorporate new territory into the… --- ## [Assuming Trump goes, what happens to his movement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-trump-goes-what-happens-to-his-movement/920531)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-trump-goes-what-happens-to-his-movement/920531 "2020-09-17T17:16:28Z")
Is there anything of the redhats that could survive, as a movement, without his leadership? Or would they lose political coherence, and dissolve into the general mass of non-activist Republican voters? If they survived… --- ## [Mobile (cell) phones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144)
**Author:** [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144 "2020-09-16T23:30:30Z")
Have they been overall, an advantage or or a disadvantage to the well-being of humanity? --- ## [Why do we have to put up with Religious People?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-put-up-with-religious-people/917474)
**Author:** [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Replies:** 817\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-put-up-with-religious-people/917474 "2020-09-16T23:21:11Z")
As an Atheist, I’m getting a little tired of the “there is magic giant in the sky” crowd. Some of them are very nice people, do charity work, etc. Some enjoy a sense of community through their religion, perhaps find a … --- ## [Cause of the wildfires out west?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cause-of-the-wildfires-out-west/920516)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cause-of-the-wildfires-out-west/920516 "2020-09-16T15:54:35Z")
Everybody (including Governor Newsom) seems to assume it’s a matter of climate-change-induced drought. But my brother insists it’s because all the affected states, some years ago, bowed down to environmentalists and dis… --- ## ["A well-ordered militia being necessary to the security of a free state . . ."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-well-ordered-militia-being-necessary-to-the-security-of-a-free-state/920326)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-well-ordered-militia-being-necessary-to-the-security-of-a-free-state/920326 "2020-09-16T14:15:54Z")
But, no, it isn’t. Militia, in the 18th-Century sense – a nonprofessional volunteer force, as distinct from a National Guard of part-time professional soldiers – has played no role in any American conflict since the Spa… --- ## [DirecTV, AT&T etc](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directv-at-t-etc/917017)
**Author:** [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directv-at-t-etc/917017 "2020-09-15T20:26:15Z")
Some months ago Mrs. L and I toyed with the idea of getting rid of it. We started on it when Costco had a 2 year deal and it was all well and good. That finished, prices shot up, and we started considering Sling, Hulu,… --- ## [Is American exceptionalism actually right? Is the U.S. the most important country in the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-exceptionalism-actually-right-is-the-u-s-the-most-important-country-in-the-world/920142)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-exceptionalism-actually-right-is-the-u-s-the-most-important-country-in-the-world/920142 "2020-09-11T22:36:05Z")
I’ve read quite a few people imply or outright say that without the United States, no concerted global effort to mitigate climate change will work. Someone described the “It Could Happen Here” podcast as speculating that… --- ## [Did the North not create their own statues?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-north-not-create-their-own-statues/919066)
**Author:** [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-north-not-create-their-own-statues/919066 "2020-09-11T21:55:59Z")
We have had many discussions about taking down statues and monuments to the heroes of the confederacy. My question is why didnt the people of the north make a huge mountain carving to Union heroes like Grant, Sherman, M… --- ## [If there was a new cold war between China and the US, who would be on what side?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-a-new-cold-war-between-china-and-the-us-who-would-be-on-what-side/916505)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-a-new-cold-war-between-china-and-the-us-who-would-be-on-what-side/916505 "2020-09-11T14:30:39Z")
This is a pure speculation thread, though honestly I think we are on the brink of a new cold war right now, personally. That is probably not a popular or agreed upon conclusion though, so for the purpose of this thread … --- ## [Do people have a (moral) right to remain neutral?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-have-a-moral-right-to-remain-neutral/919549)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-have-a-moral-right-to-remain-neutral/919549 "2020-09-11T13:18:49Z")
There are a number of situations where people cannot abide someone’s neutrality and want to enforce them to take a stance - for instance, the BLM demonstrators who were demanding that a woman at a restaurant raise her fi… --- ## [Stand Up Comics and Cancel Culture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-and-cancel-culture/917271)
**Author:** [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Replies:** 194\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-and-cancel-culture/917271 "2020-09-11T08:44:10Z")
It seems to me, a certain amount of stand up comics are pushing back against the whole political correctness thing. That’s what they do after all, make fun of people’s foibles. Sometimes those foibles are race/sex/relig… --- ## [Changing names, removing statues while avoiding 1984-ism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-names-removing-statues-while-avoiding-1984-ism/912444)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 233\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2020, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-names-removing-statues-while-avoiding-1984-ism/912444 "2020-09-11T07:44:49Z")
Right now, product names like Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, Eskimo Pie, Mrs. Butterworth’s, Cream of Wheat, the Native American woman on Land O’Lakes butter are being changed, and statues of various Confederate leaders are bei… --- ## [Are we lying to ourselves about education?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-lying-to-ourselves-about-education/847819)
**Author:** [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Replies:** 98\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-lying-to-ourselves-about-education/847819 "2020-09-10T15:54:03Z")
When I think of education, specifically US K-12 education, both public and private, I think of kids learning things. With a school being defined as an institution for the teaching of children, this seems natural. I think… --- ## [Certificate of Degree of Indian or Native Alaskan Blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certificate-of-degree-of-indian-or-native-alaskan-blood/919025)
**Author:** [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certificate-of-degree-of-indian-or-native-alaskan-blood/919025 "2020-09-10T14:41:50Z")
Is the United States Certificate of Degree of Indian or Native Alaskan Blood inherently racist? --- ## ["There's only been five years of peace in American history, 1976-1980"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-only-been-five-years-of-peace-in-american-history-1976-1980/919868)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-only-been-five-years-of-peace-in-american-history-1976-1980/919868 "2020-09-07T17:19:46Z")
I’ve been seeing this quote a lot now for some reason from Jimmy Carter. The only US president to complete his term without war, military attack or occupation has called the United States “the most warlike nation in th… --- ## [How the Police See Themselves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-police-see-themselves/919317)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-police-see-themselves/919317 "2020-09-06T14:38:14Z")
I read this article with some curiosity. The majority of police I know personally are very hardworking and decent people. They consider themselves fair. They would acknowledge there are difficulties but feel misunders… --- ## [Why No Violence in Detroit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-violence-in-detroit/919937)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-violence-in-detroit/919937 "2020-09-06T14:11:19Z")
As many of you may or may not know, I live in Detroit, MI. And we certainly have had protests about police misconduct. But no violence thus far. What is Detroit’s secret? And what can other cities learn from us? … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=47)