Reply #387: I once read a passage by Sartre about a certain mentality, whereby

[Joe Chi Minh]

a certain type of individual will seek a job which gives him far too much authority. They are really hooked on having power over others. Of course, such people tend to gravitate towards the police, prison service, etc. Not, of course, that they don't also have many good people.

I got the idea some time ago, though, that they were somewhat more than well-represented in the US, in such services, and certainly the last 7 years won't have much to deter those types. The far right wing, as ever, tends to bring out the worst in those it can reach.