The Supermarché of State Violence: Protecting Property and Serving Power

Language philosopher Bry Willis examines the linguistic mystification of state power, arguing that the police motto "To Protect and Serve" functions as a deceptive branding tool rather than a literal promise of public safety. By employing a parable of desert and lake-dwellers, the author illustrates how the law prioritises the protection of property and hierarchy over the well-being of individuals. This inherent ambiguity allows the state to mask enforcement and violence as benevolent service, convincing even the marginalised that the mechanisms of their own oppression are necessary for "law and order". Ultimately, the source suggests that modern policing is a supermarché of violence, where the aesthetic of care hides a primary function of upholding capital and suppressing resistance.👉 https://philosophics.blog/2026/03/02/comrade-claude-11-lapd-protect-and-serve/