Apparently, it's a mystery why Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer abruptly announced his resignation yesterday. Spokesperson Lt. Josh Lawson, told the Courier-Journal he had no information regarding the reason for the resignation.
Could it have anything to do with a high school newspaper's bombshell article that uncovered a Kentucky State Police training guide that quoted Hitler's advice, "the very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence?"
From the Manual Red Eye:
A line from Adolf Hitler's fascist and anti-Semitic manifesto, Mein Kampf, is featured in the slide: "the very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence."
The presentation also links to a Hitler page on Goodreads, a database of quotes and books.
Two other slides quoting Hitler bring his total to three, making him the most quoted person in the presentation.
When Red Eye reporters asked spokesperson Lt. Joshua Lawson to comment on the presentation, Lt. Lawson defended the use of the quotes:
"The quotes are used for their content and relevance to the topic addressed in the presentation. The presentation touches on several aspects of service, selflessness, and moral guidance. All of these topics go to the fundamentals of law enforcement such as treating everyone equally, service to the public, and being guided by the law."
But Jack Glaser, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California Berkeley, told Red Eye it's usually not a good idea to use Hitler as a moral guide:
"Hitler is, justifiably, the archetype of a bad person with the worst, inhumane morals. It's controversial enough to quote him when trying to illustrate a point about genocidal despots. Quoting him in the manner that these trainings do —prescriptively —is unfathomable," Glaser wrote in an email to RedEye reporters.
(Thanks, Bob!)
