An anecdote: the first time I was in Spain as a kid (touristy reasons), I noticed a 20 EUR note someone dropped on the ground (this was in Madrid). I stood there for a second contemplating. My child brain went “I found something that someone lost => Need to put it in a prominent place so that the owner can find it and it doesn’t get dirty” (I was a much kinder individual back then). So I picked up the bill and was about to put it on the window sill of a nearby building when a guy walked over to me and explained in broken english that I should keep it. I looked at him in total confusion, but then he flashed some kind of local police ID at me and explained to me that if I don’t pick it up, someone else will, and there is no way to find the actual owner. I will probably remember this for the rest of my life (partly because 20 EUR was a huge chunk of cash for me back then).
An anecdote: the first time I was in Spain as a kid (touristy reasons), I noticed a 20 EUR note someone dropped on the ground (this was in Madrid). I stood there for a second contemplating. My child brain went “I found something that someone lost => Need to put it in a prominent place so that the owner can find it and it doesn’t get dirty” (I was a much kinder individual back then). So I picked up the bill and was about to put it on the window sill of a nearby building when a guy walked over to me and explained in broken english that I should keep it. I looked at him in total confusion, but then he flashed some kind of local police ID at me and explained to me that if I don’t pick it up, someone else will, and there is no way to find the actual owner. I will probably remember this for the rest of my life (partly because 20 EUR was a huge chunk of cash for me back then).
ACAB but some are worse than others.
The institution is the enemy, way more than the individual.
Yeah, the validity of that declaration is strongest the closer you are to the top. As you hit the bottom it’s pretty weak, borderline useless.