I think you make really good points and your experience is valid and offers thought-provoking arguments.

But here's where I disagree: you can't say that Stranger Things gets so many aspects of the 80s right and then claim its exploitation. It's a fictional TV show. A fantasy. It's not The Wire. It doesn't have to be always authentic and represent every single thing as it was back then. I'm not saying that's an excuse for everything that's wrong with cops and authorities today in rural towns. But I don't think it's right to make this about politics because the show has nothing to do with that. I doubt it's harmful representation. It could be, to some degree, if the setting was modern day America, but it's not.

Nostalgia is a crucial element of the show, no question, and I understand that some people have a problem with that. But to blame it for having a positive fictional character that couldn't have existed back then seems like a little bit of a stretch. I believe you, you lived it, but that doesn't necessarily make the character "wrong" in the show's universe.

That said, you should continue watching it. You'll see that Harbour's character gets a lot more layered and complex than a simple stereotype.