As of late, there have been several posts on blogs I read about the Police. The posts vary in the intensity of the loathing, but one thing is clear - survivalists do not like the Police.
I have a hard time with this one... I do not view the men and women who swear to protect and serve as the enemy. I do not think they start each day thinking of some way to jack with a person's life and give them a hard time. I just dont - not any more than I think most people wake up thinking those thoughts.
Face it, Police departments are made up of citizens - all kinds. Some Citizens are absolutely Constitution LOVING Patriots while some are real jerks. Some Citizens have issues which make them more likely to have an attitude when given any authority - some look to their job as a calling.
That is not to say I dont think someone can have a horrible, rotten, no good very bad day, that there arent rotten apples in the bunch or that some are really thugs - I just think that the jerks are few and far between....
I think how you interact, where you are and what you are doing determines to a GREAT degree which Police Citizen you will get. Take a "I pay your salary with my taxes" attitude and you are probably going to have some problems. Take a kind, direct, respectful approach and I can almost guarantee things will go better.
I also bet it depends where you live - sorry, but the truth - I bet the Police who are used to breaking up domestic disturbances, hearing gunshots all hours, having things thrown at their car are a little more cranky than the Police who get missing dog calls and the occasional vandalism complaint.
This is a thankless job - they are damned if they do and damned if they dont. People have no idea how much crime has been thwarted, but they complain the second something is stolen with a "where were you."
When crisis comes - how torn they must feel - To know they swore to protect and serve but also the strain of leaving their very own families to protect another.
Your best bet is to do what you are supposed to do.
Make sure your car is in working order and all lights work.
Obey the speed limit.
Do not drive impaired. Doing your drinking at home would solve TONS of problems....
Know your rights - This Constitution we love gives you amazing protection - know it - know what you can and cant do.
Show respect. You may be absolutely in the right, but taking a haughty attitude wont get you where you want to go which is home.
Use your manners.
Pay attention to where you are and what time it is - the same street can be 2 entirely different worlds at midnight and noon.
If you cannot call a Police person a friend, make one a friend.... Both sides seeing the other as real people would go along way to thwarting problems (I have now used "thwart" twice is a post - its a record.)
Pray, Praise and Prepare.....and today - Police
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17 comments:
Very good post. I have been on the roadside with the boys in Blue a time of 2. lol Respect has allowed us both to leave that roadside feeling good about the situation. Respect goes a long way with everyone, it's a good tool in this situation. Have a nice day Mr. XXX are the words I'm wanting to hear.
A lot of what you say is true... mayhap even a majority of it. Show respect..
I have a bit of an issue when what the "law' deems right and what i do vary. Drink at home-- sensible. Don't collect rainwater w/o paying yer taxes... not so much.
I guess I also see most police as having a holier-than-thou attitude. "For your own protection". They deem to know what's better for you than you do. I just can't and WON'T buy it. I also firmly believe the majority of them have inferiority issues which they use their badges to try and overcome. "Protect and Serve"... The last word seems to have been forgotten. Sorry, johnny, but I don't need to be protected from myself-- a very Big Brother concept most pi--
(the third time in this post i unconsciously went to type and "**gs" appeared..)-- i mean, most POLICE seem to harbor.
Yeah,there are a few decent apples in the barrel. In my eye, the rest are egomaniacal sheeple. Add the power to legally harass me to that, and... I JUST DON'T LIKE THEM.
Thanks for listening to my vent...
Cygnus
I refuse to comment on this post.
Michael
I don't know which blogs you're reading, so I don't know what kind of circumstances the loathers are describing, but I don't think their attitudes towards police are about being pulled over. It probably has more to do with the sort of things you see when doing a Youtube search for 'police abuse,' and stuff like this, and this. We've somehow gone from 'protect and serve' to 'we're the only ones...' (see here for explanation), and it isn't good.
I am always respectful to the police. Always. IT is simply good SOP to be polite and civil, to everyone, not just the cops.
However, I have put together a HUGE file of reports of police killing/hurting citizens with their tasers. It is all newspaper stories and such. Over 400 people have been killed by police with tasers. And some of those shocked and killed have been injured, in a diabetic seizure, in a wheelchair, lying on the road with a broken back, etc. ad nauseum.
This information would give anyone difficulties in trying to be respectful to police officers. That's a wild-assed understatement, you understand.
The militarization of the police in America is well-documented and becoming more obvious by the day. This is a HUGE problem. One we will all have to confront sooner or later.
I submit this respectfully, Pearls. Not trying to start any wars, but there is a problem in this country with the police acting as they do. They seem to make a habit of hiring "bully" personalities with low IQ (cf the major news story about a man who was turned down for a job as a police officer due to his high IQ).
MY two cents...
HM
HM
Well said Pearls. Although Cygnus, I would suggest that you remember police don't WRITE the laws "for your own protection". It's the stupid representatives and voters and the like who do that. Just a minor detail.
I just had a thought... how come ya'll don't hate priests? They have abused people too... perhaps not with a gun, but being violated by a man of the cloth when you're a child would see like a good reason to hate all priests. I mean, wouldn't it? Nobody goes around screaming "priest brutality". ;)
Anonymous: This is a serious issue, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be facetious. I can and have walked away from religion, as all Americans are free to do. You cannot, however, walk away from people who are responsible for enforcing laws. Priests who violate the law should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but priests are not kicking down doors or holding families at gunpoint for hours (situations I linked to in my first comment, in case you didn't bother to look). Pedophile priests and police abuse of power are completely different issues.
All I meant Angela is that it's the 10% rule. 10% ruin it for the rest.
If you're so certain that most police officers are bad than I suggest you become one and be the change you want to see.
I stay away from the police to the maximum extent possible. I have some family members who are police or are retired police. The job has an unpleasant effect on some of them. They get to hate everybody. I can understand why, but it's just best not to hang around them too much.
Hi
Without boring you all with a long story
i have travelled a long time in Britain and believe me i would have every reason to hate the police i have seen so many incidents of brutality ,but i still show respect to the police but as for trusting them that is a hard one ..
I think there is often a big difference between small town cops and those in other areas. I have been treated very nicely and also treated like dirt. The recent militarization of police forces at all levels concerns me very greatly though.
As you said I think our lifestyle choices can go a very long way toward minimizing interaction with the cops. Having a car that has current tags and is in good working order and not driving drunk goes a long way. Having current registration and insurance helps also. Avoiding certain areas and groups goes a long way toward minimizing police interaction as does wearing clean decent clothes. I am not saying you need to wear a button up shirt and khakis all the time but clean decent clothes go a long way.
IMHO you hit the nail on the head by saying to be police but know and protect your constitutional rights. I'm sorry Sir but you can't come in. I'm sorry Sir but you can't come into my home.
On a side note I suggest getting onto Youtube and looking for a video called "Don't talk to the police" it is my a law professor. About 20 minutes long but totally worth it.
Did you see the police execution of the young father that had a police knee in his back and his face in the pavement when he was shot and killed at point blank range by the boys in blue?
http://www.examiner.com/x-861-African-American-Community-Examiner~y2009m1d8-Oakland-protests-after-BART-killing-of-Oscar-Grant
The police are out of control.
Abraham, actually one PERSON is out of control. And he resigned and will hopefully be punished. Even my husband was horrified by what he did.
Here's from a girl who was in Oakland that night. Take a moment to read the caption... it's a very different perspective.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inadvertentgardener/3178284727/in/set-72157612308752606/
I know they're "just doing their job", but I've gotten some real crap from cops, and no I didn't bring it on myself. I mean, c'mon! I got a ticket for my headlight being out when I told the cop I was on my way to get a headlight! Some cops have a "superiority complex", and shouldn't be cops.
BTW, the worst speeders around here? Cops..... "It's a silent call". Yeah, right. More like a drag race to Dunkin' Donuts.
Mayberry, that sucks with the headlight thing. Although if you'd have been able to go in the daytime, at least you wouldn't have been given a ticket. ;)
This is a very divisive topic and for good reason. Most people meet LEOs only after being "caught". This doesn't engender pleasant sentiments.
And I am the very first to disagree with the use of federal $ to SWAT-ify every po-dunk Sheriff Dept. (I suspect many of the SWAT-gone-wrong tales stem from just that. Badly or untrained, given to making one error after another...) Point of fact: hitting the wrong address should be reason to yank everyone on the team and start over.
Do I despise the "circling of wagons" when one of them has done something improper or deadly wrong? Damned straight. Do I see some forces with far higher rates of assholery than others. You bet.
Do I think LEOs are the enemy of those planning and preparing? Not all. No, I suspect many have the same concerns and are making similar plans.
Definitely a topic for deeper thought and discussion. Too easy to paint with a very wide brush.
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