# Why Cops Hate You (If You Have To Ask, Get Out Of The Way) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433 "2010-10-17T11:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/21 "2010-10-17T17:24:05Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > > [@tomndebb](#): > > > > You will refrain from describing anyone as a “cunt” on this board. > > [/Modding] > > I don’t feel like starting a thread in ATMB [Too late.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=582170) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/22 "2010-10-17T17:36:47Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I don’t feel like starting a thread in ATMB, but I’m curious about this. Could someone link me to a relevant thread or give me a one sentence explanation what this is about? You’re not the only one wondering about this. there’s a new [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=582170) in ATMB. I’m sure **tomndebb** ’s presence in that thread would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/23 "2010-10-17T17:38:51Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It is certainly true that most police have an inculcated ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality, and as a civilian, you are automatically classified as one of Them by default. > … > It is true that this is all a part of the job, and there are no bones about it in training. The contempt for ‘customers’ is hardly limited to the occupation of law enforcement, though. > … > The last statement quoted by the o.p., though, is on point: civilians are stupid. They’re not just ignorant of statute and legal interpretation; that is just to be expected. No, they’re just dumb. Indeed. This isn’t universal–not _everybody_, in law enforcement or any other field, has contempt for their “customers”–but the pattern certainly exists. And not all customers or civilians are really dumb, but some sure are–and this is a major factor contributing to the previous point. But. There is something fundamentally different between a retail clerk sneering at customers and a law enforcement officer, carrying a gun on the street under color of authority, with loathing for the very people he is sworn to protect. A dumb or obnoxious civilian does not merit less protection and help from police officers, because the protective role of the police is an _institutional_ one; it’s not just _about_ the “stupid,” the “assholes,” the “Yuppies,” the “jerkoffs,” the “douche bags,” the “bimbos,” the “artsy-crafty types,” the “trendies,” the “bleeding heart do-gooders,” or any other set an officer may have contempt for. Protecting dumb or obnoxious individuals is protecting society generally; failing to do so means failing all of us. My inclination is to say that, while I understand at least some of the pressures at work on police that lead to this point, officers who have _given in_ to them–who have become alienated from and hostile to the communities they work in–are not suitable for a public trust. A police department or law enforcement system which commonly allows such attitudes to harden, and such officers to go on in the job, is at least in the process of removing itself from civil society and becoming another sort of street gang. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/24 "2010-10-17T17:49:32Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > ImaIt is certainly true that most police have an inculcated ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality, and as a civilian, you are automatically classified as one of Them by default. When you call up crying because your insecure back window was jigged and your box full of costume jewelry was stolen, it means some detective has to come out and file a report on a case that will in all likelihood never be closed, which you frustrated and him look bad on his performance. How is that related to your analogy about teaching Russian literature? What did cops expect to do, exactly? I have no sympathy for cops who don’t want to fill out reports since after I was mugged, that’s essentially what happened (and it would have been nice to have a copy of the police report to get some fines waived for stuff I later had to replace). ---
**Author:** ![Redpill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Redpill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redpill)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/25 "2010-10-17T18:30:42Z")
IMHO: The job of the Police is to keep the civilians in line and they do a great job here in US. That said, the cops are just humans trying their best to follow a well thought out set of rules. They are morally no better or worse than the rest of us (contrary to what we may wish to believe). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/26 "2010-10-17T18:41:36Z")
I do feel for the cops. With all the damn victims around, it’s hard to get a clean shot off at a perp. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/27 "2010-10-17T18:44:14Z")
> [@Redpill](#): > > IMHO: > > The job of the Police is to keep the civilians in line and they do a great job here in US. Keep civilians in line? Really? That’s the job of the police? I seem to remember seeing somewhere, like on the side of police cars, words like “Protect” and “Serve.” > [@Redpill](#): > > That said, the cops are just humans trying their best to follow a well thought out set of rules. It seems to me that, in many cases, the rules they’re trying to follow are, in fact, not very well thought out at all. > [@Redpill](#): > > They are morally no better or worse than the rest of us (contrary to what we may wish to believe). I think there are plenty of good cops, but there are also quite a few who go into the professional precisely because they are bullies and because they know that being a cop will give them a chance to act out their authoritarian fantasies. And even if they are no better or worse than us, on average, they should still be held to a higher standard that “average” in the performance of their duties, precisely because they are authorized by the state to carry weapons and to act on the state’s behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Redpill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Redpill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redpill)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/28 "2010-10-17T18:58:36Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Keep civilians in line? Really? That’s the job of the police? > > I seem to remember seeing somewhere, like on the side of police cars, words like “Protect” and “Serve.” Its called public relations. (Not saying they don’t protect and serve among other more important roles) > [@](#): > > It seems to me that, in many cases, the rules they’re trying to follow are, in fact, not very well thought out at all. I agree with you, there are flaws both intentional and unintentional. > [@](#): > > I think there are plenty of good cops, but there are also quite a few who go into the professional precisely because they are bullies and because they know that being a cop will give them a chance to act out their authoritarian fantasies. On the other hand there are some anti-bullies who join up too, its hard to predict the ratio. > [@](#): > > And even if they are no better or worse than us, on average, they should still be held to a higher standard that “average” in the performance of their duties, precisely because they are authorized by the state to carry weapons and to act on the state’s behalf. Yes, they do get trained to “act” professional and follow procedures but it doesn’t work 100% of the time. (unlike Robocop who is flawless) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/29 "2010-10-17T19:45:58Z")
> [@Redpill](#): > > The job of the Police is to keep the civilians in line and they do a great job here in US. So police are not civilians? ---
**Author:** ![Redpill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Redpill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redpill)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/30 "2010-10-17T20:18:02Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > > [@Redpill](#): > > > > The job of the Police is to keep the civilians in line and they do a great job here in US. > > So police are not civilians? Not when they are on the job representing the state. They gain many more rights and powers. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/31 "2010-10-17T20:29:13Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So police are not civilians? I really, \*\*\*really \*\*\*don’t like it when LEOs use the term “civilian.” That’s a term reserved for use by military personnel. The police \*\*are \*\*civilians. When an LEO uses the term “civilian,” it only serves to foster an “us against them” attitude amongst LEOs. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/32 "2010-10-17T20:58:10Z")
Oh, but many retired cops I’ve known go out of their way to make it clear that the police (and then the Security forces they join after retiring) are Para- **Military** organizations and should be run _just like the military_. Meaning (primarily when they use it) that you shut your mouth when your superiors tell you to do something. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/33 "2010-10-17T21:22:51Z")
Cops calling us civilians kind of reminds me of Cliff Clavin, postman, calling non postal workers civilians. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/34 "2010-10-17T21:36:30Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > if you’ve picked up on this attitude from your local sworn protectors, it’s not just paranoia. They actually don’t like > > you. In fact cops don’t just dislike you, they hate your guts! Incidentally, for a number of very good reasons. > > former california police officer jim young explains it [here](http://www.lawenforcer.net/whycops/whycops.htm). You’ll appreciate his tips. > > > [@](#): > > > > first of all, civilians are so goddamn stupid. They leave things lying around, just begging thieves to steal them… they are there to prevent this, if they can not they are not needed and a poor cop has another larceny from auto on his hands. Another crime to write a report on, waste another half hour on. Another crime to make him look bad. … Civilians also aggravate cops in a number of other ways. One of their favorite games is “officer, can you tell me?” a cop knows he’s been selected to play this game whenever someone approaches and utters those magic words. … It severely offends and deeply hurts cops when they administer a dose of good old fashioned street justice only to have some bleeding heart do-gooder happen upon the scene at the last minute, when the hairbag is at last getting his just desserts, and start hollering about police brutality. Cops regard this as very serious business indeed. Brutality can get them fired. … Most of this comes down to common sense, a characteristic the cops feel most civilians lack. One of the elements of common sense is thinking before opening one’s yap or taking other action. Just a brief moment of thought will often prevent the utterance of something stupid or the commission of some idiotic act that will, among other things, generate nothing but contempt from the average street cop. Think and it might mean getting a warning instead of a traffic ticket. Or getting sent on your way rather than be arrested. Or continuing on to your original destination instead of to the hospital. [/quote] [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/35 "2010-10-17T22:26:42Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > The police \*\*are \*\*civilians. When an LEO uses the term “civilian,” it only serves to foster an “us against them” attitude amongst LEOs. Despite repeating the usage myself earlier–I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/36 "2010-10-17T23:14:38Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > First of all, civilians are so goddamn stupid. > > > [@](#): > > > > Most of this comes down to common sense, a characteristic the cops feel most civilians lack. One of the elements of > > common sense is thinking before opening one’s yap or taking other action. Just a brief moment of thought will often > > prevent the utterance of something stupid or the commission of some idiotic act that will, among other things, > > generate nothing but contempt from the average street cop. THINK and it might mean getting a warning instead of > > a traffic ticket. Or getting sent on your way rather than be arrested. Or continuing on to your original destination > > instead of to the hospital. And many cops are just as stupid as a lot of civilians. The last passage sounds like nothing more than a arrogant idiot with an undue sense of entitlement demanding respect where none has been earned. It’s articles like the one posted by the OP that cause people to hate cops. This is why many people shouldn’t be given the “power” most cops have. Especially when they have authorization to use a gun and, despite being law enforcement, know very little about the laws they enforce. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/37 "2010-10-17T23:51:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Just a brief moment of thought will often prevent the utterance of something stupid or the commission of some idiotic act that will, among other things, generate nothing but contempt from the average street cop. THINK and it might mean getting a warning instead of a traffic ticket. Or getting sent on your way rather than be arrested. Now THAT at the end of the sentence is a contempt-worthy attitude. Now, it may actually be TRUE that in general this is how things happen WRT how a LEO will treat someone in general depending on cooperativeness vs. contraryness, BUT, it makes it no less immoral if it invades the realm of cause for arrest. If there IS a crime, that should happen however charming, deferential and cooperative the citizen acts; and conversely if no law was broken and there is no cause to arrest the citizen must be sent on his or her way however much of an ass he or she is (unless of course he/she is being actually aggressive and disorderly). ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/38 "2010-10-18T00:53:26Z")
> [@](#): > > It severely offends and deeply hurts cops when they administer a dose of good old fashioned street justice only to > have some bleeding heart do-gooder happen upon the scene at the last minute, when the hairbag is at last getting > his just desserts, and start hollering about police brutality. I’m not certain how this behavior fits into the webpage’s stated [Law Enforcement Code of Ethics](http://www.lawenforcer.net/code/code.htm). Cops should be allowed to beat the shit out of someone because they want to? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/39 "2010-10-18T04:08:14Z")
Terrible post KANCIBIRD. Civilians don’t have common sense They open their yaps. They are “hairbags’. They need’ a brief moment of thought” Pretty damn insulting attitude to have about the people don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433/40 "2010-10-18T07:30:06Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Terrible post KANCIBIRD. > Civilians don’t have common sense > They open their yaps. > They are “hairbags’. > They need’ a brief moment of thought” > Pretty damn insulting attitude to have about the people don’t you think? The devil made him do it. Well, not exactly “made him,” _per se_; he probably entered into an agreement while he was in the womb that he would do that one day, and the devil just happened to pick that time and place to call in the chit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-hate-you-if-you-have-to-ask-get-out-of-the-way/557433.md?page=3)