You’re not the only one wondering about this. there’s a new thread in ATMB.
I’m sure tomndebb’s presence in that thread would be appreciated.
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.
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).
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).
I do feel for the cops. With all the damn victims around, it’s hard to get a clean shot off at a perp.
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.”
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 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.
Its called public relations. (Not saying they don’t protect and serve among other more important roles)
I agree with you, there are flaws both intentional and unintentional.
On the other hand there are some anti-bullies who join up too, its hard to predict the ratio.
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)
So police are not civilians?
Not when they are on the job representing the state. They gain many more rights and powers.
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.
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.
Cops calling us civilians kind of reminds me of Cliff Clavin, postman, calling non postal workers civilians. 
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.
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Despite repeating the usage myself earlier–I agree.
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.
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).
I’m not certain how this behavior fits into the webpage’s stated Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Cops should be allowed to beat the shit out of someone because they want to?
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.