Fin, you are welcome to ban me

[kansasdad]

Jorgy, sorry about your up close experiences with the rotten apples.

There are indeed a few rotten apples in uniform. Fortunately very few and far between, and I hope that the "Blue Code" that might have protected these bad ones is weaker than it used to be.

 

[bobbydean]

I dated my wife when she was a civilian employee as an evidence technician. Hard job and always in the middle of the night. She went from there to legal secretary, worked in office of the state prison system and now in office manager of the local public defenders office.

Throughout our marriage we have been in constant contact with LEO. Guarantee you that most are nice guys and gals. There are always the exceptions. I know a few that I wouldn't trust with my small change..

The conclusion to my statement is there are bad apples ( unscrupulous people ) in every profession.

Love the good guys and ostracize the bad!

 

[schmalts]

The whole body camera thing will fix a lot of the BS on both sides.

 

[Jorgy]

Perspective might be everything, but it doesn't excuse making a blanket generalization.

The original statement made was about as intelligent as saying all hunters like to slap their wives around. How would you feel about that remark?

Yeah, it's silly, but it's still all about perspective.

If you sit down with someone who is a complete stoner, they believe that everyone is a stoner either openly or behind closed doors, because that is all they see.

If I were a young black man growing up in the ghettos of chicago, I would have alot different view of LEO's than I do.

But I 100% agree about anyone making "blanket statements" - remember, every person is unique, just like everyone else

 

[Melman]

Very dumb statement by broken wing. Cops are people. like all of us there are good cops, bad cops and cops somewhere in the middle. even a good cop can make a bad call in a split second decision where they think their lives or others might be at Risk. lots of people don't seem to understand that they are doing a dangerous job. they aren't sales man or cashiers with guns, they are law enforcement officers upholding the law. I don't know about you, but I don't break the law and its crazy, I've never been beaten up or shot at by a police officer.

 

[JoseCuervo]

I don't know about you, but I don't break the law and its crazy, I've never been beaten up or shot at by a police officer.

Were you ever a young, black male between the ages of 15-25?

 

[Melman]

Were you ever a young, black male between the ages of 15-25?

No, but like I said there are good cops and bad cops so you cant say all police like to shoot people just like you cant say all young black males are criminals. I never said police brutality doesn't exist, it happens to white people too. I took criminal just classes in college and there are people that do not do well with power and abuse it. there are cops who see bad things daily while doing their duty and it negatively affects them. at the end of the day we need police officers and you cannot argue with that. I knew I shouldn't have responded to a political, non hunt related post. wont make that mistake again.

 

[schmalts]

Were you ever a young, black male between the ages of 15-25?

I'd focus more on the "I don't break the law" part as why he hasn't been beaten or shot by a cop. Just sayin

 

[LopeHunter]

There are outliers. Get enough people in a room and there will be an addict or two, a cheater or two, a thief or two, a perv or two. Wearing a badge does not make someone become pure of heart if they had a dark heart before becoming a cop. Many of the potential bad apples are weeded out before are sworn in. I am in sales and used to be an accountant and knew addicts, cheaters, etc. I tried to avoid them and they sure as heck were not my role models.

One issue I have is the "thin blue line" where the behavior spans more than an outlier or two but rather is an effect that is closer to the behavioral norm for a group of police officers who see behavior by one police officer that is not right and perhaps even repugnant yet will not step up to arrest that officer or cooperate with the D.A. even if the D.A. thought it wise to take action. Often the D.A. prefers not to rock the boat. That bothers me but I am quite the boy scout so expect a lot from people in positions of power.

I have friends that span a wide variety of life. Heck, four of us were tight as thieves as kids and I am the only one to not do time at the grey bar hotel. If you give me the option to have 3 LEO officers knock on my door at 1am vs 3 random strangers, I will take LEO every time. Some studies show people of color tend to get pulled over more. I think they do. Poor people often drive vehicles that have issues such as burnt out tail light or expired plates. Poor people can be people of color. I like to think the car was pulled over for expired plates. Naive? Perhaps.

 

[LopeHunter]

Jose,

I was never a black male. I assume you are implying being black is the only way to understand the experience of being black. Interesting. Now, if my grandfather was black but the rest of my grandparents where mostly white will I perhaps understand being black 25%? Would our President understand 50% Tiger Woods 50%? I presume anyone not of pure race would fail your standard for understanding an experience for someone that has purity.

I have encountered hatred as sail and drift along during this journey of life. I have been kept in line outside at a traditionally black dance club because of my skin color looking white. I have been passed over for scholarships and jobs as a person that is placed in the White and Male boxes. I am not 100% white and even have some Papau New Guinea ancestry but government programs like checkmarks in boxes. My granddaughter has a mother from India and a father that is mixed. Sure, easy to check the box Citizen and Female but then it gets tough since there is Near East Asian, Irish, German, New Guinea, Native American, Black as part of the genetics. U.S. Census and college entrance forms etc want one box checked...any suggestions?

Poverty is what I focus on. Making this about skin tone promotes there being a victim when is not always the case. The kid growing up in the nice suburb with a doctor for a father and one for a mother with access to books and internet and tutors should not get a preference in college acceptance no matter the skin tone but my granddaughter will. That is silly. There are studies that show with remedial educational help as start college that the resulting GPA, graduation rates, etc, will out perform predictions for some students. Those students are ones that attended K-12 schools that struggle to educate their students. Those students are not just black or brown or whatever but are a slice of our society. Preference is given to skin color, though. No matter if have doctors as parents or have a single-parent below poverty level. That is lazy social-engineering and creates a mindset in a child's mind they are not worthy. They are worthy.

 

[bobbydean]

Fin, have you ever let a closed thread be reopened in new thread.

No complaints.

Good commentary.

Surprised with your willing's to let this happen.

It is a good thread,

 

[jzeck2]

I hate to say it but the profession (law enforcement) can certainly attract some folks who should never be allowed to wear the badge. This is not a blanket statement but in my experience, especially in small communities and departments it certainly does happen. Most of the larger departments seem to have the HR resources to weed out some of the "Barney Fife" types. Saying that a little weeding still needs to be done in all departments. Once they lose respect, and it only takes a small minority of bad apples to lose it. chaos will most certainly reign.

 

[Big Fin]

Fin, have you ever let a closed thread be reopened in new thread.

No complaints.

Good commentary.

Surprised with your willing's to let this happen.

It is a good thread,

The value of this thread is the lesson in generalizations being a very dangerous place to take one's mind and opinions. Whether it is generalizations on law enforcement, as in this thread, or generalizations about any other group, it usually results in some comments that make a person look pretty foolish. BuffaloRcody nailed it with the quote he provided here.

I was provided the greatest blessing on earth - being born a white male in America. I try to make sure that blessing does not cause me to see the world as though everyone else had the same benefit of that headstart in life. Leaving this thread open, so long as it does not get into a personal pissing contest, hopefully helps remind us that the world is a place of unique individuals and using labels, tags, and generalizations is a pretty narrow view of the world.

If the thread goes off the rails, I will close it.

 

[recon6036]

My son will be graduating this winter with a degree in law enforcement. He unfortunately decided to follow in my footsteps even though I have tried to guide him in another direction. There have always been those opposed to the police but I fear how bad things are getting and how it will be for him during his career. I've worked in small departments and a large metro area department. With the hundreds of officers I've worked with over the last 22 years, I can't think of one who had the desire to go out and shoot or fight with people. But, people should know that if they break the law and decide to resist, the police will fight back. People should also know if they threaten the police or another in some fashion that could result in serious physical injury or death, the police will use deadly force to stop that threat. And yes, sometimes cops have a warped sense of humor or make statements that may offend some people, but its usually a coping mechanism due to the all the bad things they have seen. I'd recommend to anyone that they go to their local police department and ask to do a ride -along a few times, because some have no clue what its like to be a cop. I'm in no way trying to say I'm any different than anyone else just because i carry a badge and a gun for a living. Every day, my hope is my shift will be quiet and uneventful; unfortunately those days never occur! Sorry.....not sure why I even bothered to respond to this!

 

[F250]

36 years in uniform : shot at (hit once), attacked with edged weapons, attacked with bottles, attacked with motor vehicles, too many wrestling matches to count, confronted violent armed assailants in remote areas - alone, etc. Did some bad guys need medical treatment ? Yup. Unless you have been in a "him or me" fight at 0130 hrs., and were over 45 minutes from the nearest backup (if they could find you), I'm not certain you should be commenting on what you would or wouldn't do. My time in the under cover unit, living with the worst of the worst, provided me with some insight how that very small segment of the population think about LE Officers. On the other hand, over the course of my career, I met some of the greatest people out there. More than once I was happy to receive assistance in a variety of situations from the general public.

 

[idnative1948]

schmalts, hit the nail on the head right here. Couldn't have expressed it better myself.

I'd focus more on the "I don't break the law" part as why he hasn't been beaten or shot by a cop. Just sayin

 

[RobG]

Sorry.....not sure why I even bothered to respond to this!

I'm glad you did. Wishing for quiet and uneventful days for your son.

 

[JoseCuervo]

schmalts, hit the nail on the head right here. Couldn't have expressed it better myself.

You ever lived as a young black male, age 15-25?

 

[Melman]

You ever lived as a young black male, age 15-25?

apparently all black males age 15-25 like to shoot cops. the same way all cops like to shoot people. breaking story cop was shot, "Dorman confronted a group smoking narcotics in the backyard of a property. When Dorman confronted the suspects, shots rang out, according to witnesses. " they do a job that we cannot relate to unless you've done it before. and they do it, mostly underpaid.

link to breaking story
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/2...ylvania-police-officer-shot.html?intcmp=hpbt3