Police officers have the hardest jobs on the planet. It’s unbelievably tough. They see the worst parts of being human: addiction, abuse (physical, verbal, etc), neglect, endangerment, horrendous violence, and indifference. They are lied to, constantly. Even during a simple traffic stop, the public they are protecting are alarmingly dishonest with them. They respond to “emergency” calls about the wrong pizza being delivered. They deal with disrespect from an entitled, punk teenager, who’ll ask them “don’t you know who my Dad is?” There are groups that teach their children that the police will unfairly target them, and to not trust them – ensuring that even if there isn’t any prejudice from the police, that there certainly will be from the indoctrinated child. They work long shifts, all night, graveyard. They have to remember the ever-changing code of laws made by people that feel they’re above them, and enforce them. When those laws are broken, they have be so meticulous in their procedure to have a shot of obtaining a conviction. They’re called “pigs”, and have ridiculous stereotypes of donut eating laziness. It’s probably pretty unlikely that anyone wrote a song about your profession ( if you’re not in law enforcement) akin to “Fuck the Police.” They are highly trained, and skilled, and have to endure the continued stress that comes with trying to neutralize the new threats of a world that’s changing at a rapid pace ( and a populace that is increasingly losing their morality..but that’s a whole other topic). Every single day, they are put in a tremendous amount of danger, willingly. They do this to protect their communities, and for a paycheck that isn’t large enough.
Yesterday, a community in central Ohio said “goodbye” to two of their officers that were gunned down after being dispatched during a hanged-up 911 call. The officers had to have known they were walking into danger; there had been numerous calls to that exact same address during the previous months. Because these officers responded, they were gunned down…by a suspect, that illegally possessed a gun. The suspect was a felon. He couldn’t legally buy a gun. But he had one anyway; given to him by a friend, who is also now under arrest. Evil seems to find a way. I’m not bringing this up, to bring you down. It’s reality. Today, there are families waking up without their husband and father. It hurts, and it hurts to think about. We can pretend there isn’t darkness in the world. We can try and alter the structures of reality. It never lasts long, and eventually catches up to us. These officers were fighting for a public that they still saw “good” in, and thought that putting their lives at risk was worth it, to try and stop the reality of the evil in their communities. They are the good in the face of evil. That kind of bravery…deserves our endless respect and gratitude.
*One of the worst and mostly false accusations among law enforcement, is that they’re corrupt, and abuse their power. I would argue that there’s a much smaller percentage of corrupt, power abusers amongst cops than just about every other profession. Think about how many dishonest, selfish, and corrupt people you’ve met in your profession. Now, imagine we gave them a badge and a gun? Larry in accounting, the guy that has kids, but you’d never know it, because he never mentions them, and blows up every time there’s something missing from a spreadsheet…imagine that guy having the power that a police officer has…it wouldn’t end well. The problem is , when there IS a corrupt officer, it makes headlines because of the large amount of power they have. It’s unfortunate, but inevitable… power abuse happens in every profession., but the stakes and visibility are certainly higher with police officers.
* *Even if the public doesn’t understand their sacrifices, the women and men, that share their position, do. The amount of police officers from Ohio, and States all around the country, that showed up to honor these men, was astounding. If seeing that kind of solidarity doesn’t stir something up in you, you might want to check your pulse.
Andrew L Hamilton 