In a recent article published by GOVERNING, the gist was that our “polarized” and highly “politicized” society did not happen overnight, that our deep “divides” in modernity actually took decades to manifest. Yet, it is fair to say that despite these dynamics and their maturation period, cops have been a static norm amidst the brewing climate.
Think about it…
Law enforcement officers see every presidency and thus inherent policy changes and applications. They handle any fallout from citizens who decide to do whatever they wanna do, and apply measures per the judicious rudder steered by the law.
Sure, perhaps police protocols may alter a tad, but the tried-and-true methods prevail.
Police officers show up for whatever brand of protest is simmering in cities all across our beloved geography. Same thing here: cops observe anomalies and ready themselves to thin the growing crowds of those deemed pushing-the-envelope and mashing on buttons which they know to be filthy-hot and unwise (illegal) choices.
Immigration is not new. Illegal aliens attempting to breach our border are countered by federal border agents and other law enforcement officers and either self-repel at the sight of cops or are duly apprehended, processed (identified), and subsequently deported back to their native homeland.
The only relatively new aspect with regard to immigration enforcement measures is we have a new, more formidable mostly-completed wall to help maintain the integrity of our doorstep by placing a metaphorical tourniquet at the traditionally breach-ridden border. This, while the immigration process persists as usual by according legal means by which one can apply for legal status to be in the country.
In that regard, politicos and their opposing perspectives on illegal immigrants being permitted or denied a stay in America will inevitably be a contentious point. Yet cops have witnessed this factor also, watched the DC electeds get into feisty foolhardiness, and nevertheless maintained their vigilance at our nation’s frontline fences. Same game-plan, different day.
Inasmuch as the brouhaha over “police reform” and the actual need for such measures, this too is not a novel bark. It is an old dog with a challenged appetite (constituents’ erroneous demands) and gnarly teeth (anti-constitutionalists) nipping at a hand (cops) which unfailingly feeds them a highly functioning compass to navigate life’s often dark maze with unruliness around many corners.
Responsible parties (criminals) are being targeted with bent arrows…or not at all. Increasingly, police officers are the everyday scapegoat for wrongs and horrific plans hatched by some members of the public. Cops are not to blame for society’s woes and malcontents; nothing new here, only crystalized because some critical-thinking minds process fallacies quite well and deny the propaganda peddled by mainstream media.
Speaking of media, GOVERNING author Alan Greenblatt denoted that one festering fissure smoking with seismic gasses is “…social media, which amplifies the loudest, crudest, most divisive voices.” Since National Police Association readers are quite keen, I suspect this tidbit is a mere echo; we all pretty much know the complicit role of some social media in our society, and how their conduit feeds falsities beyond imagination, especially against the American police institution. This is otherwise known as “The Pleasures of Hating” and is utterly disheartening.
The truisms and the falsities are much more prevalent nowadays thanks to the advent and implementation of body-worn cameras used by police officers. Many thanks also go to the anti-cop throng whose wish to capture footage of cops doing alleged wrongs resulted different than naysayers’ fantastical expectations.
A recent op-ed published by the Boston Herald explored this feat pertaining to the anti-police movement’s demands. “Body-cam footage reveals police as professionals” is the title without ambiguity, and a long overdue piece about reality.
Police body cameras provide real-time authentication of police services spanning the spectrum of subduing violent encounters and parlaying kindly gestures unfolding on a daily basis; again, nothing new to police personnel Everywhere, USA.
The irresponsible sorts and their false allegations waged against cops to “jam them up” is now largely a thing of old. (Go figure, that cops detect and arrest lawbreakers who have retribution on the mind.) A growing body of evidence captured by body cams can now be used as evidence to prosecute “false reporting” and hold accountable those who render fictitious plots against LEOs performing a dangerous and difficult job. Schadenfreude is a cool thing!
Lest we be accused of perfection in an imperfect environment inhabited with increased uncertainty, integrity acknowledges room for growth. Do cops have bad days and maybe rub someone the wrong way? The answer is that it is not necessarily a cop thing but a stratified human construct. We all err, and the degree to which we confront mistakes invites even more maturation and professionalization…like squeezing bitter juice from citrus and adding sugar for a quenching result to share.
As we endure the battles being played out in DC and other jurisdictions populated with anti-cop mouthpieces, the seismic shifts being felt and heard are nothing more than everyday din cops are used to hearing—only the decibel is turned up. As Mr. Greenblatt wrote, “Making noise became a premium job skill for politicians.” And for cops, useless noise is like engine oil to an auto mechanic: part of the job.
Speaking from training and experience borne of a police career, I can attest that cops have uncanny listening skills, ably filtering away the hodge-podge of useless and baseless banter while zeroing in on resolutions to satisfy all parties—well, at least to the extent that the laws are applied with objective reasoning.
The job continues for LEOs, and business as usual persists in a climate unsure of itself while the guardians of law and order maintain steadfast vigilance over messy matters most refuse to confront (yet readily whine about how they’d be better at it). Whether on Monday or any other day, these social media-trained quarterbacks come out in droves and insist on letting us know how much they know about utopian policing.
The vast majority of Americans know far better, and police heroes know this truth while mitigating the fictions propped up by “activists” and anarchists seeking to sully the police profession and turning a blind eye to the Constitution.
As the Boston Herald piece denoted: “…any solution must start from the reality that the police are not the enemy and include them in the conversation.”
In the interim and with fissures generated by unprecedented seismic shifts in our geopolitical society, American police forces in the aggregate amounts to just under 900,000 among a current populace of roughly 331,000,000. Odds are that our police heroes will do what they always do: Step up to the frontline and provide public safety.
Carry on, American police forces, carry on…