It was one of those articles. They appear routinely in professional journals and periodicals, often authored by a "lieutenant or above." Generally, the point of the essay is to announce a heretofore undiscovered wisdom, one that will turn law enforcement on its proverbial ear. The pearl is usually lukewarm, meant either to add a line...or two...to one's resume. Or, to confer bragging rights at the latest command staff meeting. "Hey, did you read my article in True Blue magazine?"Today's missive involved the evolution of law officers (especially involving their training) from mere warriors to men and women adept at interacting with their community. Officers must now be both, the author opined, or they weren't much good to his organization. "This isn't the 80s," he offered.
Well, pardon me all to hell.
Generally speaking, this is where the blog usually devolves into...to put it blandly...a profane rant. But, I'm a mature adult now.
"What the F-word. F-word in gerund form. F-word, again, is wrong with you?' Tim Grimes (Nick Mohammed), The Martian (2015).
Eighties cops were what, Sparky?
We did the job just like it's done now. The best we could, served the community with pride and buried our brothers and sisters in frightening numbers. Only, at that time America was still reeling from 60s civil rights protests, riots, anti-war marches and scandals in many of the big cities. More than a few of our citizens didn't really know what to make of us, didn't know how far they could trust us. We tried hard - incredibly hard - to build bridges, mend fences and deserve the respect we tried to mirror to the people with whom we interacted. We demanded a lot of our profession, and each other. It worked.
Law enforcement in 2018 is the most professional it has ever been. In many ways it has the 1980s to thank for that. So, have a little respect for your elders, sonny.
We got you here.
No comments:
Post a Comment