I'm going to Regret Joining this Conversation.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know NYC Mayor De Blasio and the NYPD are not happy with one another right now. Cops in Staten Island killed a man for selling cigarettes out of his pockets, a grand jury returned no bill, the Mayor had a few choice words on the subject and they were not a carte blanche for his men and women in blue. Whenever someone doesn't follow the script it kind of sets up everyone else to react badly. De Blasio, from the Blue Wall's POV was supposed to say that there must be some reasonable explanation, that the officers were well within the law, doing their duty, good record blah blah blah, so sorry for the family. What he actually said was that, while most of the police force of the Big Apple, are men and women of good character an integrity, some aren't. Statistically speaking, this has to be true. He also said that he doesn't intend to rely on intimidation tactics to keep NYC the family-friendly metropolis it's become (since the 1980's), but wants a police force that works with the community, and isn't viewed as a tax-payer subsidised gang.
These are good goals. And I will be partisan and un-objective by saying that I feel police forces are viewed as uniformed gangs and with mistrust because every cop I've ever had business with has been an asshole. They don't make me want to work with them, they don't make me want to talk to them. They make me angry and ready to say something snarky that I probably shouldn't.
How did the NYPD feel about this? They turned their backs on the man at a fellow officer's funeral.
Obviously emergency response personnel are different from the rest of us poor slobs. Firemen run into burning buildings as the rest of us run out, paramedics cut off our t-shirts no matter what symptoms we're displaying and (more seriously) have to stabilise someone in a record amount of time, and police officers run towards gun shots as, again, we're all running away. Thanks a bunch for that, guys. I could never do that job, mostly from a lack of desire to do that job which is pretty common. So the fact that some people want to "help people" SO BADLY that they're going to swallow down every survival instinct and do that task is really cool.
But then there are the people who are in the job for entirely the wrong reasons: Saw a few too many seasons of "Cops", love to drive really fast, thought they'd be in a sexy calendar, who knows. Those people are jerks. The thing is, though, in NYPD's case, they're jerks with guns and the authority to screw up a life with little provocation.
While I understand the dismay and anger they may be feeling, from a civilian's point of view, it really looks like they're throwing a hissy fit because the new Mayor won't let them bully people any more. There has been a huge period of NYC mayors telling police departments, "I don't care what you have to do, get crime rates down." Mayor Giuliani authorised them to boot the homeless, Bloomberg gave them the stop and frisk. I can see how they would have grown comfortable and used to these powers, but now we have to grow up, and instead of putting on their big boy and girl pants, they're turning their backs on the mayor. From anyone else, this would be childish, maybe something to scoff at.
From an emergency response agency who's sole purpose is to prevent and resolve crimes violent or otherwise, this is down right scary.
Let me say again: These people have guns, handcuffs, tasers, and the ability to haul our asses into the station because they might be having a bad day. They can give us a criminal record or harass us with bullshit tickets, fines or other violations. One year when I was new at a job, a police officer took a stressful situation and made it into a dangerous one. When it was over, I asked him for his name (I damn well wanted to complain to his superior). He refused to give it to me, so I said, "that's okay, I've copied down your badge number." My mother was convinced that every Poughkeepsie cop was going to hassle me after that. That there was no where for me to park, no right turn on red I'd ever be able to make. Is it right that we should be scared of our police force like that? And therefore, is it right that they ignore the only higher power that we civilians can petition for fair treatment: The Mayor's office? Again, this scares the snot out of me. Sure, cops won't listen to me, but if they're not recognising the mayor, what are they going to do next? Imagine if the army decided "fuck the commander in chief?" NOT OKAY! This foreshadows a state of anarchy. What are they going to do next? Decide amongst themselves what constitutes a crime? With this behaviour, they are taking a step away from being a police force and moving towards vigilantism. Makes for an okay movie, possibly Clint's favourite, but I really don't want to live it.
These are good goals. And I will be partisan and un-objective by saying that I feel police forces are viewed as uniformed gangs and with mistrust because every cop I've ever had business with has been an asshole. They don't make me want to work with them, they don't make me want to talk to them. They make me angry and ready to say something snarky that I probably shouldn't.
How did the NYPD feel about this? They turned their backs on the man at a fellow officer's funeral.
Obviously emergency response personnel are different from the rest of us poor slobs. Firemen run into burning buildings as the rest of us run out, paramedics cut off our t-shirts no matter what symptoms we're displaying and (more seriously) have to stabilise someone in a record amount of time, and police officers run towards gun shots as, again, we're all running away. Thanks a bunch for that, guys. I could never do that job, mostly from a lack of desire to do that job which is pretty common. So the fact that some people want to "help people" SO BADLY that they're going to swallow down every survival instinct and do that task is really cool.
But then there are the people who are in the job for entirely the wrong reasons: Saw a few too many seasons of "Cops", love to drive really fast, thought they'd be in a sexy calendar, who knows. Those people are jerks. The thing is, though, in NYPD's case, they're jerks with guns and the authority to screw up a life with little provocation.
While I understand the dismay and anger they may be feeling, from a civilian's point of view, it really looks like they're throwing a hissy fit because the new Mayor won't let them bully people any more. There has been a huge period of NYC mayors telling police departments, "I don't care what you have to do, get crime rates down." Mayor Giuliani authorised them to boot the homeless, Bloomberg gave them the stop and frisk. I can see how they would have grown comfortable and used to these powers, but now we have to grow up, and instead of putting on their big boy and girl pants, they're turning their backs on the mayor. From anyone else, this would be childish, maybe something to scoff at.
From an emergency response agency who's sole purpose is to prevent and resolve crimes violent or otherwise, this is down right scary.
Let me say again: These people have guns, handcuffs, tasers, and the ability to haul our asses into the station because they might be having a bad day. They can give us a criminal record or harass us with bullshit tickets, fines or other violations. One year when I was new at a job, a police officer took a stressful situation and made it into a dangerous one. When it was over, I asked him for his name (I damn well wanted to complain to his superior). He refused to give it to me, so I said, "that's okay, I've copied down your badge number." My mother was convinced that every Poughkeepsie cop was going to hassle me after that. That there was no where for me to park, no right turn on red I'd ever be able to make. Is it right that we should be scared of our police force like that? And therefore, is it right that they ignore the only higher power that we civilians can petition for fair treatment: The Mayor's office? Again, this scares the snot out of me. Sure, cops won't listen to me, but if they're not recognising the mayor, what are they going to do next? Imagine if the army decided "fuck the commander in chief?" NOT OKAY! This foreshadows a state of anarchy. What are they going to do next? Decide amongst themselves what constitutes a crime? With this behaviour, they are taking a step away from being a police force and moving towards vigilantism. Makes for an okay movie, possibly Clint's favourite, but I really don't want to live it.
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