The Troops love thread got me thinking...curious what others think.

[Hatfield]

I didn't want to distract from the issue of respecting and honoring the troops in the other thread, but I did want to get some opinions on this:

After reading this quote from the thread:

There is no finer duty, save maybe the clergy, as an individual willing to sacrafice his self-interests, safety, and life for the sake of his home, his neighbors, and fellow citizens.

why is this standard not applied wholesale to law enforcement. In my opinion they perform all of the listed qualities above for little pay and less thanks.

Yet they are ridiculed and disrespected for the acts of the less than stellar officers, while the good/great officers are overlooked.

Similar to law enforcement, many troops are jackarses and many are excellent and fine upstanding representatives of their respective service.

So why does one group that protect us get a pass, but the other doesn't?

[jk the sooner fan]

because most people hate cops

[critical_phil]

99.97%.............

[Harry Beanbag]

I respect law enforcement and the difficult job that they have to perform every day. But I don't believe police officers have to worry about artillery, mines, tanks, snipers, grenades, ****ty food, bad water, going for weeks without bathing, living in a hole in the ground indefinitely, getting very little sleep for days, possibly killing other human beings regularly in order for them and their buddies to survive, and doing all of this in a foreign ****hole of a country while people back home give speeches about them being murdering terrorists.

Anybody else got anything to add?

[Sooner in Tampa]

I hold the police officers, emt's, and firemen in the same regard as the military and the clergy. They do amazing jobs and get little pay for it. I have a very good friend who is a deputy here in Florida...so I get a ton of insight into how much BS they have to put up with. I respect the hell out of them.
They do incredible work, with long hours, with no thanks, and very minor salaries for what they do. They deserve more respect than they get...that is for sure.

[fadada1]

I respect law enforcement and the difficult job that they have to perform every day. But I don't believe police officers have to worry about artillery, mines, tanks, snipers, grenades, ****ty food, bad water, going for weeks without bathing, living in a hole in the ground indefinitely, getting very little sleep for days, possibly killing other human beings regularly in order for them and their buddies to survive, and doing all of this in a foreign ****hole of a country while people back home give speeches about them being murdering terrorists.

Anybody else got anything to add?
totally agree. but cops have to deal with the lowlifes of society on a daily basis. meth crazed prostitutes (even though they're just trying to make a buck), car thieves wacked out on PCP, drug dealers with 50 cal protection, and ENRON executives.

while maybe not as dangerous on a "getting killed" by a non-democratic islamic fundamentalist, it is still a very unpredictable environment - and my hat goes off to them.

[jk the sooner fan]

even when i was helping somebody, i was always held with disdain....

some woman calls becaue her husband is beating the living **** out of her, so we go to get her to safety and she turns her anger on us, calling us every name in the book, taking swings.

[Hatfield]

i think it has to do with troops are viewed as protecting us from others while law enforcement is seen to be protecting us from ourselves (not saying that is a correct assessment)

and harry...law enforcement may not have to put up with those situations as frequently as soldiers but they do have to put up with them.

[jk the sooner fan]

well there was a time when soldiers were not held in high regard, i think our country learned a valuable lesson from the vietnam era...

however, things are cyclical in this country, and i would bet in another 10 years, it wont be so hip to be so "pro soldier"

[fadada1]

however, things are cyclical in this country, and i would bet in another 10 years, it wont be so hip to be so "pro soldier"
unfortunately, this might be true. especially if things in iraq/afghanistan don't turn out better.

it's too bad that many of the soldiers/sailors/marines (especially in the vietnam era) get blamed for what happened. it may end up similar in this instance as well. it's the people in power that should shoulder the blame. those fighting are just doing their job.

[usmc-sooner]

the answer is you never see a group of Marines swarming around the Donut Shop :D

[fadada1]

the answer is you never see a group of Marines swarming around the Donut Shop :D
no. you just let us squids drive you up to the door and get them for you;)

[mdklatt]

well there was a time when soldiers were not held in high regard, i think our country learned a valuable lesson from the vietnam era...



Police and firefighters got a bump in the polls after 9/11, too.

I'm not sure why clergy are being lumped together with soldiers and law enforcement. They're not exactly in mortal danger on the job, and outside of Catholic clergy they lead pretty normal lives.

[Hatfield]

They're not exactly in mortal danger on the job, and outside of Catholic clergy they lead pretty normal lives.

you've obviously never touched another man's child inappropriately.

[GDC]

I think soldiers, teachers, cops, nurses, doctors, firemen, tradesmen, and most other professions that actually contribute to and make society function are woefully underpaid and underappreciated. The business execs, ambulance chasers, actors, athletes, stock brokers and a few others take way to big a slice of the pie relative to their actual contributions to society.

[mdklatt]

you've obviously never touched another man's child inappropriately.

No, I can't say that I have.

[Pricetag]

i think it has to do with troops are viewed as protecting us from others while law enforcement is seen to be protecting us from ourselves (not saying that is a correct assessment)

and harry...law enforcement may not have to put up with those situations as frequently as soldiers but they do have to put up with them.
I think you're pretty close to the mark with the first statement. Most of us have been on the business end of the protecting at one point or another. Many are too arrogant to ever admit that they were wrong, and they resent the police for it.

I agree with the second point, too. The police can never assume that anything that they do, right down to the routine traffic stop, won't be potentially life threatening for them.

[Harry Beanbag]

and harry...law enforcement may not have to put up with those situations as frequently as soldiers but they do have to put up with them.


Which situations?

-artillery
-mines
-tanks
-snipers
-grenades
-****ty food
-bad water
-going for weeks without bathing
-living in a hole in the ground indefinitely
-getting very little sleep for days
-possibly killing other human beings regularly in order for them and their buddies to survive
-doing all of this in a foreign ****hole of a country while people back home give speeches about them being murdering terrorists


I'll let you point them out for me. Sure police officers and firefighters take risks all the time, much more than the average American, but trying to compare them to frontline combat troops has little to no basis in reality. Most police officers retire without ever firing their weapons in the line of duty. Not to take anything away from them though, they are undervalued and treated poorly as a whole in our society.



I think you're pretty close to the mark with the first statement. Most of us have been on the business end of the protecting at one point or another. Many are too arrogant to ever admit that they were wrong, and they resent the police for it.


Good point.

[Hatfield]

nowhere did I say they encounter it with the frequency of "frontline" troops.

the fact that they encounter it at all is sufficient. Your tone indicates you don't believe they face any of the situations in your list which to me is foolish.

[Hatfield]

and I will bold the ones I believe they deal with
Which situations?

-artillery
-mines*
-tanks
-snipers
-grenades*
-****ty food
-bad water
-going for weeks without bathing
-living in a hole in the ground indefinitely
-getting very little sleep for days
-possibly killing other human beings regularly in order for them and their buddies to survive Wouldn't include regularly, but when they engage in shootouts it is for the protection of their buddies and the general public.
-doing all of this in a foreign ****hole of a country while people back home give speeches about them being murdering terrorists(except change foreign to domestic)
*bolded them for the efforts of the bomb squad.

[jk the sooner fan]

i dont remember ever dealing with artillery and mines as a cop.......there were times we'd run across some nimwit who had a grenade in his house from WW2.....most cops arent on any sleep deprivation plan, they're union and work shifts.....

its an entirely different risk and danger....however, its still danger, and its 99.9% thankless

[Harry Beanbag]

and I will bold the ones I believe they deal with
Which situations?

-artillery
-mines*
-tanks
-snipers
-grenades*
-****ty food
-bad water
-going for weeks without bathing
-living in a hole in the ground indefinitely
-getting very little sleep for days
-possibly killing other human beings regularly in order for them and their buddies to survive
-doing all of this in a foreign ****hole of a country while people back home give speeches about them being murdering terrorists(except change foreign to domestic)
*bolded them for the efforts of the bomb squad.


I'll give you the bomb squad and explosives, just watch Grey's Anatomy. ;)

I still don't ever recall any reports of the CRIPS firing artillery barrages in downtown Dallas or Phoenix or any other American city recently.

I could be wrong, but from what I know law enforcement is shift work, not 24/7. They get to go home every night if they're lucky.

Killing people is not done with any semblance of regularity by police officers in this country.

I'll give you the last bolded one, although any ****hole in the U.S. is still infinitely better than the majority of places our troops fight.

[NormanPride]

I still don't ever recall any reports of the CRIPS firing artillery barrages in downtown Dallas or Phoenix or any other American city recently.

Some of the better mafias and crime syndicates have this kind of weaponry. Not artillery, but shoulder-fired missiles, RPGs, etc... But for the most part, policemen never have to deal with this. Sure, there are extreme cases, but most policemen only have to deal with the occasional domestic disturbance, from what I understand.