Sirens screech, causing you to turn your head to the noise. A black and white car speeds on the road, like a bolt of lightening. The lights of the small car flash red and blue, allowing everyone to know the authorities are present. The chase begins, or at least, a crime has occurred. You possibly think that it is truly a fantastic quality of the United States to have protection from police; or perhaps, you think the opposite and despise the idea of police; or maybe you are just like me and become scared in general with the presence of the police, even when you are completely innocent.
I believe that we as humans have questioned authority. Naturally, we are creatures that yearn for freedom. We yearn for happiness and to live an amazing life with awesome chocolate and sweets to eat on a Friday night. Which is completely understandable. I would like that for myself. However, there is a great question that has been rising, a great question that should be discussed. Why are cops being hated?
Within our world, we have been taught to fear police since a very young age.
Think about it.
Whenever I would get in trouble, my mother would say to me, “If you don’t knock it off, I will call the police.” Of course my mother would never call the police on four year old me. It was not just because I was adorable, but it was also because it would be ridiculous to call the police because a four year old was misbehaving. It was just a form of a way to make me behave. But it still brought in a fearful emotion within me as though my mother screamed FIRE instead of saying something to have me behave. Even to this day if you say to someone that you will call the police. An emotion sparks within them and they have the sudden urge to escape.
Fear is not the only thing that plays within the role of hating cops. It is the bad reputation that cops have received for so many years. Besides the thought that cops enjoy a nice donut and coffee, there is also the thought that the cops are the enemies. So many people become irritated with policemen and policewomen when they are pulled over for speeding or passing a red light. Some people would enjoy it if the cops just minded their own business and do not become involved. But I do not think the police are going to turn their heads away anytime soon.
Because of the bad reputation the police have, it creates something similar to a domino effect. For example, the moment I learned of Eric Garner’s death, the man who died because police officers placed him in a chokehold; I was fuming with anger. I hated every cop out there. I was angry that nothing was done. I was furious that it was allowed for people who were meant to be our protectors, our heroes, to kill one of our citizens. But then I think, there are more than just that group of police officers out there. Just because there are some bad police officers out there, does not mean that every single one is a terrible person. When 9/11 occurred, sixty police officers died trying to save the lives of innocent people. So, there has to be good policemen and policewomen out there. I refuse to believe otherwise.
The United States is a large country, with 317 million people currently living in it. Out of that 317 million, there are more than 900,000 people who are police officers. Out of both of these numbers, there are good people and there are bad people. None of us can truly know who the bad people are and who the good people are, but we are blind if we hide the fact that in the soil there are weeds growing and flowers growing. Both intertwine together, but both are different.
I do not hate the police. I am more afraid of them than hateful. I do, however, disapprove of those who are abusing their powers. But it is true that most people who study law and want to become a police officer are doing it so they can create a better society to live in. Police officers know their duties and some risks their lives for people. They want to help people make better choices and choose a better life for themselves. They want to serve the community and change the bad and turn it into something good. These police officers are to be rewarded and respected. However, we are living in this culture where people are beginning to believe that those who are to protect us are those who are trying to murder us.
Some people do not realize that so many people show their hate and disrespect to police officers. It is almost like people are forgetting that police officers are human too. In two different reports, some people like to use social media, such as Facebook, to express their hate and disrespect police officers. Gerard Golston, a 24 year old man, threatens to shoot a police officer with a rap video that he posted on Facebook. Another person, a 17 year old teenager, threatens police officers with a status, containing gun emojis, police officer emojis, and fire emojis. He was also charged with making terrorists threats.
Is this the kind of world that we want to live in? Do we really want to live in a world where we make those who are meant to protect us from harm the enemy? Police officers are not the enemies out there. The real bad guys are those who are the criminals. They are the murderers, the robbers, the terrorists, the rapists, the kidnappers, and etc. Police are doing all they can to make the world a better place.
Imagine a world without police officers. Sure, Eric Garner would be alive but deep down you know that we need them. You know that we need the good police officers, because if we didn’t have them, then we would live in a everyday purge like the 2013 film. People would do whatever they want. They would murder, rob, rape, torture, kidnap, and do whatever kind of unspeakable crime out there. I do not want to live in a world with a purge constantly existing 24/7; 525,949 minutes; 8,765 hours; 12 months; and 365 days a year. After that time is out, then the clock would reset all over again and the crimes would continue until we turn nothing into but monstrous savages, forgetting the very definition of humanity.
In the end, there are going to be heroes and there are going to be villains. There is going to be that one really nice police officer and there is going to be that one police officer that you want to desperately hit. There is a mixture and with the mixture there is so much involved with it. We shouldn’t hate every police officer out there, but it is normal to have hostility to those who do nothing but cause harm to our country. But we should have respect to those who do all they can to protect us from harm.
“My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters and members of our armed forces.” – Sidney Sheldon.