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Just an observation on the "Cop" threads
wartiger
Member Posts: 3,861
Just looking back, I noticed on the "Stupid cops get sued" thread, there are at this current time, 41 replies and 691 views, but when I posted something good about a cop who gave a man $100 on a traffic stop, there were only 4 replies and only 151 views. Why is this? Is it because bad news is good news to some and the good news is merely an over-looked exception? Or, is it that some here just love to see cops screw up so they can point fingers and continue to lament on how corrupt all cops are? Just a thought......[?]
Comments
I generally stay off the "cop" threads because they seem to go south so fast.
Me........I am "cop neutral". [:D]
I also think most people hold the LEO's to a higher standard, which they should be, as were reminded daily there lives are more important and there training is so much better in driving , shooting , personal judgment , knowledge of the laws and so on. so when someone's in this case a LEO's human side shows up , as we all make mistakes . that's what draws the attention
No good answer from me.
I generally stay off the "cop" threads because they seem to go south so fast.
Me........I am "cop neutral". [:D]
Ditto
legalize pot threads. No matter what you say, someone is going
jump down your throat. Good and bad people wear all kinds of
disguises.
Just looking back, I noticed on the "Stupid cops get sued" thread, there are at this current time, 41 replies and 691 views, but when I posted something good about a cop who gave a man $100 on a traffic stop, there were only 4 replies and only 151 views. Why is this? Is it because bad news is good news to some and the good news is merely an over-looked exception? Or, is it that some here just love to see cops screw up so they can point fingers and continue to lament on how corrupt all cops are? Just a thought......[?]
I just now saw the story of the Plano cop giving the guy a $100.00 bill. I was going to post the story in case somebody hadn't seen it, like me! I think you may have jumped the gun on your * chewing.
http://www.thisblewmymind.com/wont-believe-cop-cameras-werent-rolling-unbelievable/
I think it was Winston Churchill who said 'A lie will make it halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on.' It's indicative of how fast a lot of people will jump on a negative, and how slowly they will respond to a positive.
I have sometimes questioned procedures that the Police have used, but perhaps out of turn, because I wasn't there. But characteristically, Cops are less prone to make any kind of a mistake in performing their jobs, than almost anyone else. I think that a negative attitude towards the Police is engendered by the pervasiveness, in our society, of people who have spent a lot of their time being chased by Cops, and those people always seem to be the most vocal. Even when a Cop goes out of his way to do a good thing, it's still in the context of going uphill against very often fictionalized negatives.
No good answer from me.
I generally stay off the "cop" threads because they seem to go south so fast.
Me........I am "cop neutral". [:D]
Plus who really believes there is a good cop.
..guntech59, I'm right there with you. It's the same with the
legalize pot threads. No matter what you say, someone is going
jump down your throat. Good and bad people wear all kinds of
disguises.
You are correct, Sir.
Why not? You are more likely to have a cop in your neighborhood than the mayor or a senator. He may even coach your kid's baseball team. You may sit on the same pew in church. You may not even know he is a cop.
cops/law dogs what ever their title is. there will be some that will not support the oath they took.
I dont think I have the knowledge to pick the good from the bad, so I trust none
maybe some one can tell me how to pick the good cops to trust. I am sure there is a few out there
Doctors kill far more people than cops, and they rarely are punished for it.
A bad plumber probably won't kill you, but he can sure wreck your day and empty your wallet.
Lots of threads giving different people praise and very few replies to them.
It's not unique to cops.
all the threads we have bashing different nascar drivers, but post one praising the driver of the GB truck, and there's one reply.
http://forums.GunBroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=531533&SearchTerms=good,job
I support individual police officers as far as they support the constitution and lose respect for them as far as they disrespect the constitution.
How do you choose which doctor, or plumber to trust?
Doctors kill far more people than cops, and they rarely are punished for it. therefore the term PRACTICING MEDICINE falls into play
a cop is not supposed to practice law. they are suspposed to follow the the laws that is set for them, as in the constitution
A bad plumber probably won't kill you, but he can sure wreck your day and empty your wallet.
kinda like angies list when it comes to doctors. it's called word of mouth
I do my own plumbing
I see a trend in this country that is accelerating. Police forces are becoming federalized and there is a much more pervasive attitude that citizens are something less than officers and that citizens are there to serve the state rather than the state existing to preserve the rights of individuals.
When we allow small erosions to our fundamental rights by govt employees, including police, we eventually gaurantee the disappearence of those rights. So when an officer oversteps his authority, whether due to ignorance or arrogance, they need to be immediately stopped and the community must be made aware. Only in this way may we protect our freedom.
When one of these "good cop" stories is presented it only serves to polarize the issue and make it appear to be about cop haters / cop supporters. I expect there are lots of officers who are model citizens with a history to be proud of. They are not newsworthy for the same simple reason we do not print stories of all the people who drove home sober last night. Those people's actions do not demand a reaction from me or the community.
We need to keep focused on the problems which do afflict us as a nation and do our best to ignore the static which only serves to divide and distract.
kids looked up to officers rather than feared or scorned them.
It's my sister's father in law, early 60's. He's still kickin'
in a home down in Louisiana. A finer man you'll never find.
[img][/img]
..Edit: Yep, it looks like Mayberry, but in IL. If a mod can blow the pic up, please do.
No good answer from me.
I generally stay off the "cop" threads because they seem to go south so fast.
Me........I am "cop neutral". [:D]
Ditto. There is good and bad in every occupation.
Good... Bad... Or Neutral.
I find that in general, posts tend to be more critical on the 'bad' cop threads .
I have commented on this topic before in other threads. While I do appreciate that cops are like any other collection of individuals and that they display the same range of good to bad as everyone else, I believe these warm fuzzy cop propaganda articles actually do a degree of harm.
I see a trend in this country that is accelerating. Police forces are becoming federalized and there is a much more pervasive attitude that citizens are something less than officers and that citizens are there to serve the state rather than the state existing to preserve the rights of individuals.
When we allow small erosions to our fundamental rights by govt employees, including police, we eventually gaurantee the disappearence of those rights. So when an officer oversteps his authority, whether due to ignorance or arrogance, they need to be immediately stopped and the community must be made aware. Only in this way may we protect our freedom.
When one of these "good cop" stories is presented it only serves to polarize the issue and make it appear to be about cop haters / cop supporters. I expect there are lots of officers who are model citizens with a history to be proud of. They are not newsworthy for the same simple reason we do not print stories of all the people who drove home sober last night. Those people's actions do not demand a reaction from me or the community.
We need to keep focused on the problems which do afflict us as a nation and do our best to ignore the static which only serves to divide and distract.
Posting an article about a bad cop is fine...the threads WILL run into trouble when the bashers and haters ad lib from the article FACTS and head off into the weeds with their own bashing...using it for a whipping post for all LEO's...[;)]
Some time back the paper ran a story on about 20 of them and most of them were still collecting pay or have since retired. In our town bad cops still keep getting paid until what ever they were accused of are either cleared or found guilty.
Then again our paper rarely has very few stories that are good in nature. Most stories are about the bad around us.
How do you choose which doctor, or plumber to trust?
Doctors kill far more people than cops, and they rarely are punished for it.
A bad plumber probably won't kill you, but he can sure wreck your day and empty your wallet.
true but a bad cop can put a bullet in you and get away with it ,more times than not , I don't believe the same is true for the plumber
I suspect there are more corrupt cops on an average week of TV than a year in the real world.
Bad cops are in a position to seriously ruin your day or end your life, and that seems to be a worry for some.
The culture of some police departments sometimes seems to go south, and that can be a problem for a community.
I remember when the police came to my jr. high school (before middle schools were invented) and talked to all the kids in assembly about how the police were really our friends and could always be trusted to help. Then they went out to the bike rack and wrote tickets to on all of the bikes that did not have the 25 cent bike license, so those kids had to go license their bikes. Friends might have handled it a little better, but in the end cops are human, and the examples will run from near saint to near saten as they do in all human realms. In the end I guess I am a little pro-cop, I have known some pretty darn good ones.
But people do seem to relish bad news, and the media thrives on it. Sunny days with only good deeds just don't make for drama.
They sure wanted to make an impression early on... huh?
Looks to me like they took advantage of having a "collective"...
And wanted to make a point.
Yeah... I agree with you He Dog... "Friends" would have handled that much differently.
And 'still' got the point across...
We... The public prefer hearing of the bad rather than the good.
I know we always say... "Can't they (the News media) have anything 'Good' to say?"
But, in the end... When do you really watch the news? When there's something pleasant or terrible...?
I'm thinking it's our nature to want to know the bad... And discuss it without end.
The good stuff is fine... Once in a while.
But, tell me what bad things happened today... OVER... and OVER... and OVER again.
That's what we 'want' to hear... Really.
quote:... But people do seem to relish bad news, and the media thrives on it. Sunny days with only good deeds just don't make for drama.IMO... This is the key.
We... The public prefer hearing of the bad rather than the good.
I know we always say... "Can't they (the News media) have anything 'Good' to say?"
But, in the end... When do you really watch the news? When there's something pleasant or terrible...?
I'm thinking it's our nature to want to know the bad... And discuss it without end.
The good stuff is fine... Once in a while.
But, tell me what bad things happened today... OVER... and OVER... and OVER again.
That's what we 'want' to hear... Really.
There is one thing being forgotten here. The media's only job is to keep us informed about those things we need to act upon. It is meant to be a check on the govt and any usurpations of power. That has been lost as control from top down is levied on all forms of news crews. Now they fill their time slot or pages with the inconsequential and leave the important issues unaddressed.
For this reason and the fact that they have replaced serious reporting with the daily tragedy and horror report, this is why I no longer watch any television or read any newspapers. There is nothing they offer that I want.
I suspect it's far more complicated than it appears.
Views are going to be initially driven by the title.
And trips back to the top from replies are driven by the content of the original post and subsequent additions.
I'm certain there are a couple of PhDs worth of study on that issue. [;)]
But controversy always brings out responses, which resets that top of page cycle.
Just looking back, I noticed on the "Stupid cops get sued" thread, there are at this current time, 41 replies and 691 views, but when I posted something good about a cop who gave a man $100 on a traffic stop, there were only 4 replies and only 151 views. Why is this?
I suspect it's far more complicated than it appears.
Views are going to be initially driven by the title.
And trips back to the top from replies are driven by the content of the original post and subsequent additions.
I'm certain there are a couple of PhDs worth of study on that issue. [;)]
But controversy always brings out responses, which resets that top of page cycle.
As to threads here in GBGD... Agreed.
quote:Originally posted by retroxler58
quote:... But people do seem to relish bad news, and the media thrives on it. Sunny days with only good deeds just don't make for drama.IMO... This is the key.
We... The public prefer hearing of the bad rather than the good.
I know we always say... "Can't they (the News media) have anything 'Good' to say?"
But, in the end... When do you really watch the news? When there's something pleasant or terrible...?
I'm thinking it's our nature to want to know the bad... And discuss it without end.
The good stuff is fine... Once in a while.
But, tell me what bad things happened today... OVER... and OVER... and OVER again.
That's what we 'want' to hear... Really.
There is one thing being forgotten here. The media's only job is to keep us informed about those things we need to act upon. It is meant to be a check on the govt and any usurpations of power. That has been lost as control from top down is levied on all forms of news crews. Now they fill their time slot or pages with the inconsequential and leave the important issues unaddressed.
For this reason and the fact that they have replaced serious reporting with the daily tragedy and horror report, this is why I no longer watch any television or read any newspapers. There is nothing they offer that I want.
I'm with you there skicat... I rarely watch TV... And we don't take the paper.
I'll watch a movie when it comes on IF I know about it...
And I watch "The Walking Dead" on Sunday nights...
Thanks to my daughter who got me started on it a couple seasons back.
I get my 'notable' news right here on the forums...
And check the weather by looking outside.
'What else' do I need to know ?
If I need to find some info... I research it out on the net...
I read a lot online... That's about it.
I'm as pro cop as I am pro gun dealer - that's mostly all I ever see or hear about. A bad version or either one OUGHT to make the news, but ought NOT be generalized into "all."
i have noticed on these threads no matter how outlandish the original topic is there is leo's who defend any action what so ever, SOP, uninformed, etc, etc
could it be the stirring of the pot that keeps the topic fresh and reocuring on the front page ? just a thought......[V]
Don't post much anymore, just read, but the cop thing is 'what it is'... I retired from police work last May, after 30 years and a month. I don't have a pension. I don't have retirement. I absolutely worked my butt off during that 30 years to try to do the right thing and to guide or MAKE those wearing a badge around me to DO the right thing. Absolutely, without question, I was accused of more wrong doing and absurd behavior that was NOT TRUE than I EVER was commended. Oh, I got some public 'atta-boys', don't get me wrong but BY FAR the accusations of wrong doing FAR out weighed the congrats on a good job. I went above and beyond, I put in the extra time, I tried to 'right wrongs' and I tried to RIGHT my mistakes. EVERY time. I was taught early on in my career, that the cop-bashing and absurd accusations was 'just how it was' and to shut up, bite the bullet and move on. THAT was hard to do. I lived my work. I always worked in rural, smaller communities, lived the fish-bowl existence and tried to maintain a proper public image. I was pretty good cop and the last 15 years I was pretty good boss of cops. If we screwed up, we were INSTANTLY threatened with lawsuits. I was named in 6 lawsuits in 30 years. Never sued successfully because of good documentation and because I tried to do the RIGHT thing and in court that showed abundantly cleared. BUT, I was still SUED, it cost me personally $$$ and it cost the taxpayers even more! My whole point is this; When I got lumped into some peoples threads / bashings of pithin' and moanin' it made me mad. It HURT. But it made me more resolute to make sure me and mine were even MORE cautious and cognizant that we were protecting peoples rights. However, after 30 years of being harassed, harangued, chastised, teased, threatened and watched, I said enough was enough. Hey, the career way MY choice, my decision. So, I 'retired'. I was absolutely SICK of the stress of trying to make everyone happy ALL the time. I can't TELL you how liberating it was and has been to take the badge and gun off. Now, I'm able to sleep ALL night, my chest pains disappeared immediately and my life feels content. THAT is my 3 cents. Just like in EVERY walk of life and profession, there are bad apples. I was NOT a bad apple, in fact, I ELIMINATED several bad apples from my profession. Do you think anyone GIVES a crap...? Sure. LOTS of people. Will I or DID I ever hear anyone say they were GLAD I did that? No. If you ever wanna try a profession full of stress, thanklessness and absolute fishbowlism, put on a badge and gun and try to protect people. HOWEVER, if you are like ME and you tend to worry about what people THINK about you, if you don't like you and yours to be threatened physically and financially, don't do it! I'm proud of my 30 years as a cop, but I gotta say: I've NEVER been happier now that I'm doing the physical outdoor work I'm doing now. So, again, my 3 cents.
quote:... I was NOT a bad apple, in fact, I ELIMINATED several bad apples from my profession. Do you think anyone GIVES a crap...? Sure. LOTS of people. Will I or DID I ever hear anyone say they were GLAD I did that? No. ...Well... Let me be the first.
Thank you for making sure WE... The private citizens... Were protected from the bad guys...
AND... The damn "Bad Apples"...
To recognize that some cops are not cut from the same cloth and should be culled...
Takes a stronger man than most. For this... I THANK YOU!
If ever we should meet... A cup of'Joe is on me sir...
Conversely, when a cop does do something wrong, it is an outlier, and it gets attention.
Unfortunately, the media in this country us decidedly leftist. And leftists have had an antipathy towards law enforcement as one of their central themes since time began.
In our area we have a columnist who jumps on the police each and every time a bad guy is harmed or killed, because they 'must have done something wrong or they should have done something different'. Same old tired refrain we see here on GB so often.
Funny thing is, he was a witness to the police risking their lives to disarm a mentally unstable individual so that he wasn't harmed, and he never wrote a word about it. Some might wonder why. I know it is because he is a leftist scumbag.