Police officers have one of the toughest jobs ever; they deal constantly with distressed individuals and with idiots who believe that "petty" laws should be no law at all.Quote from: "Blurt"
They are charged with protecting the safety of citizens who then turn on them and spit in their eye for doing so, just because those citizens believe their fundamental right to break "petty" laws have been violated.
Wear your goddamned seatbelt, ffs! If a cop stops you, and tickets you, for having broken some law, smile, apologize, accept the fine, and then thank her for keeping the community a safe place for all.
And this is to say nothing of the dangers they face every day, dangers that are potentially life-ending. I've come to know many cops in my line of work. Their overriding concern has always been that everyone be safe and that no one get hurt (at least not any more than they already are at the time of crisis). Of the cops I've known, three are no longer with us; two have committed suicide and one was shot point blank in the stomach when she stopped a car with a broken tail light.
My only gripe is that the profession sometimes draws, as it does in the military, individuals who enjoy imposing their authority over others in a way that isn't conducive to de-escalation and peaceful resolution. But such individuals are the exception rather than the rule.
For the most part, cops are good people.
Well said Blurt, well said.