Cops are parents too

[10zqueena]

elitedaily.com/news/world/protected-scared-like-police-officers-child/960548/\
There has been a lot of hate on cops these past few months and I personally think that it is going a little bit overboard, you can really blame all cops for what one cop has done and we all need to realize that cops have families too and the risk of a father or mother not coming back home because of something at work can really traumatize a child.

my question here is 
is all this hate on all cops because of the things a few of them had done necessary?
and a more vague question is 
why do we hate on others so much is it because we genuinely dislike the person or thing or is it because everyone else is doing it?

 

[6cdeniseclaire]

A close friend of mine has a father who is a NYC police man. She strongly expressed her disdain of this issue to me and I find that many people do throw hate towards the police department. However these men and women did sign up to risk their lives for he good of others. Why do we spend so much time hating on these people who wanted to sacrifice themselves for citizens they do not know. Queens makes a point that these people are just that. People. They have families and friends and lives. The are just as we are. The hate is purely in my opinion because we have decided we need people to blame for the misfortunes we encounter. It is easier to blame someone outside our selves. There fore we try to tarnish the reputation of those who have been willing to serve

[3mmargaret]

This is something I’ve also been aware of recently. I think it’s a shame that so much hate is being projected onto the police in general when it’s the system they work for that needs change. It is absolutely true that there have been far too many incidents of police brutality recently; however, the blame belongs to a) the individual cops who acted wrongfully and b) the system that does not thoroughly screen cops as they hire them. While there is some form of a screening process required to hire a cop, it doesn’t even cover membership of hate groups, as brought to light recently by the connection of a Florida cop to the KKK (http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/14/kkk-florida-police.html )
The upward trend in incidents of unjust policing indicates a growing need to reform the criminal justice system. People are responding to this in various ways, some productive and some not. Recent protests have successfully rallied public support and ignited passion in many. I think the hate towards cops is a result of people directing this passion at the easiest target, which is upsetting because using it to fuel movements for positive change would be much more effective. The unfounded hate for cops as a whole only disservices the real issue.

[6sjulia]

There is a lot of hate going around to police officers now in days and I believe that it is pointed towards the wrong people. First of all police officers do everything they can to stop crime, they do what is in their opinion necessary to keep themselves safe. Do I think that some of the recent incidents are getting out of hand? Absolutely. But I also believe that the media and other persuading sights are exaggerating the events that happened for popularity and profit.
There are so many protests against the police right now that people forget to pause and think; What would happen if there really was no police?
I've thought about it and I can tell you, it would become pure chaos. Have you ever watched the Purge, yeah that would be real life. Powerful people would take control of us and there would be no freedom. We wouldn't be allowed to step outside for a moment without the fear that we'd get kidnapped or shot.
We need the police, and we have to keep in mind that they are people too, they chose their job to protect us, to give us the safe environment we have today.

[6cjanelle]

I personally think if you live in neighborhoods where police patrol more often, then you can have an opinion on the matter. If you don't encounter police on a daily basis, and all you see is them in the media, whether portrayed as heroes or foes, then you can't have an opinion. There is an undeniable lack of safety in poor-income and minority neighborhoods and that is mainly because of the police that live there. There are also neighborhoods that are progressive and safe, and THAT is because of the police that are there. I don't believe cops are bad because they are cops, I believe they're bad because they are the guard dogs for a system built on destroying and eliminating African-American youth, and other POCs. They are the protectors of this underlying law that is made in order to justify the racial-profiling, the pursuing and the killing of people of color. It doesn't away the fact that they have risked their lives for us. They are definitely heroes for that. But one of the job's true purposes has become apparent to many people, transparent to the public. It is to protect this system built to kill. And that deserves to be recognized.

[3diegol]

The recent hate on cops is frankly unfair because of the constant generalizations that are being currently made about cops after the actions of just a few cops that got out of hand. Even death threats and deliberate acts of violence against police officers are occurring and it is unjust. We must not forget that the job of police department is to protect the people and regardless of the wrong actions of just a few police officers, their purpose has not changed. The certain anger against the controversial actions of some police officers may perhaps be justified. However, the senseless violence and even murder of police officers who have done nothing wrong is simply inexcusable.

Social media has played a huge role in spreading the news about recent scandals involving the police department. A popular stance on these scandals is to antagonize the entire police department and a huge percentage of the population has taken this very stance. Many individuals such as the family and friends of these unfortunate incidents have been directly affected and may resent the police. However, we cannot be too certain if the majority of the population is actually affected by this issue or if they are simply “hopping on the bandwagon”. The duty of our police force cannot be ignored and by antagonizing them, we are only prohibiting them from doing their job.

[10levan]

If you really want something to blame for all the animosity and further inflammation of the race issue in America, blame the media. If you think about it, when was the last time you read a news story about the good work an average policeman does? Why did the protest slogans in recent times refer to all cops as racist/killers? All media nowadays has an agenda, and it pits people against each other. It is easy to find an amorphous "thing" to blame, but it is easy to forget that the majority of police, just like the OP stated, are family members to others, and have relatives and children. This is the same kind of thing as referring to all bankers and lawyers as unscrupulous crooks. It's easy to see why the nation has become so incredibly polarized today. While it is very true that racism still exists in police departments over the US, if we cannot recognize each other as just people, nothing will change. PD's will not work to weed out the bad cops, while radicals on the other side will target the police in shootings, which in turn cause the police to act more aggressively. This vicious cycle will stop only when everyone can take a step back and tackle the issue quickly, but constructively and with reserve.

[6bnoah]

I agree with the crucial role that media plays in inflaming social issues out of proportion. However, I also agree with Janelle and others who talked about the systematic oppression that the police force propagate. This is not the fault of individual policemen; many individuals in the police force commit their lives to protecting the lives of others, and should be hold respect within our society. Despite this, many police also are improperly trained or abuse their power within society. This abuse, although not the fault of all police, is the main reason behind the anti-police movements. Police are important, of course, but the system needs to change.

[3gterrence]

Mar 15, 2015 20:41:37 GMT 6cjanelle said:

I personally think if you live in neighborhoods where police patrol more often, then you can have an opinion on the matter. If you don't encounter police on a daily basis, and all you see is them in the media, whether portrayed as heroes or foes, then you can't have an opinion. There is an undeniable lack of safety in poor-income and minority neighborhoods and that is mainly because of the police that live there. There are also neighborhoods that are progressive and safe, and THAT is because of the police that are there. I don't believe cops are bad because they are cops, I believe they're bad because they are the guard dogs for a system built on destroying and eliminating African-American youth, and other POCs. They are the protectors of this underlying law that is made in order to justify the racial-profiling, the pursuing and the killing of people of color. It doesn't away the fact that they have risked their lives for us. They are definitely heroes for that. But one of the job's true purposes has become apparent to many people, transparent to the public. It is to protect this system built to kill. And that deserves to be recognized.

First of all, I don't understand how you can tell others whether or not they are allowed to form an opinion on a matter based on whether or not it directly affects them. I have many opinions on issues going on in other parts of the world despite them not affected by them as I am sure you have and everyone has. Why is police brutality any different?

Your statement that the system is built around destroying black youth is a stretch. Yes, many individuals in the police force take advantage of current laws in order to act on racist principles, but that does not mean that the law itself is attempting to eliminate African Americans. 

[3cgenesis]

I definitely think that all this "hate" on cops in a result of the increasing popularity of protesting and others who are influencing people to do it. Accidents that have occurred such as those in Ferguson should not be the reason the public is starting to fear and blame the entire police force. The media has played a huge role in painting them out to be these racist, violent animals. It is important to think of them by not only their job title and stereo-types that go along with it,
but as an everyday person with a family. 

[3risabel]

The brutal hatred of cops that has developed recently in our society is a broad generalization. Yes, there have been instances where cops have done horrible, unjust things to people making us question our country's legal system. However, the entirety of the police community should not be defined as the mistakes of specific people. So many police are great people who spend everyday risking their lives to protect civilians. It is so incredibly important to remember that these people have families and the majority of police do not mean any harm. There are thousands of police who are African Americans themselves and I assume many police are against the actions against African Americans this year. Police officers all have families to go home to and take care of and hating on them is like hating on someone's father or brother or son. We cannot assume all cops are bad when they are out their each day protecting us and risking their safety.