Dear Editor;
I continue to be astounded by the narrow-mindedness and ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude of the general public. I am not a police officer –nor would I want the job—but I am very close to some who are. These men and women put their lives on the line on a daily basis for our safety—and what do so many do—they complain about how situations encountered by officers are handled. Every single time a police officer responds to a call or pulls over a vehicle they don’t know if they face a gun or some drugged up person with some other weapon—think about the reality of that for a minute. Until you’ve walked a mile in their boots you have absolutely no right to judge. They are human and mistakes happen, to all of us, but nobody knows the whole truth of what takes place during these encounters. Watching clips on YouTube or the news only shows a portion of the situation. What gives anyone the right to judge based on a moment edited by the media? Until you’ve “been there” how about thanking a police officer for their dedication to a thankless job. Think about what our communities and society would be like without these men and women. Be grateful that there are those who are willing to put their lives on the line to help keep the rest of us safe. They won’t complain—they rarely do, they’ll just continue to do their job and taking the abuses that are hurled at them. But I, for one, am sick and tired of listening to people complain about the RCMP’s use of tasers (among other things) if you don’t like it I guess we can go back to the wild west way of doing things…shoot first and ask questions later.
Think about this poem:
THE POLICE
I have been where you fear to be
I have seen what you fear to see
I have done what you fear to do
All these things I have done for you
I am the man you lean upon
The man you cast your scorn upon
The man you bring your troubles to
All these men I’ve been to you
The man you ask to stand apart
The man you feel should have no heart
The man you call the man in blue
But I’m a man, just like you
And through the years I’ve come to see
That I’m not what you ask of me
So take this badge and take this gun
Will you take it? Will anyone?
And when you watch a person die
And hear a battered child cry
Then do you think you could be
All the things you ask of me?
- Anonymous
Leah Oglivie
Ponoka