Regular readers of this blog are aware that I've written several postings that criticize the police for their misdeeds and their seeming lack of impunity.
Every group has good and bad members. It's a human trait to seize on the bad actions of the few and then tar the whole group. So I plead guilty to this: I am human. (When we do this to a racial or religious minority, we call it prejudice. If I have thus explained prejudice, I don't mean to trivialize it; and, that's getting off the subject.)
I am sure that a great percentage of police officers do their jobs with conscientiousness and integrity, and serve and protect the public. And try to catch the bad guys. Still, it's undeniable that there have been a few rotten eggs. On this blog I have called attention to a few egregious cases and to indicate that I've been bothered when they seem to escape justice.
On the other hand, take firemen. Over the years there have been very few incidents that cast their calling in a bad light. (Once or twice a fireman was found to have pyromaniac tendencies and had himself been setting fires.) So it seems as though maybe 99.8% of firemen--well, probably even more than that--are good guys and they do heroic deeds every day, saving lives and property. They are truly heroes and deserve all the credit we can give them.
Copyright (c) 2010 by Richard Stein
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I have the greatest respect for firefighters, too, but here in Albuquerque a number of them have been arrested for drunk driving. The firefighters' union actually has a provision in its contract to give SWI firemen a second chance. So a fireman is now suing the city for not reinstating him to his former rank after an aggravated drunk driving conviction.
ReplyDeleteI would respect police and firefighters more if they were less protective of the few bad apples in their ranks.
Very good comment, Jim. I'd only heard about firemen who set fires and, as the blog posting said, that only once or twice.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that it's a problem if and when police or firemen close ranks and protect one of their own when he's done wrong. And again, I'd only been aware that that happened with police. It's truly sad--and now you've disillusioned me--that firemen can be as flawed as cops.
Good comment, Jim. But now you've disillusioned me a bit. I had not heard of firemen charged with DUI.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad when police or firemen close ranks and keep one of their own from being disciplined when some such action is in order.