Ive always been raised in the mindset that police, government, security...all of it, was put into place for our best interest. I remember when I was a little kid, I would see the RCMP in their old Ford Taurus cars, ALWAYS rocking the conservative mustache working the street. It seemed to me they did the job for one reason....respect; definitely not for the money by the looks of it lol.
I remember in my elementary school years, my dad had dabbled in the policing industry as a conservation officer for 20 years, so I did have a very small inside perspective when it came to officiating. I remember the pay being horrible (senior officer getting under $40,000/year). I remembered the countless times we had to move (every 3 years!) It was especially hard in grade 8, moving from Humboldt to Moose Jaw....just before high school. The point I'm making here is, we had to abide by the law to a T...and what I mean here is, when we hunted, we properly stored our guns, we followed every no trespassing sign, we asked farmers for access, we dressed fully in orange, we looked for a wounded deer to sun down if need be, and so on....practice what you preach.
Later on in my years (oh...about 12ish?), I began to rebel a bit. I was caught stealing a golf ball from Sears...definitely not one of my proudest moments. What I DO remember well though was the respect given by both parties. I was raised to address the officer and security guard as sir. When I sat down in the small room waiting for them to escort me to my parents restaurant, I remembered the nice conversation I had with the RCMP and security guard. They spoke quite aloof, but in a respectful way. They knew I learned my lesson, and offered me tips on how I could best manage this situation. This was a first and last offense by me...Why, because I didn't want to be embarrassed like that again...to my folks, to the officers, to anyone.
You may now see I'm actually getting somewhere here lol
1) I'm going to do what I do best and generalize a bit here with respects to our current "Occupy" movement. Lets be honest, the majority of protesters in these camps are edging on the hippy end. I also suspect the majority don't approve of our politics either. I'm even going to wander out on a ledge and suggest many dislike our police service (and yes, this is almost a fact as I've first hand heard the shouts with my own ears). Slogans such as "military state", "facetious", "pigs", "corrupt"... heard them all. It should be no secret that I disapprove protesting in general...and I'm sure the majority of my friends (not the really close ones) disagree with me on this. Like seriously, if you are within several blocks of ANY riot, you SHOULD expect the full extent of the law on you. It's not like they don't warn you. Despite what you may think, they are doing their job! They are putting themselves into harms way because it's for the greater good of the city. I am sooooo tired of people claiming too much force was used at a riot, or they were pushed to the ground when they spat at an officer. Personally, not once have I felt my rights were abused....probably because I'm not always testing the extent to which they were written to. Don't get me wrong, you are free to exhibit your charter of rights and preach your crap, but when it's done on public land (Occupy)...and its slowly destroying the parks...and safety is becoming an issue (with fires in tents, drug overdoses, cold temperatures, and and and)...get the fu%k out of there...and if not, be moved by means of the full force of the law.
The above perspective is how I see our Police force in general....for the greater good! Below is a hypocritical side note haha (don't get confused though, this is a completely different side issue)...
2) a) You may or may not have heard that I have personally had 2 Toyota Tacoma's stolen in front of my house in the past 6 months. Insurance was a bitch...a long process that was never made easy (TD Meloche, just throwing that out there). The first one was a shock. I filed a police report. I never heard back till it was found AFTER my claim had gone through. My $41,000 newly bought truck lasted 2 months! Again, stolen in front of my house, no broken glass, no skid marks, nothing. This one currently still has not been found. Now, Jen and I feel we have been targeted, or someone is scoping the area out. Unfortunately, we have not received any advice, news, anything with these 2 bizarre thefts from the police. We are hesitant to park any vehicle in front now.
b) Last month, I had gone to a house warming trip up in Edmonton over the weekend. That Saturday night around 2am (after several beers), I was missing dozens of calls being made by Jen. She was alone in our new house with Nakita. I guess late at night, Jen heard voices along the house. She then heard someone trying to get into the front door. Understandably, she was quite scared. Once they started to pound on the door, it was the final straw. She called 911 and told them what was happening. In the morning, Jen talked to the neighbors and learned they had their garage broken into. The only reason ours wasn't was because our handle on our gate door was broken (dumb luck). Jen never did hear back from the police. So much for 911 priority. c) Literally several days after the 911 incident, I was driving Jen and I to the rental store to pick up a rental due to my stolen truck. Wouldn't you know it, a police officer caught us speeding down a hill. He gave us the ticket...no discounts. He asked if I wanted the payment details explained because he had to get back to catching more people. Jen was PISSED...and let him know it lol. Not only did we feel we were caught right in an unfair speed zone change, but the way the officer was in a hurry to catch someone else after basically taking $125 out of our pocket did not sit well with us. They were so quick to take our money with no compassion, but could not come by our house during a possible break and enter.
This gets me to my final point....finally....
Respect on both sides are lacking. I was very polite to the police officer; unfortunately it seemed he was more concerned in racking up fine totals instead of doing what was intended, keeping the area safe, letting the "culprit" know we are on the same side, but to make a point at the same time. If he would of taken several km off the ticket, those measly few dollars would of made the world to me...ahhh but alas. I received a speeding ticket 8 months ago (I know, seems like I speed a lot lol, but first 2 in 4 years). The officer had chew in his mouth while taking $115 out of my pocket...disrespectful. What ever happened to the tall and stiff older mustache men stopping us, feeling bad for us, and either warning us or rounding the ticket down.
The respect is down and it almost makes me begin to consider "hatting" the police...BUT....I'm at least intelligent enough to understand that at least I know my own well being and safety is good....great, especially compared to the majority of the places in the world. Its a job that is still lowering the murder rates, cleaning up the streets, and so forth. They just need to understand that the smaller simpler details are being missed.
Ah, gotta love my conflicting blogs...I've been quite pissed off at the police lately, but I still don't hate them, don't think they are corrupt, and feel they should use all the force needed....when needed, they just need manners lol.
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| Tough to take anyone seriously looking like that. |
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