nypd blues

if you're from new york and haven't just recently been released from a protective bottle or been thawed from cryogenic hibernation, you've noticed that the nypd have been in the news with some frequency. sean bell. tazer murders. suicides. gun fights. brutality. unnecessary force. the list goes on and on. and, chances are, this isn't behavior that you're surprised by. it is a sad state of affairs when a society almost expects the individuals that are supposed to protect them to misuse the power they have been given.

so i know all of you are with me here. and probably gettin all riled up inside with those "i hate pigs" and "cops are assholes" thoughts. but here is where i may lose some popularity for my stance. i don't think cops are pigs or assholes. that is a sterotype. and everyone reading this that has ever been confronted with a stereotype of themselves realizes that stereotypes are wrong. sure, there will be some in any group that fit the general stereotype. after all, stereotypes are based on people that actually exist. however, we should have the ability to recognize that the majority of a given group does not fit the criteria of that stereotype. some black people don't like watermelon. not all asians are good at math. not every hispanic has at some point lived in a house with a tin roof. and not all police officers are assholes.

many members of the nypd are kind, benevolent human beings who aim only to protect and serve. others are decent human beings that need a paycheck and take their job seriously, regardless of whether they love it or not. many have families - wives, children, brother and sisters - that they go home to each night and worry every day about not making it back to them. so many stories. so many personalities. There’s no way they could all fall under the same umbrella. and yet the negative stereotyping persists.

police officers have what can be one of the toughest jobs to do. they must constantly be conscious and aware of their surroundings. they have to patrol and protect the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world. they have to deal with all kinds of drunk, druggies, degenerates, and deadbeats (i love alliteration by the way). and they have to do it all with targets on their backs. with us looking down at them. hurling insults and dirty looks their way. i mean yea, some of them deserve it. and some of them can get out of hand at some times. but we certainly don't help by making them feel as if their life is in danger whenever they exercise a little authority (or even when they don't).

i don't condone police brutality. and i don't think that members of nypd should feel a sense of superiority or entitlement. but i do think that they aren't all bad. and i do think that they should be given the benefit of the doubt. and maybe, just maybe, the kindness and understanding we show to them will be given back to the individuals they come in contact with.