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A caller expressed his unpopular opinion on the Pat McCrory Show with Bo Thompson today. It was something that shook me to the core and begs me to ask what’s wrong with people? Normally, I would’ve disregarded this. But given the fact we’ve lost two police officers in less than a week and another two were wounded, I had to put this caller’s thoughts on air. Here was the very brief exchange.
Caller: “I have no remorse for the police officers killed”
McCrory: “You have no soul.”
A statement I stand by without any question in the world. Like I said in a piece last week, it’s time to start honoring our police again. Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon didn’t deserve to be taken away at the age of 25. Neither did Concord Police officer Jason Shuping, who was also 25 years old. Both were doing their jobs and knew the risks, but far too often people (like the caller) have zero respect for the sacrifices made by our law enforcement.
I was curious and looked at some statistics on the general public’s view on police and got some contradicting information by the same source. The New York Times reported on Sept. 22, 2019 that Americans trust the police more than Congress. The research was done by the Pew Institute and gauged the attitudes toward people in positions of power. “Americans trust police officers, military leaders and local public officials, but not congress.”
“The survey posed two questions about the performance of police officers and people had somewhat varying views: 84% say police do a good job protecting people from crime “all or most of the time” or “some of the time.” A smaller share (62%) say police officers do a good job treating racial and ethnic groups equally at least some of the time.”
A general overview, but less than a year later, The Times reported that “Confidence in Police Is at Record Low, Gallup Survey Finds.” The article from August 12th of this year said, “For the first time in its 27 years of measuring attitudes toward the police, Gallup found that a majority of American adults do not trust law enforcement.”
Why? Those 82% of people who were satisfied with how police were doing their job suddenly went to a record low? I’m not buying that at all. I think people see cops for the bad that happens in a small window of a viral video. They don’t see what led up to the moments of distress. It’s selective viewership because that’s what the mass audience of people choose to pay attention to.
It’s time to start seeing the good that police officers are doing in the community. Right now is a perfect time with the holiday season. Go out and take a look around at what’s really going on. You might come back with a different opinion if you stop seeing the world that’s handpicking for you and find the information out on your own.
Like I said before, “a few bad apples” still applies when it comes to police. Some join the force for the wrong reasons, but they’re the outliers when it comes to the ones who are there to serve their communities. It’s time for us to respect police for what they do. The hateful division that has ended with senseless murders needs to stop. We are capable of being a better society than this.
Let me say this again, If you see a police officer during this holiday season, a simple thank you goes a long way. We’ll never truly know what scene they came from or what they’re about to witness. We also don’t know the family they’re leaving behind to protest us.
