Most annoying stereotype

[jackM50black]

On the cop thang:

Cops certainly do choose which laws to enforce and which they will let slide. That is a major beef with me.

[mustangski]

There sure is a lot of cop haters out there, I am not a Police officer however a lot of the Marines I work with are cops in the civilian sector. You have to realize that cops deal with the worlds scum on a daily basis. I can't stand when people get pissed at Police for enforcing laws they didn't write. If you want to get pissed get pissed at politicians. Being a cop is a thankless job, except for after 9-11 then Americans were all about it for about 6 months or until they were caught speeding and got a ticket. Here's an idea, don't break the rules and you won't get pulled over. If you do something stupid (and everybody does) face the consequences. Police Officers put their lives on the line everyday in an attempt to keep America a safe place to live, much like the military. The only difference is I get thanked all the time for serving in the military. When was the last time somebody thanked a cop for doing what they do? Like I said earlier I'm not a cop, but it really gets me when people assume all cops are worthless because at some point some officer decided to give them a ticket they probably deserved.

[DivideOverflow]

I wouldn't put university security along with regular cops. Security people at universities are mostly pain in the "O Ring" and go around looking for people to give tickets to, as in walk by every car in the parking lot. I also haven't had a bad experience with cops yet.

They are not university security, they are real police. Security officers can't arrest you... these are full fledged police officers. My University has it's own zip code, police station, fire station, water treatment facillity, etc, etc, etc.

Also, there is a difference between upholding the law and being a dick. I have personally thanked police officers for what they do. I have 2 cops that live in my parent's neighborhood, and I like them just fine! In fact, I like the police for my city... just not the "exceptional people" on a power-trip.

[CNF2002]

Bah, I think most "cop hating" stems from people's interactions with traffic cops. The cops who are typically solving crimes and chasing felony-criminal bad guys we usually don't meet until we're in a situation we probably don't want to be in in the first place.

Traffic cops get the worst of it, I think. Sure, some have a bad attitude and give tickets for silly reasons...but think about this: those cops spend all day in the car, writing reports and issuing tickets to people on the road who are violating traffic laws. But everyone throws a fit when they get pulled over, because they have the idea that traffic laws are meant to be broken. Everyone ELSE was speeding so why can't they? The light BARELY turned red, whats the big deal? I'm late you idiot!! So these poor cops have to deal with shmucks on the road, all with bad attitudes, not knowing whether those people have a gun or pose a threat, risking their lives just because the city needs them to stop idiots from driving like...well...idiots.

If you spent every day in their shoes I bet you'd be a jerk sometimes too.

[Venarius]

Steriotypes? I hate when people assume that I ride a harley cause it's on two wheels.

On to the cop thing. I've seen it both ways. My father was a firefighter all throughout my youth and if your priviledged enough to know, the FF and 5-0 love to hang out together and share a mutual comradery. SO growing up I met a lot of cops on very good terms. Hell, I even grew up with one as a neighbor. And despite an overwhelming amount of "cops are good" as a kid, many times more than that of the average kid, I have still come to see them as "bad".

Not all are however. I think it breaks down like this.

1/3rd are good cops, rightous, kind, empathetic.
1/3rd are "bad cops", "Donut Holes" on a power trip
1/3rd are "bad cops", guys who joined for the advantages it gives

The last kind I myself have known 2 of. Heavy Drug users who joined the Force for the immunity it gave them along with all the extra "stuff" they pocket from "criminals". I've spoken with the guy responsible for destroying all the pipes and burning all the pot and drugs that the police seize in NH, and even he freely admits he gets about 1/3rd of what is actually confinscated.

I like cops. There are a lot of good one's out there. Unfortunately their overshadowed by the "Donut Holes" or crooked cops.

Even my next door Neighbor cop was an "O Ring", someone constantly spying out his window on my family and even running licence plates on cars in our driveway because he wants to know what's going on.

You know what I feel when I'm on the highway and see the lights in my rear-view? Not once has it been a sigh of relief because their going to get someone that deserves it. Instead there's an immediate panic as my heart jumps into my throat as if I had done something wrong...even though I havn't...

People become cops because they want that line drawn, they want everything on one side of the line to be evil criminals, dastardly villians who need to be spited vs the cops on the other side of the line, who want to be the superhero's of the day.

Too many districts use the Broken window theory with crime, that being hard on misdimenors will lead to a decline in "bigger crime" such as murder and rape. While I understand the principle (a community in slight disarray is a breading grounds for larger disarray), I personally want the cops going more for the murders and rapists than the jaywalkers and loiterers.

When you look into the whole system of law enforcment (clearly evident in the crime statistics for the FBI), you see that they only deal with blue collar crimes (robbery, arson, murder, rape), when in actuality the most damaging crimes are white collar crimes (Think Enron), which cause a decline in living conditions within a region leading to increased (blue collar)crime.

In our system, the grunts (officer stopping you for a ticket for example) have the most discretion, As opposed to the judges in the court system that more or less are restricted by mandatory minimum sentancing and precidents. Being as our system gives the most discretion to "those out in the street", the grunts, It would make sense that those actually enforcing the law on the most basic of levels with the most discretion should be the one's that are actively evaluating the law, asking "does this law make sense?" But they are typically the exact opposite, upholding the letter of the law even when the law doesn't apply or make sense.

Also, law enforcement can be a self fulfilling prophecy. If we take the war on drugs for example, Penalty's get harsher leading to more arrests, thereby validating the harsher laws and necesitating more law enforcement officers, which again leads to more arrests, leading to more officers. Its a sick cycle that has brought us where we are today, the inability to objectively assess a law due to the mass amount of funds and law enforcement officers currently deligated to the enforcement of said law. In Lamens terms, they won't decriminilize drugs for the sheer reason that too many jobs and funds go to keep them criminal. If drugs were legalized tomorrow, think of the law enforcement backlash from the slashes in funding and all of the specialty officers now without a job or useful background.

[liablemtl]

There sure is a lot of cop haters out there, I am not a Police officer however a lot of the Marines I work with are cops in the civilian sector. You have to realize that cops deal with the worlds scum on a daily basis. I can't stand when people get pissed at Police for enforcing laws they didn't write. If you want to get pissed get pissed at politicians. Being a cop is a thankless job, except for after 9-11 then Americans were all about it for about 6 months or until they were caught speeding and got a ticket. Here's an idea, don't break the rules and you won't get pulled over. If you do something stupid (and everybody does) face the consequences. Police Officers put their lives on the line everyday in an attempt to keep America a safe place to live, much like the military. The only difference is I get thanked all the time for serving in the military. When was the last time somebody thanked a cop for doing what they do? Like I said earlier I'm not a cop, but it really gets me when people assume all cops are worthless because at some point some officer decided to give them a ticket they probably deserved.

ahhhhh... a voice of reason. Thank you for making my point for me.

[ZooTech]

Again, my dad was a cop for 27-years. He just retired like five years ago. I grew up around cops and many were like family. I realize that being a cop is a thankless job at times, but if you can't handle being berrated by the scum of the earth and an hour later treat law-abiding citizens in need of help with empathy and respect, find another job...NOW!

I was reading the Columbus Dispatch a few months ago and came across an article where the police commissioner disclosed the amount they budgeted for the year from moving violations. HELLO?!?!?!? Speeding and whatnot is AGAINST THE LAW, so one MUST go into each year assuming that NO ONE will break the law! After all, laws aren't supposed to be broken! By budgeting how much revenue will be generated by these infractions, you actually pressure officers to go out and make sure that budget number is met, and that creates animosity between police and civilians.

[BRUMBEAR]

most people don't like cops till they need one one of my best friends died as a result of ingesting heavy metals and crap into his lungs on 9?11 he was a cop and he was a hero and on that note we were talking about what ?

[scan]

most people don't like cops till they need one one of my best friends died as a result of ingesting heavy metals and "crumb" into his lungs on 9?11 he was a cop and he was a hero and on that note we were talking about what ?

Actually the hatred for cops hijacked my thread about stereotypes.

I'd like to see if we can get some help on the original concept, since we seem to have the stereotypes about cops covered now.

[Shiv]

Eh threads always get hijacked one way or another.


Ok here's one: I hate the stereotype that, just because I like the color black, that I'm a goth.

I'll be wearing a black shirt, flip flops, jeans (blue jeans, not black jeans) and I've still been called a goth before.

It must have been the long (brown, mind you) hair.

Or people just don't know what they're talking about, whichever.