Paul Harvey Had It Right

Here It Is.
Here Is My Blog Post.
Here Is My Blog Post With My Opinion.

A blog post with my opinion about the recent police CRAZINESS.
And it is SHEER craziness, people. In my opinion, of course.

The day when the problem of police brutality (and I do acknowledge that it is a problem with some officers) sparks a national riot and causes the whole country to rise up against law enforcement as a whole, is the day when an an abusive husband causes all women to stand up against marriage. We know that there are men who hit their wives, so why aren't there crowds gathering to chant, "What do we want? DEAD HUSBANDS! When do we want them? WE WANT THEM NOW!"

My thought? It's because we have an issue with authority. We always have. We blame LEOs for the same reason we blame referees after our kids lose their soccer game or the same reason we blame their teacher when they fail science. Of course it's deeper and more complex than this, but overall it's the same root problem- we despise authority.
I am not suggesting that because someone is over us in authority they are justified in misusing or abusing their power. Not at all. But what I am suggesting is this: do we act like guilty children sometimes and scream "ow! you're hurting me!" before someone ever has ever laid a hand on us? Do we complain about getting a speeding ticket when we were, in fact, speeding? Do we ramble on and on about how the local PD is lame because all they do is issue tickets for public urination and noise pollution?

Might I suggest that we, as a society, are actually ignorant to what LEOs really do on a daily basis? Unless you have a close friend or family member who serves, you are probably ignorant.
The only other way you might be aware of what they actually do is if you listen to a police scanner on a regular basis. Even that gives only a partial picture.

SILENCE.

On Thursday, I took my children to SLU so we could play in the snow with our adopted student before she heads back to Bangladesh. We parked at the bookstore, and as we got out of the vehicle to gather up our snow gear and gifts I could see a campus security officer watching the process. She was counting heads, as most people do, but as we walked past her vehicle she made a comment that isn't the norm. She said, "They're all yours? Wow. That's awesome. Good for you!" The kids smiled and in return, a couple of the twins responded: "Yeah, well thank YOU for your service."

Awkward silence.

A strange look.

And then more awkward silence.

My kids walked on but I stayed behind. I saw the look on her face change from a light-hearted smile to a genuine "I don't even know how to respond to this right now". She laughed nervously and explained herself. "Sorry, I usually only get cursed at. That's amazing that children that age would say thank you to me." I said, "Truth is, we are thankful for what you do and I will always teach my children to express it."

This is not the Criscitello family bowing down to people who serve in this way. This is not putting a man or woman up on a pedestal. This is simply saying thank you to the men and woman who RESPOND.  Choosing to respect them by not joining in the current protests, but rather taking an active role in building up and letting them know their job is important.

DEEDS.

I was really hoping officers of the law wouldn't feel pressured to start recording and spreading videos of their good deeds, but it looks like it has already begun. Since the Brown and Garner decisions, the public opinion of law enforcement has been heavily criticized (bashed, tainted, infected) by the media. The serving and protecting they used to do as part of their everyday routine is now being pushed out for the public eye to see. It is some desperate attempt to balance out the blanket evil that has been painted of all law enforcement, when in reality, there are a small bunch of arrogant and angry cops. Yes! There are! I believe it and admit it. How important it is that we have these conversations. I'm not saying that the news reporting on these good stories is a bad thing, per se, but I just think the motive is not pure. That's all. My opinion. There should be no need to all of a sudden brag or boast about something just because mainstream media is covering the negative. That's their job, after all- to increase numbers.

SADNESS.

You don't have to grow up a child of an NYPD officer to wonder whether or not your dad is coming home. When I was ten and eleven years old, I remember spending lots of time with my great grandmother Mary at her apartment in Watertown. She and I would eat cheese danish and drink tea together, watch WWF and talk about her teenage days of dancing jigs and snow sledding with friends. One night when I was sleeping at her house, we saw a WWNY report of a police officer who had been shot and killed in the Watertown area. No further details were available at that time. My dad was working! I was sick over hearing this news at 7pm, knowing that the next report wouldn't be until 11. She suggested I call my mom, no answer. I called my step-mom, no answer. I called my grandmother, she had seen the report but knew nothing. I didn't cry but I sure had a lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit. Eleven o'clock seemed an eternity away. No scanner. No updates. The phone rang once and it was my mother, but she knew nothing. My mind raced. I knew that the 7 o'clock report mentioned Pillar Point. My dad's new wife had a family cottage there, but what did that have to do with anything? Nothing. Something? Everything! The fold-out cot I was sleeping on was so ridiculously uncomfortable that it was making me angry. Or maybe it was the fact that a man shot an officer dead that was making me angry. He took the life of a person who helps lock up the bad guys. He shot dead the one who helps comfort the little ones when their daddy is beating up on them or when their mommy is passed out from drugs and forgot to pick them up from school.
When eleven o'clock finally rolled around, I learned that it wasn't my daddy who had been shot and killed, but somehow I didn't feel much better. Instead I learned that another man, some guy named Vincent, was murdered, as well as Police Chief Samuel Johnson. I didn't feel more sad about the murder of Chief Johnson than I did about the other man because even at a young age I knew to value all life. But I was afraid of the man who shot and killed them both. I have a vivid memory of hearing this detail: Moss was shot and struck at least four or five times and still was not taken down until he was pinned with a police cruiser. Wow. Was this guy under the influence of something? Was he superhuman? I pictured him in my mind at that moment as looking like The Hulk. Why was the news report not showing a photo? Film footage? I was SO MAD. Why couldn't I talk to my dad? Why wasn't my mom calling? She knew I'd be sad and emotional. Why did my dad have to even BE a police officer? This was really, really hard. I felt all alone. Finally, the tears started to come. In fact, I sobbed and sobbed the whole night through. I cried on and off and until sunrise and slept a little in between. Reality is, what I experienced that night is absolutely nothing compared to what the friends and family of the slain NYPD officers are experiencing today. They were the victims of evil and hate. Hate that is being promoted and is escalating through protests. As much as I support the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom of speech, I have no desire to participate in any of the current protests that are happening in our country today opposing law enforcement. I don't have all the facts. I wasn't there. I haven't read all the grand jury testimony or seen all the evidence. It would be easy for me to watch a gut-wrenching video and come forward with an emotional response, pretending I have all the answers. But I don't. So I won't. I only have my perspective and my willingness to listen and learn and grow.

And this season, be it right or wrong, I'm teaching my children to say thank you to those responders who are there for us when we need to call on them.

Thank you to all my friends and family who serve and protect their community members
(or who have in the past)! You know who you are.

Paul Harvey had it right.
 “A policeman is a composite of what all men are, I guess, a mingling of saint and sinner, dust and deity. What that really means is that they are exceptional, they are unusual. They are not commonplace. Buried under the froth is the fact, the fact is that less than one half of one percent of policeman misfit that uniform, and that is a better average than you’d find among clergymen.
“What is a policeman?
“He of all men is at once the most needed, and the most wanted, a strangely nameless creature who is sir to his face and pig or worse behind his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won, but, if a policeman is neat, he’s conceited, if he’s careless he’s a bum, if he’s pleasant, he’s a flirt, if he’s not, he’s a grouch.
“He must make instant decisions that would require months for a lawyer but if he hurries he’s careless, if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident, infallible with diagnoses. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp.
“The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run and hit where it doesn’t hurt.
“He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform, and without being brutal. If you hit him he’s a coward, if he hits you, he’s a bully. The policeman from a single human hair must be able to describe the crime, the weapon the criminal, and tell you where the criminal is hiding but, if he catches the criminal he’s lucky, if he doesn’t he’s a dunce.
“He runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who will get dealt out by some shameless shamus. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy, and a gentle man. And of course, he’ll have to be a genius, because he’ll have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.”

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http://centralny.twcnews.com/content/news/136384/could-suspected-cop-killer-be-set-free-/?ap=1&MP4


To be continued.