An Imperative of Citizenship

Monday, August 25, 2014
Over the last several days, I've seen this graphic on social media:


I find the message of this graphic profoundly disturbing.

I served this country in uniform for over half my adult life. My father served in the Armed Forces and later became a Deputy Sheriff. My family has a long tradition of service, and I respect my brothers and sisters in arms for the work they do and the risks they take on our behalf.

And yet, I judge them. 

Not only do I judge them, but I judge them more stringently than I would other professionals. The fact that these men and women put themselves between us and the barbarians at the gate means they are to be held to a higher standard, not a lesser one. There is nothing less seemly than an armed servant of the people assuming the mantle of entitled authority.

It's unseemly because members of the Armed Forces or Law Enforcement serve the citizens they protect. An assumption that the simple fact of their authority should naturally mean an obligation for citizens to obey them without question - whether their directions are lawful or not - automatically makes the relationship adversarial. It mistakes fear for respect. And it eliminates the possibility that community safety can be a joint endeavor, and not an "us versus them" scenario.

Let's make no mistake here: I support my brothers and sisters in arms. I understand the stresses of their jobs, and the danger they are exposed to every day. I believe that the vast majority are ethical human beings who take their responsibility and their duty seriously, and represent their organizations in the best possible way. I believe they should be paid more, receive full benefits, and know in their hearts that they and their families will be taken care of in case they're injured or killed in the line of duty. It's the right thing to do.

What I don't believe is that they should not be held to the highest standards while performing their duties. War and policing are no joke - they require a dedication few humans possess, and leave those who serve with an understandable pride in their choice. This is the pride of professionals, not amateurs. And professionals should expect, they should demand, that members of their select group be worthy of that pride. That means when someone exhibits poor judgement or illegal behavior that results in the injury or death of the citizens they are sworn to protect, they MUST be held accountable. They must be investigated by a neutral third party, and if innocent, returned to full duty with a clean slate. If guilty they must accept the consequences, whether it's being reduced in rank, losing their job, or going to prison.

And my status as a veteran and police family member does not give me the right to judge them in this way. It certainly informs my opinion, but the right to judge comes from the simple fact that I'm a citizen of this country, living here legally. The police and the Armed Forces are accountable to me, and to all of us. They are representatives of the government, and so must operate only with the consent of the governed.

I'm a pasty white middle aged suburbanite whose worst legal infraction is speeding and failing to stop completely at stop signs. And yet I, too, am scared of the police. I'm afraid that some innocent behavior on my part will be interpreted as aggressive, and a negative result will follow. If that's how I feel I can't imagine how people of color view these authority figures.

So judging the behavior of the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement isn't just "allowed" in this country. It's an imperative of citizenship, and a safeguard against the corrupting influence of power. The only people who should be afraid of police are criminals. There's no reason why the rest of us should have to view the police as "dangerous animals," as Brother Eric explains. It's unseemly. It's unprofessional. 

I recently saw a YouTube video filmed three years ago of British Bobbies subduing a man on the street who was wielding a machete. They did so without the use of firearms, as is their process and tradition. The description of the event:
Angry man armed with machete is taken down eventually after taunting police by over 30 police officers with riot shields. According to the story he'd been CS gassed (pepper spray) and was still going strong.

Seems a little over kill to me. Then again this isn't America where they'd just open fire on him.
And we're a "civilized" country.

What a shame.

3 comments:

Yogi said...

While I agree with most of what you say here, I want to point out that the notion that "the vast majority are ethical human beings who take their responsibility and their duty seriously, and represent their organizations in the best possible way" is likely not to be particularly accurate, any more than it would be for the population at large. And I say that as someone who spent 2 years as an LEO. In my dealings with my fellow officers, I found that they were exactly the same as those we protected and served: Happy, sad, greedy, generous, ethical, selfish etc. The only consistent difference was a desire to be part of the force for a variety of reasons, some noble, some not, and the various agencies that they were part of had wildly differing abilities to weed out unsuitables.

So you are RIGHT to be nervous when confronted with a cop: you have no idea who they are, how they are trained, what they will see as a threat. This unpredictability is frightening to me.

Janiece said...

Welcome, Yogi.

I appreciate your insight. I can certainly appreciate the point of view that our military and law enforcement officers are a microcosm of our our society. This isn't Lake Woebegone, after all.

I guess I'd like to be optimistic about the whole thing. The men and women I served with in the Navy weren't always pillars of the community, but they weren't evil. They had a desire to serve, regardless of the motivating factors, and I like to hope that provided a level of professionalism that might otherwise be missing from a more mundane career choice.

Yogi said...

I guess the issue for me is watching how men and women change in the position of authority. People who are pillars of teh community at home, wonderful with kids and generous with their time, suddenly turn into grumpy, hair-triggered meanies. Not evil, no. Professional? Mostly, but from their POV. Reading Jim Wright has given me insight into how a navy man sees his work. I imagine, from reading your interactions at SKS, that you feel much the same, as do the other NCO's and enlisted who comment over there. But that POV, the way of an armed force, is different than that of civilians, yes? So it is here. The first rule of policing is, Get Home For Dinner. Not, Serve and Protect. Is that a change from earlier years? I think so. It certainly colors my interactions now. And it definitely is different from how I believe the police should act.
Anyway, As I said, I agree with most of your original post, so I'm just picking nits here. Thanks for letting me muddle around.