My own thoughts on the police matter in the U.S.

If there's anyone who follows my blog, you know I post quite a few posters from "Rude and Rotten Republicans." There are a few of theirs I don't post as well - the logic (by my standards) might be weak or the grammar might not be good enough. But still, I agree with them on a lot of stuff. And we agreed on the problems with the police state in America for a while - then about 3 or 4 weeks ago the owner of that site got beat upon by a friend or a relative over his/her posts questioning the complete exoneration of all questionable police activities. Since then, the blog has only posted pro-cop posters, often without seeming relevance to anything else.

Take the poster above. Why is the blogger posting this? I'm not a police officer, and yet I help people out. I live in a part of the country known as the "snow belt." We often get 200+ inches of snow in a winter. For years I cleared the driveways of two invalids in our neighborhood - snowblowing their driveways, shoveling around exits so they'd have a way to get out in case of a fire. No one took my picture. No one posted it on a blog. No one expressed amazement over my kindness. No one said, "Oh look! that man is kind so everyone like him must be good! If he kills someone we won't prosecute him!"

Not only that - these cops are in uniform - they are on duty. They are being paid by the taxpayers to be kind. Which is their job - protect and serve.

Rude and Rotten Republicans is missing the point and they are pandering to some special interest of theirs.

My point, when it comes to the cops, is pretty straight forward. Cops are people. Most of the time they are good folks who have taken on a difficult and sometimes dangerous job. They knew that when they took the job. And they know - or should know - that they have a special responsibility to be careful with the power they wield. They can be in danger - or they can make life dangerous for other people. They get training to handle difficult situations. When they make a mistake that causes harm, we as a society are entitled to a public hearing on how well the officer handled that job.

I don't want to see police persecuted. I want to see them held accountable. Did they follow their training? Were their actions reasonable? And if they were guilty of bad judgment or were negligent, I want to see them off the force at least, in jail if it's appropriate. The officers in the news of late who have taken the lives of unarmed citizens should have gone on trial. They did not. They were evaluated in secret and that's not right. Even if they did shovel a sidewalk once upon a time.