Quote:
Originally Posted by Wastedyouth
I think a policeman's job is the worst job on the entire planet.
No joke. These are men and women who deal with the dregs of society, not once in a while, or often, but every day of their lives.
They face hostility from every facet of the the people they are trying to protect and deal with. The emotional toll and effect it has on them is immense, and I feel that even when they are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, they are being faulted and misunderstood everytime.
And this is coming from someone who watch his buddy get beaten to a pulp by 4 cops outside a bar, with little provocation. And I say that, only to try to show that I am no apologist.
There is no doubt in my mind that the rioting and violence of this protest is at least 50% the fault of the protestors.
That being said, what a messed up situation. I can see no way that this will not end in some kind of complete and utter disaster, probably on the part of the civilians.
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I've worked with cops my whole professional career, and it's one job I would never recommend to my own kids or anyone else's.
Not only are you responsible for dealing with daily confrontation, uncertainty, and danger, but your actions are constantly second-guessed by lawyers, judges, the media, and the public. I don't think your average man on the street is capable of putting himself in the shoes of a police officer dealing with a dangerous or violent situation because such situations are just too removed from the average person's experience. Your average Joe also often seems to have the impression that police training is some kind of magic that makes officers omniscient and immune from fear, anger, or any other negative emotions.
Very often police are in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation, and a lot of them end up jaded very early on in their careers (and the good ones manage to transcend this eventually).
There are times it's no doubt very rewarding work (particularly when you pension out at 25 years) but a lot of the stuff cops have to do, and the psychological impact it has on them, is pretty darned unpleasant.