Many of those “evil” people who have made life choices which do not include wearing a badge, have run toward more gunfire (in the military) than you will ever see in your life. But Mr. Carpenter, I doubt that you would run toward gunfire unarmed or outnumbered. NO, you like to think youre brave because you and 20 other armed officers in bullet proof vests are running toward some drunk middleaged mand with a .22 caliber pistol. Big tough guy that you are.

The institution takes good people and makes them bad. They are the soldiers of the corporate elite, who do everything in their power to crush independent thinking, and independent people. Should we disrespect the cops? YES WE SHOULD! But not on an individual level, but by virtue of the evil institution to which they belong. Individually they are just well meaning individuals, collectively they are evil.

Everyone needs respect. Without respect we soon descend to the level of beasts, where might makes right and everyone else can die.

The police need respect from those they protect. They need to feel that their work is appreciated. They need to know that the good citizens will back them up when the chips are down.

Conversely, the citizens also need respect. They need to know that those who are afforded a position of authority by virtue of their station will not abuse that authority. They expect a certain level of courtesy so that they can rest assured that they’re not going to be bullied by those who are supposed to protect them.

Now, there have ALWAYS been bad cops. Every population has a percentage of bad apples, and cops are no different. The problem comes when this steps into the area of abused authority. Once authority is abused, trust is lost, and it’s VERY hard to get it back.

This is basically what has happened to the police force. There have been a great number of abuses of authority in recent times, and it has all but destroyed the citizens’ trust in their police. The police, in turn, feel that distrust (and resulting lack of respect), and become belligerent (why the hell should I respect, let alone protect someone who’s just gonna stab me in the back later?).

So here we are, in a downward spiral, where the people don’t trust the authorities, and the authorities feel betrayed, and things just get worse and worse.

So what do you do? Well, people are people, and the citizens are simply behaving in response to what they see happening around them. Most are stupid. Many more don’t care. The rest are too busy with their hectic lives. There is nobody who can successfully demand their respectful behavior, except those that lead through example. The police, on the other hand, are an organized force, with clear chains of command. This means that their behavior can be mandated by those in charge. And so, it is only the police themselves who fix this problem, as the citizens cannot. The ones in charge of the police force can implement policies designed to gain the public trust, and enforce those policies. They will need to demonstrate clear accountability to the citizens they serve, and will need to educate the actual cops who pound the pavement in how to extend the olive branch. And above all else, they need to educate the cops in where their authority starts, and where it ends.

And this won’t fix itself overnight. You cops will find yourself in the uncomfortable position of being in a thankless job for quite some time as you give respect but get none in return. But unless it starts with YOU, it will not start at all. You and I will be enemies forever, and that will be a great shame.