If you’ve seen law enforcement officers constantly getting bad press, and you’re wondering if people are right when they say the police should be defunded because they do no good for society, you may want to take the following into consideration.
“All cops are bad” is a narrow, incomplete view
There are always two sides to every story, and that includes the topic of whether or not all cops are bad. The perception that all cops are bad is a narrow view based on a small number of police officers who are exposed for behaving poorly.
The reason it’s easy to adopt this view is because it’s all the media publishes. When you only see negative stories about cops being violent and aggressive, it’s only natural to conclude that all cops are bad. What you don’t know is that you’re being given carefully curated stories designed to influence your opinion.
When was the last time you saw a news segment highlighting the heroic actions of a police officer? It’s rare, and not because police heroism is rare. Law enforcement officers perform heroic acts every day. However, it’s rare to see these stories because they’re positive, and positive stories don’t get ratings. News media outlets exist to get views and ratings, and they publish stories according to what works. People are drawn to negative news stories more than positive ones, so the media publishes the negative ones. This is the only reason you don’t see more stories about cops feeding and clothing the homeless, helping people in need, or keeping neighborhoods safe.
If you’re not aware of all the good police do for society, check out the National Police Association (NPA) to learn more about the other side of the story.
If you believe all cops are bad, you’re more likely to be combative
One of the biggest pitfalls of believing all cops are bad is the fact that it will make you more likely to be on edge during routine encounters, like being pulled over for a traffic violation. If you already feel like cops are terrible people, you’ll be more likely to express resentment and be disrespectful, even during a simple traffic stop. You can see this happening in countless videos posted to YouTube by people who antagonize cops.
For example, when some get pulled over, they speak in a disrespectful, combative tone to the officer while refusing to roll down their window, stating they are just exercising their rights. While they don’t legally have to roll down the window, it’s pretty clear they’re looking for a fight. This confuses the officer conducting the stop, and the situation usually escalates from there. These people don’t realize they’re creating the problem, not the officer. If you adopt an anti-police mindset, you could end up being one of those people.
You might end up in jail
There are many ways you can end up going to jail that wouldn’t happen if you didn’t have a grudge against police. For instance, you’re more likely to get arrested during a simple encounter if you take an uncooperative, combative stance. Many people do this by asking, out of context, “Am I being detained?” They understand that an officer can’t keep them from leaving unless they are being detained, but asking this question when an officer is only trying to investigate a complaint will almost always escalate the situation. It tells the officer you really want to leave, which only makes you look more suspicious, which triggers some officers to find or create a reason to actually detain or arrest you on the spot.
Worse, you could get caught up in the “sovereign citizen” movement, which can also land you in jail. Sovereign citizens believe they are not subject to any laws, don’t need to pay taxes, and don’t need a driver’s license, registration, or insurance to drive a car. While it sounds good in theory, it never works out for anyone. Many sovereign citizens end up in jail for crimes like tax fraud because they either don’t pay income tax or they participate in tax return fraud where they file false returns either using someone else’s identity, or claiming the IRS owes them a refund because they paid too much previously.
Jumping into an anti-police stance is dangerous
It’s better to take each situation as it comes, and not hold a blanket belief that all cops are bad. When you do this, you’ll be more respectful, and your encounters with police should go smoothly.
