I don't understand why some people hate cops.?

Question

Why don't Americans respect the law and their enforcement officers. What's it like in other countries?

Answer 1

I think it is because they or their family members have been ticketed or arrested and would rather blame the police than take responsibility for their own mistakes. Plus, the media likes to makes sure everyone sees, ad nauseum, the one out of thousands of police officers that does something wrong. When all people hear about is one bad cop over and over, they assume all are shady or corrupt. The reality is, the vast majority of cops are regular men and women who want to help people and the community they live in. They don't do it for the money or the power, and just want to be happy and serve others. Give the police a break. They are the ones who come running towards the danger when you call for help and run away.

Answer 2

I have to admit its hard to like or trust the police. I think a lot of it comes from our backgrounds and experiences. I have been pulled over for no reason or not given the reason. There are some crazy cops out there. Some are rude an arrogant and act like they own the world. There are some very caring police officers who are very professional. I have seen officers take money from their pocket to pay an elderly ladies towing bill. I have seen officers buy gas for stranded motorist. Some even help homeless people find housing. They are weeding a lot of bad apples out of law enforcement, some will still squeeze through.

Answer 3

The problem is that most of the law enforcement feel they have this power and are better than everyone else. I mean how many times have we seen other people or even ourselves for that matter mistreated by police. There not all like that just most of the ones I have come into contact with. Respect is a two way street!

Answer 4

Well..Ive been a cop for a number of years now, but I got on the job late in life (32) so I have spent far more of my life to date as a non-cop than vice-versa....for all of you folks with the generalizations-cops were bullies as kids, cops are power hungry, cops are all corrupt-Id bet you would be the first people complaining about someone saying that "all black people are...." or "all Muslims are...."

The reasons for peoples attitudes towards police are very complicated, any one reason given here isnt going to be the "TRUTH". IMO there are all sorts of reasons for peoples attitudes. First off, not all people are "anti-cop", you are going to find that different areas of the country are going to have different attitudes. City vs. rural/sububan, wealthy areas vs. poor, local police vs. state police/ Sheriff dept. high crime areas vs. low. On top of that you also have to take peoples experiences with a grain of salt. Who knows what type of person you are hearing this stuff from? Theres a good chance that all the "I hate cops" types have a good reason to hate them, namely that they keep arresting them for being criminals. From the other side of the badge, I can tell you that most of the "cop was a prick" stories you hear are coming from people who were flaming a@@#^*es, to the cop and can dish it out but cant take it. By and large, if you are cool the cop is going to be cool. Start with the "why did you stop me...thats bullshit", "whats your badge number?", "Im going to have your job" attitude, then dont be suprised if the cop gets pricky with you. As its already been stated here, there is also a natural tendency to dislike people in an authority position. Everybody wants to feel like they are the "top dog" in the room and when someone with authority walks in or tells them to do something and makes you fell like "less of a man", there is a tendency to want to chop him down to make yourself feel better, hence all the "cops were whimps in HS who took the job to get payback" crap. This isnt necessarily all bad, America is great due to our individual freedoms and part of that is a "healthy" attitude of keeping a close eye on governmental power. The line gets crossed when somehow its the cops that are at fault when you are getting arrested for drugs, robbery, warrants etc and not your own damn fault. Its also a problem when people are more concerned about cops than criminals.

Everybody should see Chris Rocks take on the matter...
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2458063?htv=12

Im not saying that there are no bad cops out there, of course there are...any human organization is going to have them, and they should be dealt with, but by and large you are not going to find a better group of patriotic Americans who are only doing their job the best way the know how.

Answer 5

Well, im not sure why americans dont like cops, but im from India and i know why most people, especially women dont respect or like the cops....There have been many instances in our country where cops have been found to take undue advantages of vulnerable people and harass them for no fault of theirs under the pretext of 'moral policing'....moreover, most of them are corrupt and ineffective. Many people, in fact, are scared of cops

Answer 6

In addition to whatever other reason one might give for disliking the police (ie. they're corrupt, they abuse their power, they wrote me a ticket), one has to remember one thing. It's easy to dislike the police because they are the 'authority'. Nobody likes to be told what to do or be reminded that there is an enforcement section of government to ensure compliance with our laws. We by nature reject authority and resent being told what to do whether it is by our teachers in school, our parents at home, or our police in the street.

Answer 7

I think its because the people that don't like cops are people that don't respect the law and tend to be criminals. I think people think cops have a bad a rep, that causes people to look down on them. But its just my opinion.

Answer 8

Maybe it is because respect is earned and not just given. I don't hate all cops just the ones who act like God and are dirtier than most of the people in jail.

Answer 9

The attitude of people is usually linked to the experience that they have had with cops. ESPECIALLY the honesty and trustworthiness of cops.

Lving in South Africa, with our high crime rates; I feel that our cops MUST be useless. Why else we have so much crime. There must be good cops. Generally however I distrust them, and if a cop late at night pulls me off the road I will be too scared to stop.

Answer 10

When I was a kid there was poster that showed a weeping police officer holding a dead child in his arms, the caption read AND SOME CALL US PIGS. That message has stayed with me for over 30 years and I hold police officers in the highest esteem.....to prove my faith in them, on 9/11 my then 19 year old son was in the National Guard and sent to Ground Zero to help in the search and rescue, he and an older police officer were trapped in a building when it caved in, the officer used his body to protect my son, he gave his life to save my son. GOD BLESS OUR POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS! It's only those who do wrong who hate law enforcement.