Cop by Osmosis

[Archangel M]

Something I notice while debating LE issues on the internet is the inevitable "My (X) was a Cop" statement. If ones father, uncle, cousin etc. was a cop you will eventually find out and it will be used to support that persons opinion about LEO's and LE issues.

I always tell people "My wife and kids have lived with a Cop for many years...all they can tell you is what its like to live with a cop..not what its like to BE a cop."

Are there any other professions out there where you find this phenomena?

 

[seasoned]

Something I notice while debating LE issues on the internet is the inevitable "My (X) was a Cop" statement. If ones father, uncle, cousin etc. was a cop you will eventually find out and it will be used to support that persons opinion about LEO's and LE issues.

I always tell people "My wife and kids have lived with a Cop for many years...all they can tell you is what its like to live with a cop..not what its like to BE a cop."

Are there any other professions out there where you find this phenomena?

There are many gratifying jobs out there. Some where you can help other people in a meaningful way, but very few where your very life depends on your training and good judgment, as in LE. My wife is a nurse, and I think it is one of those jobs, where you would have to work at it, to understand the mental strain of dealing with saving lives.

 

[Empty Hands]

Are there any other professions out there where you find this phenomena?

Pretty much all of them. When discussing health issues, I always hear about "my brother the doctor". When I sold computers, I was forever hearing about "my neighbor who works at Intel." It's a cheap and easy way to bolster an argument. Or in the case of my past customers, a perceived defense against being cheated. Not that I would of course, but I guess they didn't know that.

 

[Makalakumu]

Yeah, it happens all of the time with education. People think that since they went to 12 years + of school that they can speak authoritatively about education.

 

[jks9199]

Yeah, it happens all of the time with education. People think that since they went to 12 years + of school that they can speak authoritatively about education.

That was kind of my thought -- though I do think there's an extra dynamic in law enforcement. An awful lot of people think seem to think that they know all they need to know about law enforcement because they've seen tv cop shows (most of which bear very little resemblance to real police work) or know someone who's a cop... I think medicine, law, and some other professions have a clear, extensive educational system; police work has "the academy" which seems from the outside to be pretty much the same as boot camp. And "who can't handle boot camp..."

 

[Sukerkin]

It really does happen with every profession where people think that having an opinion holds as much water as having a professional opinion.

I run into an awful lot of that with Economics, as I've mentioned before. I spent a decade studying this subject and have the bits of paper to prove it and people still think they know better than me how an economy works because they have a bank account :grr:.

So, as you can imagine, I sympathise a great deal and would never dream of telling a policeman his job. I might have opinions on the law and how it is enforced or on the publicised behaviour of specific officers but they are just that i.e. opinions that I have as a tax payer and voter.

An officer tells me I'm talking rot and shows me why and I will never argue the toss.

The best example is that incident a while ago where I became all self-righteously angry over a video clip that showed 'clear' abuse of a woman in custody.

A couple of officers tried to set me straight but, at first, I was so incensed my 'ears' weren't working. Then I read a bit more about the incident and realised that what the 'news' clip had shown was almost engineered to give a bad impression of the officers involved.

So I apologised to the LE members here who'd tried to tell me that things are not always what they seem. Humble pie is good for the soul on occasion you know .

 

[arnisador]

I'd have to agree that it's a near-universal phenomenon. Competence by proxy.

 

[Carol]

Keep in mind though, this is also a way of showing common ground in conversation.

My first martial arts school didn't have changing rooms so arriving to class in uniform was highly encouraged. While I generally did not appear in public with my uniform on, if I absolutely had to do so (ie: at a gas station), I was frequently met with comments like "hey, my daughter has a junior black belt" or "My cousin used to take TaeKwon Do".

Some people gravitate to this style of conversation naturally, others are taught...business communications classes, for example. This can give the appearance of being an authority (sometimes), but it can also give the appearance of simply being open and approachable.

 

[Archangel M]

Keep in mind though, this is also a way of showing common ground in conversation.

My first martial arts school didn't have changing rooms so arriving to class in uniform was highly encouraged. While I generally did not appear in public with my uniform on, if I absolutely had to do so (ie: at a gas station), I was frequently met with comments like "hey, my daughter has a junior black belt" or "My cousin used to take TaeKwon Do".

Some people gravitate to this style of conversation naturally, others are taught...business communications classes, for example. This can give the appearance of being an authority (sometimes), but it can also give the appearance of simply being open and approachable.

I can see that.

Im referring to the situations where someone disagrees with you and says "Well my (X) was a cop so I know a thing or two about what Im saying".

I wouldnt presume to talk with authority about nuclear physics because my cousin is a nuclear scientist...and I wouldnt expect my wife to be spreading around her opinions about law enforcement in my name.

I dont want to imply that people cannot have an opinion on the way policing is done. The best oversight we have is by people reporting when cops have gone over the line. Im just talking about a particular debate tactic. Hmmm..maybe I could cook up a name for it a la "Red Herring", "Ad Hominum" and all that.

 

[jks9199]

I can see that.

Im referring to the situations where someone disagrees with you and says "Well my (X) was a cop so I know a thing or two about what Im saying".

I wouldnt presume to talk with authority about nuclear physics because my cousin is a nuclear scientist...and I wouldnt expect my wife to be spreading around her opinions about law enforcement in my name.

I dont want to imply that people cannot have an opinion on the way policing is done. The best oversight we have is by people reporting when cops have gone over the line. Im just talking about a particular debate tactic. Hmmm..maybe I could cook up a name for it a la "Red Herring", "Ad Hominum" and all that.

One thing that I've noticed is that, with the exception of teachers, I don't think any other profession has as many people who will argue and deny what they're told by practitioners based on what they're friend/brother/tv hero says...

I don't think I've ever heard or even heard of someone telling a doctor "But I saw this on ER..." (OK... some wacky self-diagnosis, but there are usually other issues there...) Few people seem to think twice about arguing about what cops do -- despite the vast differences in policing from one end of the country to another, and across various agencies.

 

[Carol]

Thats because you guys get all the good TV shows! :lol2:

No one writes productions about a telecommunications engineer *sniff*

 

[sgtmac_46]

Something I notice while debating LE issues on the internet is the inevitable "My (X) was a Cop" statement. If ones father, uncle, cousin etc. was a cop you will eventually find out and it will be used to support that persons opinion about LEO's and LE issues.

I always tell people "My wife and kids have lived with a Cop for many years...all they can tell you is what its like to live with a cop..not what its like to BE a cop."

Are there any other professions out there where you find this phenomena?

I usually don't hear 'My dad was a surgeon, let me operate on that for you.'

 

[sgtmac_46]

That was kind of my thought -- though I do think there's an extra dynamic in law enforcement. An awful lot of people think seem to think that they know all they need to know about law enforcement because they've seen tv cop shows (most of which bear very little resemblance to real police work) or know someone who's a cop... I think medicine, law, and some other professions have a clear, extensive educational system; police work has "the academy" which seems from the outside to be pretty much the same as boot camp. And "who can't handle boot camp..."

EXACTLY! Folks think since they've been watching cop shows all their lives, they know the job as well (or better) than the guys working the road.....the only other folks who get second-guessed more than cops are FOOTBALL PLAYERS (thus the term 'Monday Morning Quarterback')

 

[sgtmac_46]

I can see that.

Im referring to the situations where someone disagrees with you and says "Well my (X) was a cop so I know a thing or two about what Im saying".

I wouldnt presume to talk with authority about nuclear physics because my cousin is a nuclear scientist...and I wouldnt expect my wife to be spreading around her opinions about law enforcement in my name.

I dont want to imply that people cannot have an opinion on the way policing is done. The best oversight we have is by people reporting when cops have gone over the line. Im just talking about a particular debate tactic. Hmmm..maybe I could cook up a name for it a la "Red Herring", "Ad Hominum" and all that.

It's a form of 'Appeal to Authority' fallacy......http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.html

 

[Drac]

Shows like Cops only show the physical portion of our jobs, the glamorized tasks of driving fast with your red and blue blinkies on and the siren wailing..They NEVER show the mountains of paperwork or the hours on the keyboard that follows every arrest or physical confrontation..They never show the joys of searching a car that someone has been living in and storing their dirty laundry in the trunk, or creeping around someones back yard at 4 AM because the neighbor swears that she heard something and knows that those those people are out of town...

 

[shesulsa]

I usually don't hear 'My dad was a surgeon, let me operate on that for you.'

Do you hear, "My grampa was a cop, let me arrest that jerk for you?"

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Do you hear, "My grampa was a cop, let me arrest that jerk for you?"

I did once get "This is an old commando hold" while an old acquaintance was( Quite obviously either joking, or not really wanting to hurt me but wanting to show off to ( isn't it always) some girls in the store where I and friends used to hang out by grabbing me around the neck in a very bad , insecure headlock type thing and a very halfassed hammer lock on my left arm.

Thing was he was trying to make it work by stepping back to off balance me which left a foot and a half of distance between us and he totally ignored that my RIGHT arm was totally free to move.

But he found out after I shuto'd his balls with it( just a nice straight up, straight down edge of hand thing which was the natural movement of my arm anyway) which bent him over and released his grip and i just kept the natural movement of the right arm going, looped it up behind his back/opposite shoulder and just held him in the middle of a hip throw with a **** eating grin on my face( because again it was obvious this wasn't serious combat) then completed the throw niiiice and slow and said, "But you ain't no old commando".

 

[shesulsa]

I did once get "This is an old commando hold" while an old acquaintance was( Quite obviously either joking, or not really wanting to hurt me but wanting to show off to ( isn't it always) some girls in the store where I and friends used to hang out by grabbing me around the neck in a very bad , insecure headlock type thing and a very halfassed hammer lock on my left arm.

Thing was he was trying to make it work by stepping back to off balance me which left a foot and a half of distance between us and he totally ignored that my RIGHT arm was totally free to move.

But he found out after I shuto'd his balls with it( just a nice straight up, straight down edge of hand thing which was the natural movement of my arm anyway) which bent him over and released his grip and i just kept the natural movement of the right arm going, looped it up behind his back/opposite shoulder and just held him in the middle of a hip throw with a **** eating grin on my face( because again it was obvious this wasn't serious combat) then completed the throw niiiice and slow and said, "But you ain't no old commando".

LOL! Sweet.

 

[Drac]

I did once get "This is an old commando hold" while an old acquaintance was( Quite obviously either joking, or not really wanting to hurt me but wanting to show off to ( isn't it always) some girls in the store where I and friends used to hang out by grabbing me around the neck in a very bad , insecure headlock type thing and a very halfassed hammer lock on my left arm.

Thing was he was trying to make it work by stepping back to off balance me which left a foot and a half of distance between us and he totally ignored that my RIGHT arm was totally free to move.

But he found out after I shuto'd his balls with it( just a nice straight up, straight down edge of hand thing which was the natural movement of my arm anyway) which bent him over and released his grip and i just kept the natural movement of the right arm going, looped it up behind his back/opposite shoulder and just held him in the middle of a hip throw with a **** eating grin on my face( because again it was obvious this wasn't serious combat) then completed the throw niiiice and slow and said, "But you ain't no old commando".

Excellent...

 

[LawDog]

Drac,
Paperwork, do you mean the redundant hours and hours on the key board? The the super who says, I don't like it, do it over. Then theres the D.A. who states, why don't you rewrite this and this.
This is what the real world of LEO's is like.
:sadsong: