Changing Times and Heroes

[ingmansinc]

I just read a post by Glypnir and did not want to butt into his thread with this topic. I have noticed a very large variation of opinions on this forum about LEO and heroes. Times seem to be changing a lot from when I was young. What else is new, huh?

In my teen years in the 60's there were jobs that got more respect than others, ie: cops, preachers, teachers, military officers, doctors, firemen, and then there was everybody else. Heroes were those who did something extraordinary. Most generally ordinary citizens who did the job that someone else was trained and paid to do, ie: save a baby in a burning building at great risk to themselves. The fireman got little or no recognition for the same effort as they were suppose to be doing this, it was their job. I personally think that the paid professionals should be told thank you for a job well done, we appreciate your efforts. However the hero status should be reserved for those who go above and beyond, outside of their job description.

This post is not meant in any way to diminish the respect that I feel should be extended to any person that risk his life daily to protect me. This respect helps them do their jobs.

Lets hear what you all feel.

 

[ingmansinc]

I just read a post by Glypnir and did not want to butt into his thread with this topic. I have noticed a very large variation of opinions on this forum about LEO and heroes. Times seem to be changing a lot from when I was young. What else is new, huh?

In my teen years in the 60's there were jobs that got more respect than others, ie: cops, preachers, teachers, military officers, doctors, firemen, and then there was everybody else. Heroes were those who did something extraordinary. Most generally ordinary citizens who did the job that someone else was trained and paid to do, ie: save a baby in a burning building at great risk to themselves. The fireman got little or no recognition for the same effort as they were suppose to be doing this, it was their job. I personally think that the paid professionals should be told thank you for a job well done, we appreciate your efforts. However the hero status should be reserved for those who go above and beyond, outside of their job description.

This post is not meant in any way to diminish the respect that I feel should be extended to any person that risk his life daily to protect me. This respect helps them do their jobs.

Lets hear what you all feel.

 

[7003006]

You nailed it.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

I was a professional firefighter (now retired from the FD), and I don't see how anyone could disagree with anything said in your post. Doing your job is just that.

WG840

 

[David LaPell]

I agree 100%. I go to work in the jail everyday, I am expected to do the same job everyday. I have met a couple of guys who wanted to be heroes, and they didn't last long. When I took the job, I never thought of being a hero, it is a paycheck, and a pension. Granted its not a job that everyone can or wants to do, but it is a job.

 

[NFrameFred]

The modern notion that self esteem should be paramount whether it's earned or not has diminished the value of the term "hero". I was taught that I had to do the right thing and actually accomplish something or distinguish myself above the crowd to raise my self esteem. Call it pride of accomplishment or whatever you will - when you pass out awards, accolades and trophies for just showing up they don't mean as much.

The idiotic idea that we teach kids team sports and not keep score, that people are "heroes" for just doing the jobs they are paid to do without distinguishing themselves over their associates, that one can be a 'hero' for doing just about nothing . . .

Sorry, but language and words are a big deal to me. Language makes a culture and when we abuse language we build a rotten culture. Words mean things and although words, languages and meanings do evolve over time, in too many instances words are co-opted to mean whatever some selfish person wants them to mean whether or not it is accurate or true. The anti-gun crowd is expert at this, co-opting terms to make an uninformed public fear something they don't understand by mis-applying a term like "assault rifle" until it starts to actually (though inaccurately) come to mean what it was never intended.

Words mean things and without standards I guess we're all "heroes" since the tendency is make sure there is nothing to compare it to . . . .

 

[glypnir]

Police, by the nature of their job, find themselves on the front lines of whatever culture wars are going on at the time.

Back when the term paddy wagon was coined, they were rounding up those drunk and disorderly Irish immigrants. Later, you had Irish cops beating up on whoever offended the powers that be = blacks, anti-war protestors.

Old Bull Connor didn't really help the image of the police that much either with how he treated the Civil Rights demonstrators.

When I was in Chicago in the mid-seventies, I pretty much knew that my long hair and beard would have an adverse effect on any encounter with a policeman.

I think that the lowering of respect for police relates a lot to the culture wars of the 70s.

Then there's all the publicity given to police who abuse their authority, especially in big cities.

Let me just say that I'm glad that nobody cares much about what engineers do, unless the bridge falls down.

I'm glad that I do not recieve the scrutiny that is directed at policemen, or especially sports figures.

They'd probably say - what the heck is he doing on the S&W forum when he should be documenting the Control Law Accelerator instead?