[Laura26054]

I grew up in a solidly middle-class community, and the few times I encountered police officers, they were always polite and friendly. Later, when I got married, my husband and I had very little money and lived in a poor area of town. I saw police there often, and in interactions with them – even the most innocuous – they were consistently insulting, aggressive and threatening (they weren’t there because of us – we have always been law-abiding). Even now, I still get nervous when I see an officer, and I do not consider the police my friends. Having seen both sides of the coin, I’d like to ask law enforcement officers to respond to this and explain this the difference in attitude toward the poor.
Original Code O22. Click here to see responses from the original archives. Click “to respond” below to reply.

User Detail :  

Name : Laura26054, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Baltimore, State : MD, Country : United States, 

[Olive]

I’m not a police officer. But I’ve talked to quite a few of them and read some of their articles and books. Here’s what I think. The majority of cops don’t hate the poor for their poverty. They do, however, have a harder time when they work amongst them. Young people who grow up in poor families are less likely to join the tennis or football team. Their parents often have a hard time making rent, let alone paying for expensive equipment and team dues. These youths still need a peer group, however, so they turn to the drug dealers who hang out on the corner or the gangbangers who cruise the streets. To prove their worth, they have to act tough, get in fights, spray paint buildings, ditch school, and rebel against authority figures. The police officers who work their neighborhoods are constantly getting calls from local homeowners and shopkeepers who are sick of these arrogant teens blasting music, defacing stores, shoplifting, speeding, and loitering. The cops spend day after day corralling the youths, remaining calm in the face of their rudeness and disrespect, and loading them into their squad cars. On top of that, poverty brings extra violence from robberies, gangs, and domestic disputes. So these cops are in high state of danger and stress every time they work their beat. Compare them to the officers who work the middle-class neighborhoods. These cops spend their days cruising peaceful streets where people live much calmer and happier lives. They are much more likely to get called to parties that have gotten a little out of hand, petty disputes between neighbors, and stranded motorists. Jobs where people call them ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ and say ‘Thank you for coming.’ It’s easy to assume that police officers feel less than the rest of us, because they always seem so stoic and unemotional. But they are as human as we are, and their environments affect them as much as ours do us.

User Detail :  

Name : Olive, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Rationalist, Age : 19, City : Denver, State : CO, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Author]

Posts