"Is baton-ing protesters to police brutality supposed to be heroic" What a foolish statement. First off the movie depicts angry, violent and destructive "rioters" not "protesters". Again let's make the distinction as it's very important to understanding the meaning of this video. Protesters can demonstrate with anger, but do so without being destructive or violent. The right to protest is a backbone of democracy. The video isn't making a case to silence peaceful protesters. The video clearly makes that distinction and shows violent, destructive rioters who are about to assault police officers. The focal point is on the officer in front (although he doesn't stand alone). He makes ready for a crowd of violent criminals about to assault him and the rest of the men and women that hold the line. Is standing up for right and wrong, for law and justice, in the face of angry violent criminals who outnumber you "heroic"? I'd argue that without these brave men and women who "hold the line" our society would have much higher levels of violence and crime. Can a society function without "law and order"? A society based on anarchy has never stood the test of time. No one is calling for the police to be "idolized", but that doesn't mean we can't show honor and respect for a profession dedicated to preserving law and order, and defending the freedoms we take for granted. We can do this, while also calling for police accountability when police misconduct is uncovered.
So much here is said out of pure ignorance. It's sad really, but such is the psychology of human beings. In today's culture everyone has an opinion, much of it I've witnessed born out sheer and willful ignorance. So much of our opinions are based on what we see online, what's fed to us through the news, maybe a few bad encounters with police or stories we hear from a friend, or a friend of a friend. From this I see people make generalizations. "The police are inherently corrupt", "Police Officers get away with brutality all the time", etc. I wonder how many of you reading this, who have a fairly negative view of the police, actually know police officers. No not an acquaintance, but someone who you talk to on a regular basis. I highly doubt anyone here does. I've seen this video make it's rounds around real LEO's and no one said it was "cringy", in fact I've never heard them the term "cringy", it's not really vocabulary used in real LEO circles. I think that's more of a keyboard warrior term personally. All feedback I've seen, from veterans, from LEO's has all been positive. Do exceptions out there exist? Probably. LEO's are real people and people can differ. We're not all cut out of the same mold.
I've met hundreds and hundreds of men and women in uniform from all across the US. I've served with them, answered calls with them, had beers with them. They come from all walks of life. All races, religions, sexual orientations, from all kinds of political positions of the spectrum. Those that came from poor communities and those that have never known poverty. Some are close friends, others just acquaintances, but I can attest to the fact that these are some of the nicest, courageous, most genuine human beings I've ever met. They're coaches, they're volunteers in our communities. This MSM narrative that police officers don't care about their communities, that they're just out there "to get the working man", it's all fiction. It sells ads, brings in revenue for this news outlets. Will you find an exception to this? Absolutely, I'm sure there are officers that fit the narrative to a "T", but from my experience I haven't met many and I've met a LOT of police officers in my career. These brave men and women sacrifice their family life, missing celebrations, missing important life moments, to serve their communities and keep everyone safe. If you don't want to stand and hold the line, don't. It's a difficult, nigh impossible job and not for most people, but please don't stigmatize a profession you clearly don't know much about.
