>>>>Well, the negative reputation of cops in a lot of places doesn't come out of the air, things happen to lead to that reputation. I think the pay and the hiring/screening process should be very high, these are the people protecting us and putting their ass on the line so they should be paid accordingly and at the same time the bar should be very high as far as standards (especially psychological) for a new hire. Many times you have cop having no business being a cop and gives other good cops a bad name.
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>>>>Ok, small rant, back to the topic :).
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>>>I agree with you across the board. The problem is public servants / government employees can't always be paid what they're really worth. As you say, policemen and firemen (and women) put their lives on the line every day. Teachers are another great example. Soldiers. (And Marines and sailors -- hi, John <g>). All these people make some small fraction of the incomes of, say, investment bankers, but would anyone seriously dispute that they make a greater contribution to society?
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>>You have a real soldier complex Mike. There are many admirable soldiers but like in other areas of life there are a fair few ----- as well.
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>There's just something about a man in uniform that makes me all quivery, LOL.
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>Of course you are right. And policemen and firemen and teachers. (Didn't we all have a few teachers who were either spectacularly inept at it or had burned out years ago?) Overall I have very high respect for them until one gives me reason not to.
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>You might think I would have a lower opinion of the police, having lived in the city of Chicago for many years. And I mean inside the city limits, not 30 or 40 miles away where I am now. In fact a lot of my neighbors were with the CPD or CFD. It was required (although sometimes evaded) that they live in the city, and this neighborhood was one of the safest in the city where people without unlimited means could afford to live. I had my share of encounters with Chicago cops who were, for lack of a better word, rednecks. They were widely disliked and distrusted by blacks and to a lesser extent Hispanics. A former police chief is currently on trial over beating suspects, planting evidence, and so on. IMO it was pure happenstance that Rodney King happened in L.A. and not here. There is that element.
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>All that said, I trust and admire the great majority.

There's fairly large military bases near where I used to live and I would avoid military pubs and clubs (they can play with each other).