I think nurses are an analogous profession. When I was young, people who had been in the hospital often complained that the nurses would leave the door open, allowing vistors in the hall a view of the naked patient. Because the nurses were required, in the course of their jobs, to view the patients in their birthday suits, they forgot that those patients still had rights to modesty and privacy. It's understandable that the nurses forgot. It's also important that their supervisors and patients reminded them that modesty and privacy were still important. I haven't heard that particular complaint form hospital patients in a very long time.
Police in the course of their jobs may be required to do things we would normally consider uncivil, or even morally wrong or criminal. They need to be reminded, by their supervisors and the public at large that they don't have blanket permission to do those things to whomever they chose. I don't know how Robin (Mr.) Garwood deals with traffic tickets. I don't even know if he has a car. The last time I was pulled over (bad headlight), I did smile politely at the officer, which is what I should have done. The officer was also polite to me, which is how he should have been. In fact, as a small female with neither a gun or baton, I did not have the option to knock him down (as his coworkers did to Mr. Dodge) or send him to the hospital for stitches (as his coworkers did to Ms. Pace). If I had reason to believe that police dealt with all citizens the way they dealt with me in the traffic stop, I would not bother to post on this issue. Although I have to grit my teeth to even think this, it is (given my analogy to nurses), understandable that police forget that they can't deal with every difficult work situation with the gun; the baton; or the N-, C-, B-, and MF-words. Like nurses, they need to be reminded by their supervisors and by the public. Rosalind Nelson Bancroft Michael Atherton wrote: > Rosalind Nelson wrote: > > > I think that it would be better for everyone, even the officers themselves, > > if police could learn to observe ordinary social conventions (especially > > those regarding violence) when dealing with most of us. > > I certainly agree that it would be nice if police officers could be both courteous > and effective. I even believe that these goals may be achievable with > the right training and management. On the other hand, I understand > how difficult it is for normal human beings to react with ordinary social > conventions when their job entails trying to differentiate between good > and evil given that the distinctions maybe very supple. Take > McVey for instance. How could the officer who stopped him for a > traffic violation tell the difference between an average citizen and > a mass murder? When you spend your working hours dealing with > the ugly side of human nature it's sometimes difficult to see that the > good side still exists. In the same vein, I hope that the next time > Ms. Nelson or Ms. Garwood receives a traffic ticket they can smile > and say, "Thank you for reminding me that I wasn't driving safely." _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
