Cops
Katherine Theoharis
Writing and Rhetoric I
December 1, 2013
Essay 3
Cops
Think about how cops treat you, and pretend you see a cop. Pretend you’re doing nothing illegal. Pretend you don’t need police protection. You’re minding your own business, and BAM, you see a cop. What do you feel? Right then? In your gut? I think the answer is staring us in the face, especially when it is cops who are doing the staring. I think a lot of people hate the police because they assume the cops hate us first.
I’m sure that we all have encountered cops that were jerks before. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. There are times where my family members rolled through a stop sign, had only one headlight on, or turned right on red, only to have that car follow behind them, flash red and blue lights, and give them a ticket. I’ve heard dozens of stories like this and people saying cops are unfair. I know very few people who don’t have story after story of police men and women using their “power” to threaten, humiliate, or intimidate them. People tend to hate cops for many reasons. They argue that cops treat them unfairly when in reality, cops are just trying to do their jobs. Yes, there are some “dirty” cops, however, people misjudge them, and think every cop is dirty which isn’t the case. Of course some departments are very corrupt, and some cops have done some pretty sick, twisted things to people. However, those cops get punished for what they do, and the citizens don’t realize that. They assume that cops get away with everything, which isn’t the case. Another reason why people say they hate cops is because many of the cops tend to be out of shape, which is true. When catching a criminal, cops need to be able to stay in shape and run in order to put someone behind bars. A lot of citizens get mad or aggravated that these cops are out of shape. People feel that once cops make it in, and pass the P.O.W.E.R test, and all the physical requirements,
Writing and Rhetoric I
December 1, 2013
Essay 3
Cops
Think about how cops treat you, and pretend you see a cop. Pretend you’re doing nothing illegal. Pretend you don’t need police protection. You’re minding your own business, and BAM, you see a cop. What do you feel? Right then? In your gut? I think the answer is staring us in the face, especially when it is cops who are doing the staring. I think a lot of people hate the police because they assume the cops hate us first.
I’m sure that we all have encountered cops that were jerks before. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. There are times where my family members rolled through a stop sign, had only one headlight on, or turned right on red, only to have that car follow behind them, flash red and blue lights, and give them a ticket. I’ve heard dozens of stories like this and people saying cops are unfair. I know very few people who don’t have story after story of police men and women using their “power” to threaten, humiliate, or intimidate them. People tend to hate cops for many reasons. They argue that cops treat them unfairly when in reality, cops are just trying to do their jobs. Yes, there are some “dirty” cops, however, people misjudge them, and think every cop is dirty which isn’t the case. Of course some departments are very corrupt, and some cops have done some pretty sick, twisted things to people. However, those cops get punished for what they do, and the citizens don’t realize that. They assume that cops get away with everything, which isn’t the case. Another reason why people say they hate cops is because many of the cops tend to be out of shape, which is true. When catching a criminal, cops need to be able to stay in shape and run in order to put someone behind bars. A lot of citizens get mad or aggravated that these cops are out of shape. People feel that once cops make it in, and pass the P.O.W.E.R test, and all the physical requirements,