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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Why do the police have to be so tough? And when poor people don’t act like poor people…..

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Do you know that I’m more than a little bit concerned about the way police forces across North America are evolving…As I watch them on the news reacting to events like the G20 summit in Toronto or the Occupy protests, I see Big Brother and 1984 coming to reality. In my mythical childhood, police were friendly folk who protected us from the bad people in society. I always felt good about and never threatened by a police presence. That has sort of changed for me over the last number of years. These days, police represent a type of paramilitary arm of the government intent on smashing a few heads whenever the opportunity presents itself. After watching a considerable amount of video footage from the G20 summit, I felt that literally hundreds of Toronto police should have been dismissed from their jobs. What I saw were a lot of huge hulking guys, dressed in body armour, bearing shields and clubs and weighing in on crowds of mostly peaceful protestors. I have seen the same thing recently with the police reaction to the Occupy protests. Invading the Occupy sites in the middle of the night, using pepper spray and other tactics on a mostly peaceful bunch of people practicing their right of civil disobedience. I think it’s kind of disgraceful and it really sickens me. The change in attitude of our police today started back about 20 years ago. I remember that in Wallaceburg we had a bunch of older officers retire. Shortly after the new officers were hired to replace them, people in town noticed a real change. The new police were tougher and not so friendly and they really took a hard line on almost everything. People in town weren’t happy and I received a lot of complaints at the newspaper. So, I headed over to talk to the police chief of the day. Why are the police such a bunch of hard-asses, I asked him bluntly? He didn’t even hesitate – he thought he had the answer. “They’re the first generation of young people to be raised in the Hill Street Blues and Serpico generation,” he said. “Police in the past thought it was police against the bad guys, but the young officers see it as an us against the rest of the world scenario. They don’t understand that most ordinary people in society are on their side.” And that was 20 years ago and it’s just gotten worse. I’m not really questioning the integrity of the police – and I know there are a lot of excellent officers trying to make a positive difference. But, overall, the police of today have what I’d call “attitude”, and it’s not a good thing. Why police always have to wear body armour, especially in places like Chatham-Kent, is a mystery to me. Why they want to come across as a type of paramilitary organization with SWAT teams and tactical teams and all this other stuff confuses me. I don’t see the necessity in most cases. Anyway, I was disturbed to see the police “attacking” the Occupy sites on the news. I just don’t think that’s the way we should do things here.

Simply can’t believe the political mess they’ve got in the United States. Very confusing place and perhaps not all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, I’m a liberal – there’s no doubt about that, so I’m mostly confused by the Republicans. But I admire them at the same time. And that’s because, somehow, the Republicans in the States have convinced a whole lot of poor people that they don’t want public health care and they certainly don’t want to tax rich people. I can’t quite figure this out. If I was a poor person, I’d certainly want the taxes heaped on the rich people and I’d really want some type of workable health care. Strange the way the poor people think in the States. And I’ve got to figure that it’s got something to do with the American dream. Everybody, no matter how poor and downtrodden, thinks they’re going to be the next one to strike it rich. And it’s a weird concept because it just doesn’t happen that often. And you likely didn’t read that here first.

Well, out of time for another week and hoping I didn’t offend too many people with my ranting. Even when I criticize our country, I still think it’s the best place in the world to live….take care and remember….”Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”




John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.