The term 'police' is used to define individuals who are representatives of the government, chosen to regulate, protect and keep peace amongst communities. After continuously googling different definitions in an attempt to find one that is close to the way civilians view the police department, as rhetorical as it seems, there isn't a definition except how the media portrays them. Police officers are now defined in the same way criminals and murders are. The people that we trust to protect us today are the very same people that will add oil to fire, and the very same people that will choose to turn a blind eye and watch you get killed. Police officers are now people who go to work and would rather eat doughnuts and spend hours and hours filling in affidavits for financial aid applicants. There is no fighting crime, unless they are the cause.
Often we think of the media as the fabricator of lies. We read newspapers and watch television series like 3rd Degree and we think 'they are exaggerating stories'. We watch as they tell of how authoritative members are greedy and selfish or they are not concerned with what happens to the people. Young children die, women are raped in their own homes and we hear of how police officers 'our protectors' did not care enough to help. Usually I am not the type of person to let emotion cloud my judgment however, with recent stories painting police officers as villains I am in fear of stepping in police station and asking for help or even get an affidavit done. Not only am I in fear of being obsessively questioned unnecessarily, but I fear that my situation might not be taken seriously and thus lead to me getting harmed by the police. What happened to the days when parents pushed their children to want to be police officers, as police officers were defined as strong men and women who protected the weak and fought beside the justice system. But movies can seriously fool us though, especially if you are like me and often get engaged in a Criminal Minds episode and watch as a team of committed officer’s track down killers, criminals and fraudsters. It seems so simple as they chase after speeding cars, these well fit police officers who put their own lives in line to protect communities and stop crime. Nevertheless, this is a description from a movie. Its true when they say that movies are fictional beyond reality. But what about hopeful wishing? Wishing that our very own police officers will be chosen not in an attempt to find people who will just wear a blue uniform but people who are committed to protecting people of this country. Our country needs people who want this job as they are passionate and are ready to protect regardless of the crime.
But it isn't the people in blue that are the biggest problem. Our country is ruled by officials and ministers who are driven by greed. Money that they have access to drives them so crazy that they forget the real reasons why people voted for them in the first place. The poor aren't that well educated to pick people that they believe can progressively push them to survival, and the rich are overly educated and too ignorant to even care. Our country needs a change. A change so that things like poverty, unemployment and crime can be reduced or even more so non-existent. But then again, I am only being naïve.
There was a time I believed that our country needs a tragedy to change, I still stand by that belief. A wake up call that will remind us of the definition of 'humanity'. We are so self consumed nobody cares about the other. You would hear someone is in danger but you would rather ignore and claim its none of your business. You hear how this person and that person were harassed and you wiggle your head with your response being 'what's new this is South Africa'. Bribery, fraud, selfishness, greed, psychological reasons, boredom, poverty, unemployment, mistakes, jealously and so on is what our country is made of. Isn't anyone feeling ashamed without thinking "it happens everywhere" what about your own country? The very place you want your own children to grow up in. The place you want to feel safe and never feel like 'I am brought into this world to work very hard and let a person struggling from poverty to harass me and steal what I had worked hard for and then spend the rest of my life traumatised' NO! our purpose in this world is to live freely. Years pass by and the number of people living freely is getting smaller. We need protectors.
However, It is sad to be one person in this country and wish for change. It is sad when you are alone and want to do so much but its never recognised. I believe that there are truly great police officers out there who truly want to protect and be pro justice system. But what are we doing wrong? Has it become so bad that now it seems like we are living in a jungle and we are fighting for survival. We step out of our homes praying and wishing we make it back unharmed. Now we watch out for that blue light, that blue uniform and not feel safe, we feel fear that one of them might just go crazy and shoot you or rape you all for no reason. We live in fear of our protectors. What's a country filled with fear? Fear of people who are our leaders by name, and label. All we can do now is pray for change, pray that our own children won't experience all this torture.
Comments