Thanks to our tireless monitoring and mocking of bad opinions online, the amount of garbage put on the web by local media websites has fallen dramatically over the past year. The only posters who remain undaunted by our media empire are Don and Diana Thorn, who we have so far failed to dissuade from seeking the truth about Benghazi.
But our incredible success at thought policing Noozhawk commenters has meant a dearth of Hot Takes to dismantle in recent months, and our silence has given City Councilman Frank Hotchkiss the misguided impression that we would overlook his recent Take in the Santa Barbara View.
Hotchkiss, best known for falling off a horse, comes to the readers of the View with a modest proposal: “Take a Moment to Say ‘Thank You, Officer.’”
To which we reply: No, thanks.
Police work can be dangerous, but it assuredly isn’t heartless and it most definitely isn’t thankless. In fact, it is a rewarding career aimed at helping people live their lives peacefully and happily.
Those of us with more mundane jobs rarely, if ever, encounter the raw substance of daily living, from violent personal conflicts to acts harming others’ person or property.
Cops see this every day. I admire their ability to remain on an even keel, and keep a smile on their face, despite a daily encounter with such people.
Is it thankless? There are times when a cop defuses a domestic situation, solves a problem that might lead to a fight, or steers a young person on a positive track instead of a journey to prison or worse.
But when people who don’t know them reflexively decry their efforts if an untoward incident occurs, then the job must seem thankless. That must make it very hard to continue in the spirit of community service, much less put their lives on the line when the situation demands.
Acknowledging that police are not perfect — who among us is? — but do their best to do it right, I would like to say to each and every one of them, “Thank you, officer.”