I have copied this, as is, from a post on the “One Police” Facebook page.
It was triggered by the Sarah Everard tragedy but is relevant to so much more that is going on in the UK. This post touches on the nasty attitudes which have been visible for several years now. Permeating our society and throughout BREXIT, the pandemic, BLM, and so much more.
There are people in this country, and around the world, who are hell bent on division and antagonism. People who will happily hijack what was meant to be a peaceful event, albeit one that te authorities had said should not go ahead.
As ever the police are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I debated for hours whether to post this or not…….
I’ve read lots of tweets and posts over the last week, and especially in the last 24 hours which have made me angry, sad, furious, shocked, mortified, confused, and just plain pissed off.
Don’t enforce the law = massively criticised / hammered in the media.
Do enforce the law = massively criticised / hammered in the media.
Ask yourself what are they supposed to do? Coronavirus legislation is what it is, we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, and 10’s of thousands of people have died as a result, directly or indirectly depending on which view you take of Covid.
But the fact is the rules are laid out, as per the wishes of the government. And they are there ultimately to attempt to keep us safe. The task of enforcing these laws (as always) falls to the police, along with everything else they’ve got to do.
So again, what are they supposed to do? Enforce the law, or don’t enforce the law. They will be hammered either way. Can’t win.
What happened to Sarah Everard was utterly horrific. And it goes without saying i completely understand the strength of feeling towards the case and the issues raised. The sad reality is what we all saw last night was the blatant hijack of a vigil (which had been rightly told not to go ahead and backed by the courts) by activists, anti-police agitators, opportunists with ulterior motives and those hell bent on causing a disturbance. All under the ever present camera lenses of those with other agendas.
Spraying “All Coppers Are Bastards” on a police van is not supporting Sarah’s family.
Shouting “No justice, no peace” is not supporting Sarah’s family.
Holding up “Defund the Police” banners is not supporting Sarah’s family.
Unfortunately a reaction was sought by some, a reaction was had (through the clear disregard of the law, public safety, call it what you will), and the aftermath perfectly timed and captured for the media to lap up and farm out.
I know who WAS supporting Sarah’s family though. The police family liason officer’s, sticking by them throughout the most awful time of their entire life.
The investigation team which has worked and IS working tirelessly to put the person responsible for this horrific act behind bars.
And let it be said right now, if it even needed saying: NOBODY HATES BAD COPS AS MUCH AS GOOD COPS.
They go against every oath we hold dear. They ARE NOT us.
Last night could have been and should have been a huge outpouring of support for Sarah, with doorstep candlelit vigils across the country in scenes like we saw with “clap for our NHS heroes” albeit an unbelievably sad reason on this occasion.
But in all the noise and smoke, the real message and the real show of support has been lost, as we woke up to celebrities, government officials and the *media lambasting the police.
*The utterly poisonous mainstream media quite literally, day in day out, wake up with the seemingly sole intention of dividing people, and causing hate.
In any way they can, they sow the seeds of hate between us, whether it be race, religion, gender, anything. Because it generates clicks, and in turn money.
We’re at a point now where the police are always seen as the villain. My inbox has been pinging away with calls of “murderers” and “scum”. We’re so quick to forget names like Wayne Marques, Ian Dibell, David Whyte, Keith Palmer, Nicola Hughes, Fiona Bone, Stephen Oake, Sharon Beshenivsky and many others. Who risked everything and in some cases gave everything to try and keep us safe.
I don’t know where this all ends up. I don’t even know why i wrote this. Maybe i’m just sick and tired of hearing the one sided narrative, and want to try and give a voice to the “silent” majority.
Don’t get me wrong, we are NOT perfect, never claimed to be. We’re only human and can / will make mistakes, it would be hugely naive to think otherwise. But we’re not the enemy.
I guess i’ll sign off by saying this is only my opinion. I’m not speaking on behalf of the police, although in amongst the handful of likes and comments it will inevitably get, i just hope the message gets through.
I, for one, hope the message gets through too. Something needs to change in the attitudes of the vocal minority. And certainly the media wants to do some serious soul searching, to look at themselves and where their allegiances lie.
The silent majority also need to find their voice.
WrAnTz 