My essay is broken down into three parts. My essay is not to condone police violence nor to condemn it. My essay simply helps a person transition from the feeling of shock to something more realistic. I content that many people feel a deep level of shock when they hear about or see police brutality. My point is that people should expect it, even though it is wrong, and that people shouldn’t be shocked by it. My essay is broken into three parts, and will help you transition from a feeling of shock to a more realistic view of the world. I shall prove that police brutality is not shocking for a person with a realistic worldview.
Humans
The thing that many people forget is that being a police officer is not a calling. People do not join because they are good people. They do not join because they want to make a difference. They join because it is a job.
That is to say that the people who join the police force are only in it for the money because that is not true. However, ask yourself this, if tomorrow we put every police officer on state benefits, which means a massive pay cut, how many do you think would still stick around? I submit to you that most of the police force would quit and look for a higher paid job. They are not doing it because they want to make a difference; they are doing it because they want a job.
Victims
The only people who hate the police more than the villains are the victims. When people are victims they want justice and compassion, and many times the police are unable to offer either. What makes it worse is that many times the police are very apathetic about the situation. They know that the criminals will probably get away with the crime and they see that sort of thing every day. However, the victim is having a terrible time and this is probably the first time that he or she has seen something like this. The police turn up and treat the situation with dispassion when the victims are in an emotional state, and so the victims learn to hate the police. This may also explain why so many crimes go unreported because they figure that calling the police will make it worse.
TV
I offer the theory that my essay shocked you earlier. It said that people do not join the police force because they want to make a difference, and that shocked you because you believe otherwise. However, if you were to take a walk into a police station cafeteria you would only find one out of every fifty that joined to make a difference.
The reason many people believe that others join the police force to make a difference is because of what they have seen on the TV and in movies. They see shows such as CSI and see a series of heroes doing hard work to stop the bad guys. They see people who are dedicated to their jobs and that joined to make a difference, but in real life it is not like that. People join because they want a job and they want a career.
Conclusion
How does all of this relate to the shock people feel when they see or experience police brutality? The fact is that many people are shock and they shouldn’t be. They are shocked because of the impression that the TV and movies gives them about police officers. They are also shocked because they expect the police to have apathy, sympathy and consideration for other people–and some police officers do not.
When people see police brutality, they see the violence and it contradicts the aforementioned pre-conceived ideas they have about the police, and this shocks them. If they understood that many police officers are simply working a job, they may be less inclined to being shocked when they see police brutality.
