Why do people hate the police?

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primalclaws1974

Well-Known Member
There is a large percentage of people in America that hate police. I mean actually hate them. Some might tie them into government drones or other issues, but many hate them for personal reasons. A majority of the people that hate cops are the ones that have been busted by them. They have either spent time in prison or had other consequences. How can someone blame the police if they broke the law and got caught? Who's fault is that? Unless the officer made it worse by roughing up the perpetrator, or was degrading, they are only doing their job. Are criminals really so irresponsible? Okay, that was a bit of a joke, but seriously, you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Don't blame anyone else. What do you think about all this?
 
I think that the police have had their image tainted over time and it has reached a point that without a proper PR exercise,the police force is headed for tough times as regards their relations with the public in general. Whenever a policeman/woman is sighted in the streets or in their patrol vehicle.the built up tension is clearly visible in the eyes of most people who associate the police with harassment or as a sign of trouble.
 
I've found that a lot of people feel guilty when they see a police officer, even if they haven't done anything wrong. Maybe people who say they hate the police really just hate the feeling that they get when they see a cop. Of course, there are plenty of people who have been mis-treated by the police in some way. I can imagine that this would cause some really bitter, long-lasting negative feelings towards a group of people who had failed to "protect and serve" them.

On the whole though, I do agree with the OP - if you get caught, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.
 
Police are authority figures and people don't like being told what to do. I'd say that's probably the most common reason for the seemingly irrational hated, but as you mention in your first post some people just don't like getting caught.

I'd say the media are probably to blame as well. How often do you see a news story commending a police officer for their good work? Not anywhere near as often as you read about police shootings or other such controversial things. Cops are typically portrayed as the 'good guys,' so any opportunity to go against the grain and the media are all over it. Again it fits in to the billing of oppressing authority. Controversy sells.
 
I think it has a lot to do with the way that they were raised. I grew up in a house where my parents respected the police and taught me to be respectful to authority. I know a lot of people my age who grew up in homes that feared the police and that fear turned to hate.
 
Only the stories about bad police officers make it into the big national news for everyone to see, especially the people who believe it all without questioning it even a little bit. Stories of good officers rarely garner national attention or even regional attention, and that certainly hurts the public image. It brings down how much people respect them as well.
 
Owl said:
Only the stories about bad police officers make it into the big national news for everyone to see, especially the people who believe it all without questioning it even a little bit. Stories of good officers rarely garner national attention or even regional attention, and that certainly hurts the public image. It brings down how much people respect them as well.
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This is so true. The media never reports any examples of "good policing" and concentrates solely on the negatives. It's no wonder that the public opinion of the police is so bad with reporting like this.
 
Its got to do a lot with how they were raised and their own experiences with the Police. They may feel like they have been profiled in the past and assume that all police are like that. News Media do a good job of portraying the Police as loose cannons who are out there to shoot suspects rather than try to calm them down and arrest them.

So yea, I think a lot of it is a misunderstanding of what the Police do and how they really act.
 
jeremy2 said:
I think that the police have had their image tainted over time and it has reached a point that without a proper PR exercise,the police force is headed for tough times as regards their relations with the public in general. Whenever a policeman/woman is sighted in the streets or in their patrol vehicle.the built up tension is clearly visible in the eyes of most people who associate the police with harassment or as a sign of trouble.
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I think that most crooks are irresponsible its their nature. Crooks are not going to care who they target. They just want to win the fight.
 
You guys cannot expect that police (or anyone, really) would be in the news for simply doing their job, that's insane. If there are any big crime or catastrophe, it *is* on the news how cops risk their lives to get things under control and protect people, sometimes getting shot in the process. It's not like nothing is ever said or mentioned about efficient and good policing. It's just that "good policing" is not supposed to be newsworthy. If policemen do their jobs right and are friendly, then the community they live in should be aware of it.

I think to respect authority just because they are authority is dumb. I think respect should be given to everyone, up to the moment that they prove themselves to be undeserving of this. For the life of me, I have no idea why kids should be taught to "respect authority" more than "respect the waiter/waitress", for instance.

I've met as many cops who were jerks as cops who were very friendly and going above-and-beyond to make us feel safe and understood. But I know for a fact that my experience is not everyone's experience -- I know people who get nothing but trouble from the police because of the way they look, people who got arrested and instead of just being "normally arrested" got completely and relentlessly humiliated by the policemen; and some people who had nothing but good altercations with cops. If you are in the last category, you may never truly understand the mind of the people who don't belong to that category.
 
I just think that police tend to throw their weight around. They make a lot of people nervous as well. Like most authority figures, people just don't view them in the most positive light most of the time.
 
mrsbright said:
You guys cannot expect that police (or anyone, really) would be in the news for simply doing their job, that's insane. If there are any big crime or catastrophe, it *is* on the news how cops risk their lives to get things under control and protect people, sometimes getting shot in the process. It's not like nothing is ever said or mentioned about efficient and good policing. It's just that "good policing" is not supposed to be newsworthy. If policemen do their jobs right and are friendly, then the community they live in should be aware of it.

I think to respect authority just because they are authority is dumb. I think respect should be given to everyone, up to the moment that they prove themselves to be undeserving of this. For the life of me, I have no idea why kids should be taught to "respect authority" more than "respect the waiter/waitress", for instance.

I've met as many cops who were jerks as cops who were very friendly and going above-and-beyond to make us feel safe and understood. But I know for a fact that my experience is not everyone's experience -- I know people who get nothing but trouble from the police because of the way they look, people who got arrested and instead of just being "normally arrested" got completely and relentlessly humiliated by the policemen; and some people who had nothing but good altercations with cops. If you are in the last category, you may never truly understand the mind of the people who don't belong to that category.
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Where I live you do not have any friendly cops. I guess that is just the atmosphere I live in. However, the city I live in does not have high levels of crime. I never ran into a friendly cop.
 
I can chalk it all down to how parents teach their kids to relate to policemen. "Fear the police" mentality is instilled in them when they are still young. So when they grow up, this irrational fear of the police gets transmogrified to hatred since obviously you can't love someone you fear. The media's portrayal of the police to the public as violent, savages also further alienates many people from the police.
 
Personally, i don't hate the police - i respect them. Their job is no where near easy.Sure there are some shady cops who need dealing with, but every other cop should not suffer or be judged because of them.The people who hate those cops,they need to think what they are going to do in case of an exigency.
 
I think that people don't hate the police, they might certain police officers that abuse their power and those need to be removed, the hate for the police in general is something I think doesn't exist.
 
Thanks for all the answers. I admit I had a lot of run-ins with police when I was younger. I haven't even been pulled over since 2007, so I have had no issues in recent years. But when I pass a cop while driving, I don't make eye-contact, and always wonder if they think I am hiding something. I don't know why I do that, but it is like an aversion to the uniform or something. I don't know if it is remnant of my days of getting in trouble, or what, but I just as soon not see an officer at all. I guess that is irrational. I would really want one around if I was in trouble.
 
I believe through the years, when people examine some of the questionable shootings and killings by Police, the one thing that is consistent would be the Police department does all the investigations. And that alone could bother or irritate people because it may be perceived that the Police controls the results of the investigation. Therefore whatever the final decision is, it comes from the Police and some of those findings seem to be unjustified. So the trust is not there because some people feel they won't prosecute the Police, but find them innocent every time. We have a lot of outstanding Law Enforcement Officers, unfortunately it only takes a few rotten ones to make it hard on all the rest.
 
primalclaws1974 said:
Thanks for all the answers. I admit I had a lot of run-ins with police when I was younger. I haven't even been pulled over since 2007, so I have had no issues in recent years. But when I pass a cop while driving, I don't make eye-contact, and always wonder if they think I am hiding something. I don't know why I do that, but it is like an aversion to the uniform or something. I don't know if it is remnant of my days of getting in trouble, or what, but I just as soon not see an officer at all. I guess that is irrational. I would really want one around if I was in trouble.
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Normally no one here keeps an eye contact,because it calls for unwanted attention.It is a cop's perception that when you look into his eyes and drive away,you are as if challenging him for a duel.I can't seem to find the apt word for describing this but i think i just gave you an overview.
When you are in trouble,you are desperate for help,your perception is cops are best to call in a case of emergency,because you know they wield power and have the right to investigate anyone.
 
Some people were brought up to hate the police. That's really down to their peers and parents a lot of the time. But you also have to just take a look at recent events and people's own personal experiences to know why. Until the system is equal under the law and the police are made more accountable for their actions, you'll always find people hating the police and what they represent.
 
I believe people hate police only certain times, when they do something really bad. But once the media brings out police who have done wrong things, I believe it brings bad name to the entire police academy.
 
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