Preach respect and common sense

Published 5:30 pm Thursday, October 15, 2015

Editor:

While students at Longwood should be commended for bringing together our police and the public to discuss relationships between them (“Longwood leads law enforcement discussion,” Oct. 7), it’s sad to think the situation has come to this. 

Police and other public safety agency employees are fine individuals paid to take high-risk positions for the benefit of the community. An officer who dons a uniform becomes the target of every outlaw on the street. The reward is an average pay that most of us wouldn’t consider a decent wage.

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Civil disobedience has its place, but not on our streets against our peace-keeping agencies. While tyranny requires civil response, our police and public safety employees are not the enemy. Credit should be given to these fine folks trying to work in a way to satisfy every media group that has them under a microscope, while still trying to keep us safe 100 percent of the time (an impossible task, by the way).   

What we should be preaching to our kids and adult civilians alike is that respect goes a long way. So when an officer asks us to STOP, we need to do just that.

Stopping when an officer asks us to do so shows respect and common sense given our dangerous environment. 

Forums are fine, and meetings between those in authority and those they protect are beneficial.

But nothing overrules RESPECT and COMMON SENSE — on all sides. And that is something Longwood and every other group who wants to have a discussion should preach.

Peter Kapuscinski

Dillwyn