APPRECIATING THOSE ON THE FRONT LINES

1. Another fucking boot licker. I am tired of putting these people on a pedestal. It’s a job , and not any more important than a plumber , carpenter or accountant. And with the next generation/ round of ” heroes” courtesy the propaganda machine(commercials) of people that will have authority in your life. Get over it.

   • DesertRat, I don’t “disappear” posts I disagree with. Be advised, though this is a family-owned and -oriented place, and you can let that be your last F-bomb here.
     –Mas

     • Tnanks, Mas. I REALLY apppreciate your heart to keep this place “clean” and family friendly. I hate it when a site, mostly good, self-governs so poorly I cannot share it with everyone.
       There have been some pretty rowdy sentiments expressed here, but always in langage fit for polite company (whether the individuals themselves are or not….)

     • I really appreciate all you do too Mas, both here and elsewhere. Not being much of a cusser myself, I really find it unprofessional when individuals do so in a serious forum like this where thinking people are intended to come together and share ideas to help each other and everyone else out. On that note, I’m very pleased to tell you that I’ve recently been talking with and learning from a good guy you featured in an Ayoob File some years ago. Very fine, God fearing man of the caliber we just don’t seen to get much of any more.

     • Wow !! “not any more important than a plumber , carpenter or accountant.”
       How many plumbers, accountants and carpenters do you know that put their life on the line in the service of others. I have been both a cop and a FF/Medic and I don’t ever recall the three professions that you mention pumping on a persons chest when they are in full cardiac arrest doing all you can to save their lives or stood on a family’s porch at 2:00 a.m. to give them the worst news they will ever hear that their kid isn’t coming home because he died in an accident. I could go on and on but I think most folks that read Massad’s column get the picture.

       How dare you try to marginalize the job that first responders, Doctors and nurses are dealing with as this pandemic rages through our country. You Sir are a sad, selfish excuse for a human being.

       If your aim was to get a rise out of the readers of this column, mission accomplished.
       Please crawl back in your hole where you clearly belong.

       Thanks for sharing this heartfelt poem Mas. Much appreciated.

     • The thanks really go to Joe Wolking.

     • I was a career soldier and have been on numerous deployments as an Airborne Infantry officer. I have seen acts of valor and heroism that make me a proud patriot. I have lost good men and had to bring the news to families. I always lead from the front so my men knew i would never send them where iwould not go.
       People who equate a tradesman to soldiers and LEO’s have likely been neither. Tradesman are important and i had several serve under me with honor.
       Who must fight the wars? Usually working class people. Shiw them the respect they are due.

   • A plumber, carpenter or accountant can’t work in a lawless chaos. The police are necessary to a productive and peaceful society. Violent people have to be opposed, and the peacekeeper swears an oath to oppose them, putting at risk his own body, health, and life. I appreciate that there are men and women who have pledged the last full measure of devotion to do what I have not been willing to do: to serve a warrant, to chase down a fleeing gunman, and to go into ratholes others have deserted in order to face the dangers that await. That is more than ‘a job’.

     • Our precious Second ARticle of Ammendment squarely places the responsiblility for”the security of a free state” upon the sholders of WE THE PEOPLE….. thus the NEED for our right to arms. But many situatioins warrant the power and authority of the civil government, to which God has assigned the task too “bear the sword against those who do harm on innocents”. Thus, we have police. Alongside them we have qualified and vetted experts at medical care, firefighting, etc, all on OUR payrool, to serve US. I’ve never needed the firemen to come to put out MY fires.. I’ve literally always taken care of that long before they arrive. Multiple times, Friends and neighbour,s too. … but there was a case in my neighbourhood where a lightning strike lit off a big barn full of hay… had not the pros with their Big Toys showed up VERY quickly, the house would have followed the barn up into the sky. Yes, I pay them, and though I’ve personally never needed them I’m somewhat comforted that they are available, ready willing and able, shold I HAVE need of them. Meanwile, we hereabouts look after each other well, and don’t need them. Yet…….

     • Desertrat, you couldn’t carry most law enforcement’s water. Grow up !

   • @DesertRat
     When you are attacked, or your home is violated
     When you home catches fire
     when you become ill

     You’ll call a cop, a firefighter or an ambulance.
     And they’ll come, despite the fact that you are a jerk who doesn’t appreciate their services.

     I’m not a bootlicker, and neither an I a self-centered jerk with no empathy or appreciation for those whpo deal with human crisis at the cost of the danger to their own health—both physical and mental.

   • I could not agree more MAS, thanks for pointing it out. DesertRat, your thought would have been expressed clearly without the book licker remark. Not sure it added anything to your thoughts. And as the old saying goes, I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

2. Amen.

3. Although it doesn’t rhyme, I’d substitute ‘greatest respect’ for ‘pity’. I know that I couldn’t do their job.

4. You obviously don’t have a clue as to the breadth and depth of the responsibilities of LE.
   I’m surprised that you are on this site.
   Be safe be healthy and enjoy your ignorance.

5. I like that. Thanks uncle Mas!

6. Why would Rat or any other cop hater be reading this blog, especially given your career?

   • Outlier, malcontent, troll, axe grinder. spy,……….. who knows.

     • My thoughts as well. Or maybe having a bad day & feeling left out …

7. Just my thoughts, all who do the daily grind are heroes in one degree or another. Some more a hero than others. As many have said over this fiasco, everyone working for a paycheck has a essential job.

   • everyone working for a paycheck has a essential job

     I’d go a lot further than that. It has mostly been ignored, but there are millions of volunteers who have been “furloughed” from their unpaid jobs. These people drive routes for Meals on Wheels, work in women’s and children’s shelters, teach community education classes, serve meals in senior centers, work desks and greeter positions in hospitals, volunteer in schools, serve on CERT teams, work for everything from Red Cross to Baptist Men’s chainsaw teams, visit nursing homes, and so much more.

     For many of these people their volunteer work is the reason they keep going. One of the things that concerns me most about what is happening is that it substitutes the American ideal of “roll up your sleeves and solve the problem” with “go home and do nothing.”

8. Like a boss, Mas. Thank you.

9. Someone with bad experience with LEO, no doubt. I have my own concerns about LEO but as an occupational group, they as have a vast job description. I did like it better when Protect and Serve was emphasized but it now has morphed into Law Enforcement. Do they work for us or just enforce laws an increasingly authoritarian State creates?

   • If I ever need to call the police or get pulled over, I hope and expect to meet people like Malloy and Reed. Old fashioned? Perhaps, but it worked for decades, and still can, hi tech or not.

10. Where have respect and honor gone in this country? I spent over 10 years as a Police Officer and the attitudes of people these days just blows me away. God bless all of the people working on the front lines may they live to go home to their families.

11. Great poem by Joe Wolking. It’s difficult to write poetry in modern times. So much great poetry was written in the distant past, and the need for words that rhyme imposes strict limitations. It was a relief when I learned to select the rhyming words first, and place them at the end of the line. That’s much easier than writing a line, then trying to find a rhyming word that fits the context. What rhymes with “orange?” “Door hinge.”

    When it comes to great poetry, I like the hymns found in an ordinary hymnal.

    Great responses to DesertRat! I’ll try to add something that hasn’t been mentioned.

    DesertRat, if our government is becoming oppressive, who is to blame? If our government is of the people, by the people and for the people, then it is the voters who have allowed our government to become oppressive. In other words, the problem is WE THE PEOPLE! We have become a nation of stupid voters.

    What would America look like without a government, and without police officers? There would still be authority figures. The toughest gangs would rule. Who would be the most powerful; a good gang made up of Patriots, church elders and deacons, suburban fathers who sit in cubicles tapping on computers, or the typical criminal gang like MS-13, Crips, Bloods, the Mafia or gangs like we see ruling in parts of Africa? So, if you don’t like the cops, which gang do you want to see in power?

    The bottom line is our government stinks, but it is the best government in the world.

12. Most cops are good people and deserves our respect and support. I always described myself as a “Peace Officer” instead of a Tactical Law enforcement Operator as many of my co-workers like to call themselves. There will always be a number of “Fair Weather” sworn officers we cops know not to depend on when things get rough. These are the guys/gals who will not get their hands dirty or risk getting injured when there’s a fight or a suspect resists arrest. I’ve worked for two departments 1000+ miles apart and in both there were officers who like wearing a badge and uniform, plus being well paid, who will not engage in any serious physical activity. They will hold a flashlight or hand you their handcuffs, but not lend a hand when you’re struggling with a resisting suspect. These officers are usually the smaller ones or females who are more concerned of getting their looks messed up in a fight, and also happen to be well connected in the department so they are seldom reprimanded for cowardice. Many of these people are the ones who become DARE officers, public information officers, investigators, or go into crime prevention and of course, internal affairs where they work banker’s hours with weekends off, but still wear a badge and gun, and as a DARE officer, drive a marked vehicle, mainly to and from work where it sits idle for hours at a school except during lunchtime. I bring this up to show that not all cops are heroes just because they work in law enforcement and I’m sure those who are or were in that field know what I’m talking about. That said, I’ve met some of the most dedicated and selfless people in police work and am proud to have served with them.

13. I am 42 years old I remember. Mr. Taylor Artiacals in SOF Mag and Combat Handguns. I was In High School. At Time I was Hurt bad In a FOOT BAll game All I could do was Shoot bowling pins. So I was reading Sof And American Handgunner. Then I saw an Article That talked about Jeff Copper. I learned Abot Gun Sight.

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