In today’s guest op-ed, Fifty Shades of FDE rants a bit about two communities that we’re intimately familiar with: Law Enforcement and Gun Owners. -Mad Duo
Dickheads in Every Community: Cops and Gun Owners
Fifty Shades of FDE
Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.
This is something I wanted to write about for some time. It’s been brought up in numerous articles by many others before me. I feel it needs to be addressed once again.
I am a part of two great communities: law enforcement and pro-gun advocates. Both have excellent people in them and they do great things.
But with the good, there is always the bad that tags along. Both are under constant attack by other, much larger, groups that simply want to destroy them.
It is unfortunate to see all the disagreements on certain topics go into a full civil war on a forum, comment section on Facebook or a news site, and so on.
I’ll start with law enforcement.
A majority of us have that Type A personality, and since there are so many different agencies, jurisdictions and assignments it sometimes turns into a pissing match–very similar to the ones you see in TV shows and movies. Seriously. You would think that it’s all made up for the screen, but in my own experience, it exists. For the most part, the vast majority of my brothers and sisters in blue are professionals and don’t get involved with these petty battles. And I’m sure that this problem doesn’t solely exist in the law enforcement profession.
But the ones that do partake in these issues all have one thing in common: an attitude combined with a belief that they are the best over everyone else.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s no problem with being confident in your skills and abilities–there is however, a problem if you’re arrogant. This job is hard enough, especially today when there are those who will shoot us just for having a uniform and badge. Last year was a terrible year for LODDs (Line Of Duty Deaths) with an increase in ambushes. Your ego isn’t that important. Let it go.
Everyone in this community signed up with the same goal in mind and knowing the dangers involved. It doesn’t matter what color your uniform shirt and pants are, or what kind of badge is on your chest: we’re all one team that must work together to get the job done, so let’s get at it and not at each other.
Now on to the gun community.
It doesn’t seem like anyone can “agree to disagree”. So what’s better? AR or AK? .45 ACP or 9mm? 1911 or Glock? The frivolous fighting list goes on and on. It’s only gotten worse with social media. Now throw in trolls and keyboard commandos, which are byproducts of the anonymity of the internet. They are just annoying, rude, and usually uneducated on whatever they’re commenting on. They seem to have nothing better to do but be a black hole of negativity.
I’ve always understood that everything when it comes to firearms, and life for that matter, is largely about personal preferences. To each their own. What I do not understand is why someone would ever tell themselves they should convince another person to think exactly like them, and if they don’t, get offended and try again to convince them?
It’s no different than that annoying person or group of people knocking on your door at an attempt to convert you to their religion.
My VP9 works great for me, but probably won’t be good for someone else. Do I need to get into an argument with someone over it? Hell no, I’ve got so many better things to do with my time. Like some say: Run your gun, not your mouth.
Another issue that gets me is voter apathy with the gun community. I think it’s improving, but at a snail’s pace. It took a lot longer to get the required signatures for the Repeal the NFA petition, but at least there were enough before time ran out. I hear the excuse from my friends all of the time: “Why even bother to vote? it’s not like my vote will make a difference anyways?” Hearing it just makes my blood boil. Sure what they’re saying might be the overall conclusion on a particular vote, but why not at least put up a fight for your rights? It’s not asking much, you just have to get out and vote.
You’re not getting into a firefight with the enemy, our service members and veterans already fought for your right to vote.
United we stand, divided we fall; it sounds cliché but it is a true statement. The Always-Right-and-Never-Wrong attitudes are toxic. We’re stronger if we work together rather than fighting amongst ourselves. If you’re not helping, you’re hurting. It’s not that hard to agree to respectfully disagree and move on. Enough from me on this, carry on!
-Fifty Shades of FDE
[Photos are courtesy of Muzzle Flash Media.]
Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!
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I work with a lot of former municipal and county police officers in my line of work. I am former military, an 0351 Infantry Assaultman, with two combat deployments, a bachelors degree and some grad school under my belt. But, to be honest, and I hate to say this, because I know and I like a lot of former law enforcement professionals on a personal and professional level and feel that we share a lot of the same interests and goals. But, having worked in several organizations with the former LE I’ve had recent professional experience with. has pushed me to the point where I think a lot of cops are just arrogant assholes that got picked on as kids, get off on power trips, view people that may be more educated or view the world through a different lense as not having a “real world” mindset, i.e. not a cop, as opposed to their “street education”, are clannish in nature to the exclusion of others, or just saw too many domestics or accidents to the point that it left them jaded to the world.
Iraq and Afghan veterans have to overcome the very real stigma of seemingly being damaged goods because of an overblown fixation on PTSD and combat stress,or just the military in general; but in my experience police officers suffer far more from dickhead syndrome. I know a lot of you are cool and great people, who do one of society’s hardest jobs, but you need to get the memo out to the others to quit being douchebags. Like my CO told us before we’d go out on a 96, “Don’t be assholes”, at least not to the generally law abiding, taxpaying public. I think too many police officers think that’s in their job description
I know you go through a lot of shit, and with BLM and the near takeover of America by a communist dictatorship, you’re under a lot of stress. But, you chose your profession, choose to wake up and not see the world as those on the blue side of the line and everybody else.
Couldn’t agree more. Coming from a tribal police dept within a municipality, also within a large county sheriff’s office, we get treated like the red headed step children (no offense to any red headed step children) of the LE community in our area. Just a few years ago we obtained an MOU from the city we work within to handle our own “non-tribal arrests” and since then our dept has grown in personnel size, call volume and because of the increase in call volume were obtaining more experience in dealing with RPW (real police work) yet we’re still looked down upon by other agencies who are not tribal agencies only because of the history of tribal agencies nation wide. I agree with the author, we all wear the same uniform, and our badge or patch says something different but we’re there doing the same job so, stop with the petty BS of “my dept is better than your dept” and do the fucking job!