'Mama goose finds police, officers free gosling tangled in string'
- Thread starter kalibex
- Start date
obyvatel
The Living Force
Redrock12 said:
In general, people just doing their jobs do not make news. What makes news is novelty, positive or negative. In this case the novelty was in the goose's actions which made news. I am quite certain that there are many incidents every day where cops all over do what they are supposed to do, that is help people. But that would not make news. The abuse of power incidents do make news and they should. But this other side is something to keep in mind as well. It is important for our own sake to have a more objective view of the whole situation.
obyvatel said:
Alternatively, this could be 'feel-good' stuff put out there to make cops seem ok?
Because, really, a cop helping an animal in need shouldn't be news-worthy.
I don't recall a reporter calling me up when I helped a baby bird last year!
I wonder if there also isn't some nostalgia to when cops spent their time actually doing helpful things, and incidents such as these personify that - especially for people who may be subconsciously resisting the plethora of corruption stories. I notice on social media people really do love to get gooey over incidents like this.
It seems to me any time a cop does anything close to admirable it's in the news, kinda like Niall is saying.
It seems to me any time a cop does anything close to admirable it's in the news, kinda like Niall is saying.
obyvatel said:
Seems that it may have been a combination of the goose's behavior as well as it going to a cop for help. Like, 'Isn't that cute? The goose knew to go to the police to get help.' The unfortunate thing is that this isn't a trustworthy message considering the daily stories of cops unjustly harming people and animals. Granted I don't think this means that every single cop is a threat to normal people, but there is something quite dangerous about the police institution in the US and it's place in society.
obyvatel
The Living Force
I guess perspective and prior experience matters in what kind of messages we read into events. Back where I grew up, there was a folk saying which could roughly be translated as "an interaction with the police is twice as dangerous as an interaction with a tiger". People "solved problems" on their own among themselves as much as possible with little expectation of the police. It was known and accepted that police was as corrupt as the politicians in power and if someone was an ordinary citizen, chances of obtaining help or justice from the police was rather slim. The question of police helping animals would be so alien that people would either think it was a joke or question sanity of the individual who would bring the topic up. Of course, one would be correct to say that things are broken in such a society and it is not something to be emulated anywhere.
So I personally do not have any nostalgia or subconscious expectation on cops being nice. From where I am at currently, I do actually see many incidents where cops do what they are expected to do. People dial the emergency number whenever there is a whiff of trouble and police do come and check things out. There must be stats on how many emergency calls police respond to every day. People call because they expect help, irrespective of who they are, and many times, they do receive the help. I also read about militarization of the police, abuse of power and incidents of brutality. Both are real.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, it is important to report and disseminate the incidents of abuse so that they are not swept under the carpet and denied. At the same time, I think one could look deeper into the message one internalizes from the various incidents, and how that message affects oneself and others. It is easy here in this forum to go with a cops=evil equation and find enough evidence which backs up the assertion, and get social support from others and consider each other "awake" as a consequence. Is that sufficient? Is there any need to develop a more nuanced understanding beyond "cops=evil" while being fully cognizant of the abuses that are taking place and not falling for any of the different forms of denial?
I think there is a need for a nuanced understanding for practical purposes. Now such an understanding may already be there and discussions in the forum are in keeping with the zeitgeist here of providing shocks to prevent denial from setting in. If this is so in every individual case for people reading and participating here, then both this post and the previous one I made in this thread are nonsense and should be dismissed. Maybe contemplating the following question would help to evaluate in this regard.
Heaven forbid, if any of us run into some problems, would we call 911 or 999 or whatever is the emergency hotline number? If yes, then what would be our attitude as we meet the cop(s)? It is a stressful situation, so our cognitive faculties (system 2) may not be functioning at their most optimum. The adaptive unconscious (system 1) would play a role and it tends to generalize going by patterns it has internalized before. And it's effect is contagious - in other words, the unconscious attitude expressed through body language and beyond affects the other party (cops in this case) - this is empirically established. If we have a nuanced understanding, and/or healthy natural instincts, then we may be able to hold an attitude that increases the chances of a positive outcome from the interaction - osit.
And that forms the core of my concern regarding the understanding of messages and related discussions of this type. There is perhaps a justified sense of betrayal and resentment about the general state of affairs regarding police behavior. How can this be integrated in a way that is practically adaptive in an up close and personal context? If we are confident that we can handle things well in case such circumstances arise while internalizing a "cops=evil" message, then well and good; this post can be ignored entirely.
So I personally do not have any nostalgia or subconscious expectation on cops being nice. From where I am at currently, I do actually see many incidents where cops do what they are expected to do. People dial the emergency number whenever there is a whiff of trouble and police do come and check things out. There must be stats on how many emergency calls police respond to every day. People call because they expect help, irrespective of who they are, and many times, they do receive the help. I also read about militarization of the police, abuse of power and incidents of brutality. Both are real.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, it is important to report and disseminate the incidents of abuse so that they are not swept under the carpet and denied. At the same time, I think one could look deeper into the message one internalizes from the various incidents, and how that message affects oneself and others. It is easy here in this forum to go with a cops=evil equation and find enough evidence which backs up the assertion, and get social support from others and consider each other "awake" as a consequence. Is that sufficient? Is there any need to develop a more nuanced understanding beyond "cops=evil" while being fully cognizant of the abuses that are taking place and not falling for any of the different forms of denial?
I think there is a need for a nuanced understanding for practical purposes. Now such an understanding may already be there and discussions in the forum are in keeping with the zeitgeist here of providing shocks to prevent denial from setting in. If this is so in every individual case for people reading and participating here, then both this post and the previous one I made in this thread are nonsense and should be dismissed. Maybe contemplating the following question would help to evaluate in this regard.
Heaven forbid, if any of us run into some problems, would we call 911 or 999 or whatever is the emergency hotline number? If yes, then what would be our attitude as we meet the cop(s)? It is a stressful situation, so our cognitive faculties (system 2) may not be functioning at their most optimum. The adaptive unconscious (system 1) would play a role and it tends to generalize going by patterns it has internalized before. And it's effect is contagious - in other words, the unconscious attitude expressed through body language and beyond affects the other party (cops in this case) - this is empirically established. If we have a nuanced understanding, and/or healthy natural instincts, then we may be able to hold an attitude that increases the chances of a positive outcome from the interaction - osit.
And that forms the core of my concern regarding the understanding of messages and related discussions of this type. There is perhaps a justified sense of betrayal and resentment about the general state of affairs regarding police behavior. How can this be integrated in a way that is practically adaptive in an up close and personal context? If we are confident that we can handle things well in case such circumstances arise while internalizing a "cops=evil" message, then well and good; this post can be ignored entirely.
Yay! This is so cool! Yeah, the posts below go off on how it's unusual to see cops helping animals, or people. But that's mostly what they do, is help people (and, occasionally, animals), or at least should.kalibex said:
I'd like to see police oaths of office use the term "residents" to refer to those they are sworn to protect and serve, as opposed to "citizens" or any other term, and moreover, acknowledge preserving animals.
Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln expressed similar opinions, so I am in some illustrious company.
kalibex
Dagobah Resident
obyvatel said:
Thank you for acknowledging the grey areas regarding the "Most police are not trustworthy; better to just write them off and never engage" meme (and how it can actually hurt to see a reminder of the "The police are here to help us" meme that was prevalent for so long in the USA).
We default to assuming the worst after some amount of observation, which is adaptive, but it would be nice to be able to have (or regain?) a more nuanced assessment of any particular, specific situation. Like: "I can quickly sense, and I trust my senses now, that the specific cop coming towards me is decent in character, and not corrupt/ponerized; he/she will help."
(Do biases kick in more readily, putting us on auto-pilot more often, when we've lose our gut instinct as we seem to have, I wonder?)
Did the goose seek help and just 'knew' it was worth the effort with the specific cops she approached? (Or was the situation too dire to be picky?)
shellycheval
The Living Force
Bjorn
Yes, sometimes they do. As all living (and non) things give off an energy vibration, I think it is more likely that the goose approached the nearest person who had a friendly vibe
and asked for help, rather than went to that person because she thought "Oh there is a policeman, he will help." Thinking that the goose knew it was a
"policeman" and understood the traditional cultural belief that "cops are here to help" is a biased human interpretation. It is amazing enough that animals know very well
that humans can help or destroy and that they have the discernment to choose the right person to help and to avoid most humans most of the time.
Yes, sometimes they do. As all living (and non) things give off an energy vibration, I think it is more likely that the goose approached the nearest person who had a friendly vibe
and asked for help, rather than went to that person because she thought "Oh there is a policeman, he will help." Thinking that the goose knew it was a
"policeman" and understood the traditional cultural belief that "cops are here to help" is a biased human interpretation. It is amazing enough that animals know very well
that humans can help or destroy and that they have the discernment to choose the right person to help and to avoid most humans most of the time.
[quote author= shellycheval]Yes, sometimes they do. As all living (and non) things give off an energy vibration, I think it is more likely that the goose approached the nearest person who had a friendly vibe and asked for help[/quote]
Animals tend to be more sensitive in that regard? Very good possibility.
And yes, this new bulletin is whitewashing the true face of law enforcement. Just recently a cop punched a parakeet to death while terrorizing a family. How more evil can it get, this is standard practice and it's telling how this was on TV, but not parakeet. Or any news that potray law enforcement for what they are, a bunch of psychopath thugs.
Animals tend to be more sensitive in that regard? Very good possibility.
And yes, this new bulletin is whitewashing the true face of law enforcement. Just recently a cop punched a parakeet to death while terrorizing a family. How more evil can it get, this is standard practice and it's telling how this was on TV, but not parakeet. Or any news that potray law enforcement for what they are, a bunch of psychopath thugs.
13 Twirling Triskeles
Jedi Master
Thank you Obyvatel for that inclusive overview of the cops=evil synopsis in your Reply #7.
I agree that after reading so many articles about police brutality and over-the-top vicious treatment of the public that we need to remember that we can hypnotize our own attitudes into black & white viewpoints about any group including the police. My personal experience with the men & women in blue has been overall positive. But that personal experience does not lead me to think that others' experiences with the police is necessarily positive at all. Nor that my next encounter will also be automatically positive either.
Every group seems to embody a full-spectrum of behavior . . . from the worst to the best, and that's probably true with respect to the law enforcers as well. I'd say that most people's behavior is dependent upon a number of factors occurring in any situation. If we anticipate or expect any specific response from others, we may or may not receive that response. It's probably a good idea to be open to and prepared for the unexpected while holding mental space for the best to happen as well.
Anyway, yours was a thoughtful post that gives me pause to consider a larger and more inclusive view. So thank you.
P.S. And the goose story is cute too. :)
I agree that after reading so many articles about police brutality and over-the-top vicious treatment of the public that we need to remember that we can hypnotize our own attitudes into black & white viewpoints about any group including the police. My personal experience with the men & women in blue has been overall positive. But that personal experience does not lead me to think that others' experiences with the police is necessarily positive at all. Nor that my next encounter will also be automatically positive either.
Every group seems to embody a full-spectrum of behavior . . . from the worst to the best, and that's probably true with respect to the law enforcers as well. I'd say that most people's behavior is dependent upon a number of factors occurring in any situation. If we anticipate or expect any specific response from others, we may or may not receive that response. It's probably a good idea to be open to and prepared for the unexpected while holding mental space for the best to happen as well.
Anyway, yours was a thoughtful post that gives me pause to consider a larger and more inclusive view. So thank you.
P.S. And the goose story is cute too. :)
