Hangin’ Tough
From the time we are born, boys are expected to be tough. Many of our sports are calculated to bring out our strength and ability to stand tough in the world. Growing up in a rural environment, boys were expected to be adventurous and to deal with life as it came along, without a lot of complaining. I think that this is petty much the North American ideal. Perhaps it is the ideal the world around.
Policeman seem to embody this. They are tough. They can take it. They can stand up to the pressure and not fold. We depend on them to protect us from the criminal element in the community and also from ourselves. They seem to stand above the pressure, performing their job even when times are hard. They are expected, and they tend to expect themselves, to “hand tough” and “suck it up”.
This is why it has shocked so many people when some police officers in New Orleans did not hang tough. I do not know the entire story, but according to CNN some officers abandoned their posts and ran away. Some people were quite shocked that this had happened.
I know that a couple of years ago we were subjected to Hurricane Juan, which was a category two. If I was subjected to a category five, I would flee if there seemed a safe place to flee to.
I don’t blame the police officers at all. What has been discovered in battle fields over the past 100 years is that people, no matter how mature, strong, or tough can only stand so much stress. Critical Incident Stress is a reality. After a certain point we all crack. I also know that panic is contagious. If one person catches it, then others tend to catch it as well. A herd mentality can well take over. People can flee like lemmings rushing to the sea.
The police force will be hard pressed to help those officers rediscover their pride and sense of honor. It is a wonder that any officers held on. Perhaps their leadership was exemplary, they had more crisis training, or they had grown up more secure than most. Certainly they found toughness in themselves which no one can guarantee or be assured of in themselves.
That’s the way I see it. What do you think?