I love this song. Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.” It’s not the music or the era, but the words within the song that have stood the test of time. That have inspired and given strength. Especially this verse;
For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!
Why am I talking about this? A funny thing happened over the last couple of days on social (Twitter in particular) that really got under my skin. It’s not the first time it’s happened and I know it won’t be the last. I got into debates with some people over the police. In particular my views on how great police are and their views that police are worthless, mindless, stupid and so on and on.
Trolls
I know the first rule of trolls; Don’t feed them. Well, I didn’t see them as Trolls because they actually seemed to look like they weren’t trying to incite reaction and wanted to talk. So I talked. I have learned that there are different levels of Trolls. These were the cute ones that you just wanted to shake around to see what their hair looked like at the end. Not the ones that just need to be ignored.
Doing Social Right
One of them was very displeased with me and told me that I need to learn how to do social media right. Well, in my opinion, social done right is how you want to do it and what works for you. I’ve done the politically correct thing making sure I didn’t offend anyone. I’ve gone down the middle of the road so as to not tip my hat and I’ve virtually smiled and nodded at people when I wanted to tell them what I’ve really thought of them. I’ve gone away from that since it really is kind of boring and does a huge disservice to those things that I do support and believe in. Now, I say it.
If you say the police are crooked and all need to be shot…then hell ya, I’m going to call you on it. If you put a blanket statement down, I will pick it up, fold it and put it away for you. If you tell me my opinion is wrong, you better expect I’m going to ask you to support your stance, because I am sure going to support mine.
If you are going to make accusations, you need to bring your A game and be accurate about what you say because I’ll be asking you to prove it. Don’t tell me I do social wrong just because I don’t do it the way you think it needs to be done….I do it my way.
Leadership
Here is my biggest pet peeve with what I have seen over the last several months in social. There are a lot of police agencies and officers using social. Every rank is represented and every size service has a voice. But, I am always left wondering who the real leaders are. I see a few here and there…but not many, and rarely are they who you might think they are.
The best leaders I have seen are most often the rank and file front line officers. The ones who call a spade a spade, challenge people and speak the truth.
Reputation
In North America crime rates have been decreasing overall for many years. More people are being arrested due in part to advances in technology and solid investigations. More intelligence led police work is being done to prevent crime and predictive policing is making strides to bring the crime event and police response awareness closer together.
Police are better, stronger, faster, smarter and more reflective of the communities they serve than ever before. Yet the communities support, respect and belief in policing continues to drop. That is a major disconnect.
PR
At some point in time someone has to climb on a soapbox and scream from the mountaintops how great the police are. At the same time, they have to absolutely denounce police officers who don’t cut the grade and commit crimes and breach the public trust.
That later part is tough because we do have due process to protect and everyone is innocent until proven guilty…hold on, it’s not tough…police do it all the time with the regular public.
When the public attacks the police and there is no response from them, what is the lasting thought? If someone says the police are corrupt and the police don’t challenge it, what are the public left to think? When a police agency gets called names and doesn’t challenge it, what does the public think?
I know the response some are thinking right now, “We take the high road and ignore comments that aren’t worth the time to respond.” One question…how’s that working for the perception people have about you?
My Way
- I don’t stand by and let people take shots against what I am passionate about.
- I’m respectful in how I reply.
- I probably allow conversations to go on too long trying to plead my case.
- If you tag me, I’ll respond in some manner provided you can articulate yourself without cursing and being closed-minded. If you don’t like my response, don’t tag me.
- If you don’t know what you are talking about, I’ll tell you that. If I don’t know what I’m talking about, I won’t comment on it. If I need to be educated on something, I’ll do it.
I honestly believe that if you aren’t rustling someone’s feathers, then you probably aren’t adding much value anywhere. If we all think the same, act the same and do the same then where is the individuality that makes the world so awesome?
To those of you who stand up and let it be known that you believe in something, I applaud you. For those of you who hide in the bushes…well, you just stay there.
If you see something dumb being said about something you believe in and you don’t say something, then you really don’t believe in it.
Are there things that you just can’t say something about? I’m talking about places where there are legal implications? Sure there are. But to say, “No comment” is an automatic loss on your part. Take the time to explain why you can’t say something. At the very least, tell them the frigging truth…”I can’t comment on something that I know nothing about. I will wait for the facts and the evidence like all people should.”
My way? To quote one more verse from another song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
What’s your way?
