What’s in a name

It bothers and pains me to the core to read news after news about the gallant stand of the brave 44 police Special Action Force operatives and how their mortal sacrifice has not made that big of an impact among their bretheren. Does being an SAF operative mean you’re more obedient and dedicated to your job than your run of the mill policeman?

Take for example the vehicle in the photo. Clearly peeking out of the top of the roof of the law enforcer’s service vehicle is a signage that reads, “No Parking Anytime.” Anyone with a smidgen of moral dignity, especially for people tasked to enforce the law, would respect that signage. Unfortunately, some people in uniform see their brass badge as a privilege to break the law.

Maybe the person responsible for parking that vehicle in a No Parking zone would argue that their police station, which is located about fifty meters before this signage, does not have enough parking space to accommodate all their service vehicles. I don’t find that excuse valid at all for right across the street where this vehicle is illegally parked is the city’s sports and cultural center. This place has so much space that the city government even parks some of their broken down utility vehicles at the back.

Another possible ‘maybe’ is that the person who parked this police service vehicle probably thought that it would be a long walk from the parking space across the street to the police station and his lazy, good for nothing carcass could not handle the stress. Whichever reason the daft driver would care to choose or could come up with, breaking the law is still breaking the law.

I find it very sad that on one side of the law enforcement spectrum, there are those who are ready to lay down their lives to uphold the laws of the country.  While on the darker side of the spectrum, there are those who wear their shiny police badges but couldn’t care less about the law. All they care about is clocking in and collecting their paycheck every payday.

Be you a beat cop, or one of the honorable SAF operatives, a police law enforcer is a police law enforcer. The badge isn’t a privilege to break the law. In fact, the badge is a reminder that they are vanguards of the law and they should be the first ones to obey it.

After yammering on for a good while, one may begin to ask, “What has this got to do with motoring?” Well, the answer is simple. If the people who are tasked to enforce the law are the first to break it thinking it is their privilege, it is no wonder that many motorists act the same way. If the mere salaried-through-the-taxes-we-pay peons feel very free to break the law, what more for their misdeclaring-tax-paying bosses?

So if you’re still wondering why the streets of the metropolis are turning more and more chaotic each passing day, simply take a look at this picture. It speaks volumes.

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