Ostomy Memories of Point of View

PERSPECTIVE DICTATES VIEWPOINT.  One person sees a cop as a good guy, another as a bad guy.  Skin color, profession, religious affiliation, all have a variety of impacts upon people depending on their family background, education, intelligence, bias, and personal experience.  Some of us may be more flexible and understanding of differences than others, and our outlook may change over time as well.  In the Sixties I had a very negative view of the police, especially following the actions of the Chicago cops at the Democratic National convention in 1968.  But then, after working with them in the Eighties, my opinion became more positive.  Now that I’m a grandfather, recalling my own grandfather, I feel a lot closer to him and wish that I’d spent more time talking to him and asking him about his life.  Whatever unique personal attributes may be at issue, there’s always a reason, though sometimes difficult to discover and understand.  People hate for a reason.  Liars have their histories.  Hypocrites usually don’t see themselves as others see them.   And ego, the ultimate arbiter, directs behind the scenes.   

Hello HenryM.

Thanks for another interesting thought for the day.
You are so right about how perspectives emerge and develop and how diverse they can be. 
I have had some good friends who were policemen and women. They were kind, compassionate, and community spirited. However, I used to undertake a lot of work at police stations in the role of ‘appropriate adult’ for those who might have been perceived as having mental health problems.  During the miner’s strikes in the Thatcher era, I was witness to the backroom banter of the police(mostly men) with regard to their involvement in those confrontations and was absolutely appalled at what I heard.
For the most part, these people were talking in the same way that one might expect from a violent street gang, describing what their own violent tactics were going to be when they confronted those whom they perceived to be their less than human  ‘enemy’. Their conversations reminded me of the sort of things the Fascist Nazis had been saying about their enemies during WW2.
To some extent, I was disappointed at this perspective, but some of the comments were pertinent in pinpointing from whence these perspectives arose, Clearly, these dangerous hooligans were being paid (overtime) well by their political employers who were dictated to by their then fascist leader. 
There was nothing practical that I could do to prevent them, or their kind from waging war against the ordinary people who were trying to protect their livelihoods, so I did my usual thing and wrote rhymes to capture the sentiments and perspectives generated.
There were a series of rhymes over those decades, all to the tune of the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’, of which I will share the first one to give you an idea of the tone of the perspectives. 
In verse 6, my perspective reveals the thought that pitting the police and the army against the people  is equivalent to a civil war.  It seems pertinent that in the past few weeks the police and the army have been mobilised to try to nullify the strikes by doctors, nurses, ambulance staff etc, etc. 
It reminds me of the words to another song : “ When will they ever learn – when will they ever learn”

Best wishes

Bill

BATTLE HYMN OF THE 80’s.

                CHORUS:
                Glory, glory alleluia.
                Don’t you let ‘em do it to yer.
                Now, I’m gonna sock it to yer,
                WE MUST PUT RIGHT WHAT’S WRONG. 

She has given to the rich 
and she has taken from the poor  (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

She snatched the milk from children 
then she did a whole lot more  (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

She closed down many hospitals
and schools she closed galore   (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

Millions unemployed
so she could keep the wages poor.  (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

She said we had no money
but she took us all to war.  (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

Police and Army ‘gainst the people
is the same as civil war   (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

She’s against a SOCIAL CHARTER
which could open many doors.  (x3)
THIS SURELY MUST BE WRONG
                CHORUS - - - - - - - 

Equal opportunities
are not just empty words  (x3)
LET’S PUSH IT ON AND ON.
                CHORUS - - - - - - -

                                                B. Withers 1989
                                                (In:’Evidence’ 1992)

I remember taking a course in Cultural Anthropology in college. I found it quite fascinating (almost switched my line of study from computer science lol) how people view the world through the eyes of where and ;how they were raised.... enculturation I suppose. Then as life gives you more exposure to a variety of people, etc your point of view can change many times over. How I view the world now is completely different than when I was younger. And it continues to change.

Sally, I changed my college major from Accounting (well, truthfully, I was getting a D in Economics and panicked) to Social Work. I did this also to "fix" my family which was really stupid because you can't fix your own. Anyway, it developed in me an ability to analyze and understand all sides of any issue. I will always consider this a gift and it really only becomes difficult when others don't want to or can't see anything other than their own perspective because of all the reasons you mentioned, Henry. They won't see mine but I can see theirs. It's frustrating but it will always be like that. Henry and Bill, wouldn't it be great if everyone took the time to acknowledge and try to understand other sides to any given story? But that's human nature and, for us,it can feel like having an answer or at least a lot of constructive stuff to discuss but yelling it into the wind.

Social Work must of been interesting. My daughter's boyfriend is taking social work and she is taking psychology and going on to teaching. Suppertime conversations can get very interesting.

I used to be part of a community policing team, in my job investigating welfare fraud, and worked along with the police for a few years. I have great respect for them, and for the most part, find them to be good people, who are in it to help their fellow citizens. They tend to be empathic, and respectful, when dealing with the public. I've also seen the behind the scenes behavior that would make you doubt that. I think a large part of that is the need for 'black humour' to get you through the day. As in my field, as a 'welfare cop', we would often speak of our clients in less than flattering ways. It's a means of coping, and bonding with our workmates, when the relationships with our clients is mostly adversarial.

Terry

Very good point about black humor getting you through the day, Terry.

I can only imagine how exhausting those conversations must be sometimes!

I agree with you 100%, Terry.  In some professions, dealing with people in bad or difficult times, black humor is definitely a means of coping with the pressure.