[andyman8662]

do we really need to go over the cop thing again?

Originally Posted by ScubaSmith7599

You know, reading a lot of these comments really does remind me of the book, "On Combat" and "On Killing" by Lt Col Dave Grossman. The book was written by himself with strong help from a career police officer and examines many issues with killing/combat. It's one of our studies as a new Marine Corps officer. I bet there's at least one IWSTI member that's a policeman who has read it also.

Anyways, one of the sections deal with the herd of sheep, the sheepdogs and the wolves. It's a way of looking at how society is broken up. Most people being sheep, relying on the sheepdog for protection(police or military) and the wolves(criminals/terrorists) attacking the herd. Now I could write about 3 pages over this section very easily with how it relates to some of the comments here. This is a shortened version:

It's tough being a sheepdog. A lot of times he is looked down upon by his herd, which he so dearly loves. He loves it enough that he's willing to die protecting it. He gives up the simple freedoms of being able to act like a normal person 100% of the time. He is ALWAYS acting in a professional(a.k.a. conservative, boring, unapproachable, whatever) manner compared to his sheep. He does this because it's necessary to always be in the green when everyone else is in the yellow or white. What else is tough? To the herd, the sheepdog is pretty much the same as the wolf. He reminds the herd that there is such a thing as violence throughout the world. This disturbs the herd because, put simply, the herd is ignorant to violence. It doesn't want to admit it's there. Frankly, after what I've learned so far as a Marine, this is 100% true. The public doesn't want to admit that sometimes violence is necessary. Violence is not what you see in COPS or any TV show. Actual combat can be far more violent than any person, military, police or not, can imagine without having experienced it. This is a short glimpse at something violent. Does it suck that a human life had to be taken in such a cruel manner? yes. Was it cruel? yes. Is what my organization, the Marine Corps, do in combat cruel? Damn straight. But sometimes it needs to be done, whether or not the herd wants to admit to it. They simply want to be going about their lives, completely ignorant to it. Thus, we, the sheepdog, are persecuted by the herd. The herd LIKES to think of what we do as honorable, valiant, courageous and righteous. But when they see it with their own eyes, they simply can't admit to it. It's just too much.

So, in summary, while what was done was violent, it may have been necessary. While you, the bystander, may want the criminal to be caught in the perfect, bloodless manner, that may have not been viable. To the sheepdog, the perfect manner is immediately. You act to stop the threat. If you don't like the violence, too bad, just keep persecuting me. I know what I need to do to protect you.