Thank you police for your service

Dear Editor:

Someone once said that, “Silence is golden.” It is also a tragedy when the world seems to fill with cries of “systemic racism,” “police brutality,” and “Black Lives Matter.”

While I am all for a peaceful, law-abiding society, my silence might indicate that I support all of the above. I want to apologize for not speaking up and maintaining that illusion.

While each is a worthy cause, our local police are not to blame.

I want to speak up with a huge thank you to our South Okanagan RCMP.

While I do not know the everyday ins and outs of policing, I am certain that these brave men and women, do not start their days by saying, “I wonder who I can hurt today?” Unlike many professions, taking on an assignment is not an option, it’s an order.

Thank you for leaving your families each day when you go to work, knowing you might not come home. Thank you for being there when a son, daughter, mom or dad goes missing. Thank you for having the courage to knock on a stranger’s door and investigate a complaint or tell the occupants that a loved one has died. Thank you for checking on the elderly person who hasn’t been seen for a while.

Thank you for responding when our elderly neighbour, now deceased, called 911 to report strangers in her yard with flashlights shining them in her window. Two cars responded with lights and sirens. While you were there, a flash of lightning caused her to say, “There they are again.” Thank you for making her feel safe and not adding to her embarrassment.

Thank you for responding to the frivolous, and serious complaints all with an attitude of non-judgmental professionalism. Thank you for not quitting with every public complaint you get for just doing your job. Thank you for being willing to investigate crimes that the thought of would nauseate the rest of us. Thank you for running into harm’s way when there are real threats to public safety.

Thank you for your patience with unruly teens, even when they spit in your face (few and far between, but it happens.) Thank you for being moms and dads who bring that compassion to your work. Thank you for being willing to pick up the pieces when our society breaks.

Thank you for having nightmares so the rest of us can dream. I guess more than ever, thank you for doing an often thank-less job.

Thank you for choosing to serve and protect!

G. R. Bogyo

Penticton