Online, I’ve seen a lot of hate for cops and I’ve seen a lot of love for them.

What it seems to boil down to is whether you’ve had a positive interaction with cops or a negative one.

Many people have a gripe against cops for arresting them. The courts will decide if they’re guilty.

Policemen and policewomen go out each and every day to interact with the public. Not in the way a clerk at 7-Eleven or Cumberland Farms might, but actively searching for individuals and interacting with them at the most violent and worst moments of their lives.

It’s not for nothing that cops put on a bullet-proof vest, and a belt with a handgun, handcuffs, and mace, if needed.

They are on duty for eight hours when things are violent. What amount of money would they have to pay you to do that?

It’s like being a soldier in Afghanistan. Oh, wait.

So don’t give cops a hard time. Put your hands on the damned steering wheel, and don’t leap out of the car with your hands behind your back. They don’t know if you’re one of the good guys or one of the bad guys, and lately they’ve been trained not to even care. A lot of them have been trained to not even come home that night.

But you should.