Gripes

Well, I had a chat with a certain police staff sergeant from somewhere (note intentional vagueness), and I realised the grass isn't as green on the other side as one thinks. Listening to his gripes about his work, pay, and inter-service rivalry (like how inefficient the Coast Guard were - no offense) makes me worry. And it just feels like the Army, too. All too similar.

Only thing worse is they have to deal with the public much more. It seems like the police have reduced powers these days thanks to complaining 'taxpayers' (hey, don't the police pay taxes too?), and nosy people who complain about the slow reaction time of police officers and illegal parking (when you're attending to a case, you can't illegal park, then of course response time is increased!), bla bla bla... among others. With the proliferation of easily accessible media, say, STOMP (Straits Times Online Media Portal), many things can happen. The police (and the Home Team by extension) is inward-looking, and are much more visible than the public, and probably prone to more criticism. Can't we all get along? Grr. Complaints, complaints (I know, I'm quite whiny myself). Better to cooperate with policemen than give them trouble.

So many recent cases, dealing a blow to the Home Team (the Police and Civil Defence, also including the Prisons Service, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and such)... First our dear Malay friend, then the two crazy f**kers who tried to escape while on trial, and now the recent 'wrong passport' case... Damn. We're a complacent bunch, aren't we?

I love my cousins. :)