One of the Crown-given rights of Canadians is the right to complain ad nauseam about anything that mildly irritates them. All Canadians exercise this right at some point or another to varying degrees.
Today, I wish to express my… dissatisfaction with a number of complainers. That does indeed make me a complainer, but as we’ve already covered, this is my Crown-given right.
The motto of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Maintiens le Droit, or in English, Uphold the Right.
While the words themselves may have differing meanings for officers, for many it’s a summary of their core values: take responsibility, show respect, serve with excellence, demonstrate compassion, and act with integrity. The motto can serve as a reminder of why they joined the RCMP.
Though the RCMP mandate is about dealing with crime, their motto could be interpreted as giving guidance for how they do their job. While their main task involves fighting crime, it’s rarely as black and white as people believe.
Anyone who has read the RCMP Report can see that a large portion of the calls they get aren’t about busting criminals. In a lot of cases, the RCMP play the role of referee, mentor, therapist, chauffeur, confidant, supervisor, financial advisor, and many, many others.
I’m going to preempt this next part with a disclaimer — while most RCMP officers exemplify the mandate and motto, there are some who do not, which is no different from any other industry, group, or organization out there.
Many people have two interchangeable perceptions of the RCMP.
The first perception stems from a need. We have been robbed; we need the police to come help us.
The second is activated when being caught. I broke the law, and those jerks are going to punish me for it.
It seems strange to me that some people can be angry with the RCMP for “always failing” to do their job and then be equally angry at them for succeeding at their job.
“People are driving unsafely! Where are the cops when you need them?”
“Wait, what? I just got pulled over for speeding? That other guy was going way faster; this jerk just thinks he’s important and wants to push someone around.”
I have seen people complain about cops wasting their time parked in high-traffic areas often frequented by dangerous drivers. Those same people are up in arms when there isn’t an officer present to crack down on the bad drivers.
On the odd occasion that someone happens to notice an officer has done their job, there is little praise. Instead, the most common response is something along the lines of, “Does he want a cookie every time he does his job?”
I am of the opinion that some of the people who are screaming the loudest about the cops are the ones who have had negative interactions with them. That could look like being disrespectful or aggressive to an officer. Or it could look like breaking the law and getting caught.
In any case, the double standard of many of the complaints is both mind-boggling and somewhat entertaining. The concept of “do your job unless it involves me” speaks to a high level of entitlement. And for the most part, those who are spewing vitriol about the work the RCMP do are saying more about their own character than anything else.
