Cops and image
Tam:
In my brief lifetime, the popular icon of the American law enforcement officer has gone from Sheriff Andy Taylor to Special Agent Jack Bauer.
Where the f___ did we go wrong?
Reminds me of this bit by KTK a while back: Where Have You Gone, Sheriff Taylor?
Ya know, when the extra crispy variety of left leaning sorts and the right leaning libertarian sorts look at this issue and see the same result, it speaks volumes.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:47 am
It’s doubtful that the image of Sheriff Andy Taylor ever corresponded to reality, especially in our larger cities. Cops who deal with the urban underclass tend to be armed to the teeth and rough around the edges. It’s quite understandable.
I’ve never really watched 24, but I assume that Agent Jack Bauer is the creation of some Bush administration PR flack. The administration wants us all to believe that deadly terrorists threaten our very existence, and that only the dedication of our brillaint civil servants saves us from utter destruction. Personally, I doubt that either proposition is true.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Gringo, KTK’s piece addresses that; the Andy Griffith Show may have been unrealistic, but it was widely held up as a cultural ideal. It was what a large number of Americans — perhaps especially conservative Americans — wanted life in this country to be like, even if it wasn’t.
And now, conservative America seems by and large to be watching 24 for their daily dose of reaffirming their cultural ideals. That change is interesting, even if Jack Bauer is purest fiction.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Well, yes…
But the popular icon of mischief (if you will) has also moved from Gomer Pile and Otis Campbell to The Crips/Bloods, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Unibomber.