EIt is not part of our idea of Germany for someone to start shooting with a hunting weapon on the open road and open fire just because they might have been caught poaching. That’s what Udo Gehring from the Kaiserslautern public prosecutor’s office said when the police and the public prosecutor’s office informed about Kusel’s double murder.
Yes, it is an incredible act. An act that fortunately does not happen often in Germany. However, the prosecutor considered it appropriate to also discuss developments in this country that are not directly related to the case. He spoke of the blind hatred that officials sometimes feel and that has become a social problem.
In fact, this hatred of police officers is no longer only cultivated in milieus in which police and state are traditionally rejected, in fact, where hatred functions as a means of identification. Left-wing extremists have always degraded police officers to objects of a state that needs to be fought: “Acab – All cops are bastards”, which means: All cops are pigs. The situation is similar with the right-wing extremists and unsurprisingly also in other criminal circles. Anyone who becomes a police officer knows that they are an enemy in these milieus. And he knows he can be killed in the line of duty. After all, this has also happened in the past – around 2010, when a special task force wanted to storm the apartment of a Hells Angels rocker in Anhausen and he shot through the door.
Insulted and spat on
But there was nothing else then, at least not to the extent that it is today. Then as now, dismay prevailed, but more and more haters of the police celebrate publicly when an officer is killed. Shortly after Kusel’s crime, statements like these circulated on social media: “Well, it’s your own fault”, “A donation account for the perpetrator”. Even in public, some people don’t shy away from saying such things.
The behavior of many citizens towards the police has changed. Police officers are often no longer seen as friends and helpers. Appreciation sinks and the willingness to use violence against the officers increases. In many operations, police officers have to expect that they will be insulted, spat on or physically attacked. This is now sad everyday life in Germany. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, there were 38,960 acts of violence against police officers in 2020.
The police scandals of recent years, the uncovering of right-wing extremist chats, may have played a certain part in this development, in this rejection of the police. But that cannot be an explanation or a justification. Very few of the more than 300,000 police officers in Germany were involved in these scandals. The vast majority do their work with dedication, they protect the citizens.
“Saying Thank You”
But then what is the cause of the hatred that can be observed more and more often, be it recently at Corona demos or in the pub districts of the cities? Exactly this question should be asked by everyone who is upset about an alcohol test or about the fact that police officers are securing an accident site or accompanying a demonstration, which is why the way home now takes a few minutes longer. Instead of ranting, it’s better to realize that these police officers are defending our safety every day. And then you should do what Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier has just advised: “Just say thank you from time to time.”
Because the truth is, anyone who is in need has every right to expect the police to help them. If someone threatens a protester who has just yelled “All cops are pigs”, even he will hope that the police will step in. If you become aware of this, then hopefully you will stop scapegoating police officers and blaming them for your own frustration and dissatisfaction, for which they are not responsible.
Police officers did not come up with the Corona policy, there are probably many who are not satisfied with how Germany has been managing the pandemic so far. Nevertheless, they ensure that the rules are observed and that demonstrators can demonstrate undisturbed, but only peacefully.
Anyone who then has nothing better to do after an act like that in Kusel than to write on the net: “2 less on the walks”, should be responsible for it, and in such a way that they clearly feel that such statements are no fun . On the contrary, they may encourage people to throw the next rock or use a weapon.
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