What prevents young cops from training to win?

Apathy, denial, procrastination, and fear...

Having spent almost 30 years in law enforcement I have accumulated enough time to be classified as “seasoned.” I don’t really mind the seasoned moniker but I hate being in any group where the word old is the main descriptive. I try not to act old — though my kids would argue that point and would tell you that I look for any excuse to teach life lessons and begin a lot of sentences with the phrase: “Damn kids.”

I work out, eat fairly well, am on the move all the time, constantly stay abreast of the latest law enforcement realities, read incessantly, and I try to think “future” rather than “past.” But I really hate being considered an old guy because somehow my experiences may be viewed to be irrelevant — somehow brushed aside as issues of a bygone era — even as I can’t help but notice some of the questionable trends of the younger generation.

I know, I know, you younger people don’t care what I think. You don’t want to hear anything negative about your... tendencies. You’re more sophisticated than us old guys — more culturally, socially, and intellectually aware. You surf, you e-mail, you ‘Google’ and ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter.’ You are comfortable with technology, have many more acquaintances than you’ll ever need, know how to find vital information, download useless information, and you are really good at navigating around the menu-driven world.

But there are some downsides to your current state of affairs. As I continue however, understand that what follows is admittedly a list of theoretical generalizations. If you don’t think they describe you accurately, well they probably don’t, simple as that. But, those born after 1980 tend to — like all generations — have their own particular traits. Here are a few:

• You like orders, rules, guidelines, and menus — you’re more comfortable with black and white answers and work really well (and are very creative) within the established lines
• Your feelings are easily hurt and you don’t know how to end relationships because there is no reason to end them because there are about a “Gazillion” ways to stay in touch
• You’re not comfortable dealing with confrontation because you’ve never had to — there were always guidelines, rules, referees, umpires, and parents who stepped in to resolve conflict before anyone’s fragile psyche was bruised
• Everyone is equal because winning and losing was deemphasized — you tried, therefore you succeeded — no one ever really lost and everybody got a trophy just for showing up
• The 24/7, 360-degree media made you skeptical because you were privy to unbelievable levels of scamming, cheating, lying, and exploitation by those in leadership positions • You sometimes can’t differentiate between the famous, the insignificant, the essential, and the important since the plight of the Bachelor and the Survivor were presented as vital outcomes and monumental moments in history
• You won’t risk answering a phone that doesn’t have caller ID (“Why would I answer it Dad, if I don’t know who it is?”) and you text, text, text, text, to the point of anti-social behavior (I read that people under 30 prefer to use e-mails and texting to break up with romantic partners in electronic “Dear John” letters)
• Most of you have never been in a real fight and have no concept of true violence
• And if you need training that may save your life, someone else will send you and someone else should pay for it

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