Grooming Standards for Police?

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The way a person chooses to appear is actually the way someone want to be judged whether we purposely choose it or not. We may want to stand out from the crowd or blend in. The old adage that you never get a second chance to make a first impression is absolutely correct. Most of the time we get a second chance to change the first impression but even then we will be judged by our appearance to some extent.

For me, I never trust a man wearing a bow-tie, plain and simple unless it is at a formal dinner where he had to because of his wife. For the most part I see tattoos, the shaved head and goatee as being one who wants to follow the crowd rather then trying to be an individual. It's like the old hippie mantra of do your own thing, but if you looked all of them were doing the same thing and looked the same way. So much for doing your own thing unless it meant your own thing was the same as everyone elses.Your appearancedoes reflect you to a larger part and every one of usare judged every day by our appearance whether it fully reflects everything or not. Either way it will be used as part of how we are seen and judged.

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I wonder why the most conservative elements of society are so eager to appear to embrace the kind of person who, in appearance, would seem to be the antithesis of their culture.

Are you really saying you would trust your children or anything else of value to someone who looks like a fugitive from a Grade B biker movie? Do you really mean to say you would allow such a person to approach you on a dark street simply because he has a badge that could be procured in the sleaziest pawnshop?

Appearances matter and even if this person is four-square and dedicated such a look still says something disturbing about him. I've seen these people on the yellow footprints and there is something definitely off with them. They are the sort of emotional cripples who equate viciousness with toughness. If they were truly badasses they wouldn't need to look like freaks.

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Call mewhat you will, but I don't think it looks freakish at all. I think it looks beautiful. Just because you all choose to look like something out of the 50's doesn't mean it's right. Some men in the middle east and asia wear what we would consider a dress but that doesn't make them freaks. You guys are hypocrites for calling me a freak and then chastizing all those who call you freaks for OCing.

What I was saying before is that I am a well respected man in my community and I look the way I do because it's comfortable and I like it. I don't really care what you think about it. We should judge people by ther actions not the way they look.

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TheHossUSMC wrote:

Call mewhat you will, but I don't think it looks freakish at all. I think it looks beautiful. Just because you all choose to look like something out of the 50's doesn't mean it's right. Some men in the middle east and asia wear what we would consider a dress but that doesn't make them freaks. You guys are hypocrites for calling me a freak and then chastizing all those who call you freaks for OCing.

What I was saying before is that I am a well respected man in my community and I look the way I do because it's comfortable and I like it. I don't really care what you think about it. We should judge people by ther actions not the way they look.

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You actually seem to care about what folks think about it a lot.

BTW, how people choose to look is an action.

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TheHossUSMC wrote:

In the words of Dr. King
"[font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]I have a dream....
[/font][/font]

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eye95 wrote:

TheHossUSMC wrote:

Call mewhat you will, but I don't think it looks freakish at all. I think it looks beautiful. Just because you all choose to look like something out of the 50's doesn't mean it's right. Some men in the middle east and asia wear what we would consider a dress but that doesn't make them freaks. You guys are hypocrites for calling me a freak and then chastizing all those who call you freaks for OCing.

What I was saying before is that I am a well respected man in my community and I look the way I do because it's comfortable and I like it. I don't really care what you think about it. We should judge people by ther actions not the way they look.

Click to expand...

You actually seem to care about what folks think about it a lot.

BTW, how people choose to look is an action.

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You seem to find me in every thread I post eye95. You are very right that I do choose to look the way I do as stated above. I do it because I like the way it looks and is comfortable to me. If you saw me on the street I don't think you would have the image that I am telling you here.

I also agree that to some degree we all care about what people think about us because we have to. Society is built upon norms that if you break them you will be heralded as an outcast. So yes I do care to some degree. But I think you were trying to say that I care by posting what my history is. I gave myself as an example because I believe that I am a good example of someone who, in certain circumstances, would be considered a "freak". But in most cases those people would be wrong.

I think I offended you in a prior thread and I would like to take this chance to publicly apologize to you. I have a bad habit, that I am working on, of tending to post things or say things without really thinking about the statements or comparisons I'm making. You have rightly corrected me several times, but I will continue to agree to disagree with you on certain subjects. Thanks for being a grounding voice on these forums, sometimes we all need that.

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It's chastising (with an ess) and I believe you meant criticizing.

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Are we really going to fight over grammar and spelling? I think my point got across.

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Thanks, Hoss, for your rational post. We should all strive to remain rational.

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TheHossUSMC wrote:

Are we really going to fight over grammar and spelling? I think my point got across.

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I think you missed the irony there... whether the irony was intentional or not...

:lol: :celebrate

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Rationality does not preclude basic communication skills nor vice versa.

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old dog wrote:

Rationality does not preclude basic communication skills nor vice versa.

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You need to lighten up. At least I'm mostly correct. Or I could switch over to LEET speak if your gonna be a jerk about it. Why don't you concern yourself with the important subjects of this forum instead of my writing skills, which no one doubts is lacking in spelling.

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Dress code: If you ware sohes you mus ware sokcs.

Seriously, who cares, beard or mustache, bald or Mohawk.

As long as they aren't showing their derriere in public and they identify themselves as officers they can wear their hair in a pony tail over their left ear for all I care.

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Old Grump wrote:

Dress code: If you ware sohes you mus ware sokcs.

Seriously, who cares, beard or mustache, bald or Mohawk.

As long as they aren't showing their derriere in public and they identify themselves as officers they can wear their hair in a pony tail over their left ear for all I care.

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+1

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Aaron1124 wrote:

So now we have people condemning others for how they choose to look...

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Mall ninjas, anyone? :lol:

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Is this profiling the profilers?

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sudden valley gunner wrote:

Is this profiling the profilers?

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Meta-profiling, eh?

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Quisnam profiles profilers? [font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?[/font]

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Personally, I see the relaxing of grooming standards for law enforcement as a good thing. Such policies were enacted to instill uniformity as law enforcement made the shift from traditional law enforcement to the modern paramilitary model of law enforcement. I think a lot of our problems when dealing with law enforcement exist in some part because the modern paramilitary model doesn't inspire reasoned individual thought and observation.

The paramilitary model gave us the "us vs them" mentality. If relaxed grooming standards may be an indicator that attitudes are beginning to change, then I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing.

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I've said this before, and I'll repeat it now. I have no idea how the paramilitary structure of law enforcement is viewed at as a negative thing. I fully support that their training and structure has become more organized and advanced. I am entering the academy in November, and have a hand full of friends and relatives who are active in the field, and another hand full of relatives who are retired from the field. All of them are very noble, and upstanding citizens who would never violate the rights of a citizen or do something as stupid as putting innocents at risk.