Many say they support the police—period! They are using the right word if they mean they want to “maintain, sustain, uphold and preserve” all policing in whatever form. To “support” means to hold up or add strength, literally and figuratively. The columns hold up the roof.
Does this mean I must “support" immunity for law enforcement officers who act unseemly? Does it mean I support the “knee on the neck” for eight minutes and forty-two seconds?
Everybody wants to “support” law enforcement, local, state and federal. We need them. There is no question about that. But who wants to support maintaining, sustaining and preserving what we have all viewed in recent days: police brutality. You can’t rationally deny that some policing is out of hand. That doesn’t mean “all” police. It does means “some.”
Perhaps we ought to use another word instead of “support" (which seems to me to be rather ambiguous and non-discriminatory).
May I suggest the word “respect.” Respect means an admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities and achievements. I respect the police—those who earn it by doing their job in an appropriate way. I respect the police—they put their lives on the line every day. Respect is earned. Support isn’t.
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