'Defund the police' hurts those needing the most help

I have found a certain level of peace in remaining out of the thick of things while still maintaining awareness of goings-on. What's going on now that I cannot turn a blind eye to is this movement to defund police departments. Who suffers? The most vulnerable, of course.

We all know some police officers have overstepped their authority, and some have done the unthinkable, as we saw with George Floyd. That is a tragedy that left an indelible mark on our minds and hearts. Officers, like everyone else, are horrified by what occurred, disgusted by the inhumanity and abuse of power that incident personified. The idea, however, that we would take our justifiable anger and come up with the idea that officers should be defunded or communities need to self-govern is asinine -- and frightening, to be honest. Times like these, as emotionally charged as they make us, must not make us lose all reason and common sense.

First, I think we must all acknowledge that the majority of people who serve in law enforcement are doing just that: serving. They aren't the Derek Chauvins of the world with a knee on someone's neck. They're the ones coming to our rescue, protecting our neighborhoods and making us feel just a little bit safer. Officers such as Chauvin and others who have revealed their character -- or, rather, lack thereof -- give the profession a bad name. We, I hope, would all acknowledge that.

This is true in the same way that during my nearly two decades of teaching, I witnessed a few bad teachers. They made you wonder why they were even there.

If you don't like kids, why are you in the profession? Your steady refrain of "I'm not here for kids to like me; I'm here to teach" is bogus when it's obvious your heart is far from what you're doing. I sometimes quote an educator who answered the "I'm not here for kids to like me mantra." She said, "Yeah, but kids don't learn from people they don't like!" Boy, did she hit the nail on the head with that one.

My point is I rarely encountered those I would call "bad" teachers. People just don't get into such a high-demand profession to ruin kids' lives. It certainly isn't the money that's drawing them. Most of them want to serve and influence and make a positive impact. And we cannot allow a few bad ones to sully the profession. "Defund the Teachers" is not an answer. Neither is "Defund the Police" or the CHAZ/CHOP movement.

The most dangerous part of these attempts to defund law enforcement, which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- surprise! -- is encouraging (Isn't her 15 minutes up?) is that they will hurt those these activists purportedly want to defend and protect. Who is going to suffer most when police are lacking resources to respond to neighborhood crises, to have a presence there, when we tie their hands, essentially handcuffing them? Short, obvious answer: the neighborhoods highest in crime, the neighborhoods where poverty abounds, the neighborhoods where some are just trying to make it, the neighborhoods where we need good cops doing good things. Something has to be done when someone does wrong, yes, but a blanket move to treat the whole because of a part is rash and foolish -- and will do more harm than good. And no one with a modicum of common sense is unhip to the fact that this is an election year and that the timing plays a role in all of this where politicians are concerned -- sadly.

Emotions are high, I know. We all know. But we all have to exercise wisdom. We need the good guys, everybody. They help us, not hinder us. Cliches are not that cool. Originality is better, but sometimes those old sayings just say it best, which is why they've stood the test of time, so I'm going to pull one out now. This Defund the Police and autonomous zone stuff are examples of "cutting off your nose to spite your face," and too much is at stake for this kind of experiment.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.