EDITORIAL

Donut assume the worst about people

Posted 9/25/18

In an age where nearly every topic has become viciously polarizing, relations with law enforcement officers has become increasingly strained in communities across the country - sometimes for valid reasons related to abuse of power and unnecessary

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EDITORIAL

Donut assume the worst about people

Posted

In an age where nearly every topic has become viciously polarizing, relations with law enforcement officers has become increasingly strained in communities across the country – sometimes for valid reasons related to abuse of power and unnecessary instances of deadly force, and other times for bogus reasons related to assuming the worst about otherwise good-intentioned public servants.

Police, like any other organization of human beings on the planet, are comprised of fallible individuals with thousands of traits that amount to their personalities. Some are wholly good, some possess deeply-rooted anger issues and take advantage of their positions to exert their own insecurities on those they were entrusted to protect. There is no black and white when dealing with such a complex topic.

However, we strongly believe that the vast majority of people who sign up to become law enforcement officers do so for good reasons, and have the utmost positive of intentions. This goes for people in general, really. Despite what certain profit-driven forces would have you believe, most people (and cops) are good. Society would crumble into chaos were the opposite correct.

Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a child to show us what it means to do the right thing. Tyler Carach was only eight when he thought it would be a nice idea to use his own allowance to purchase some donuts for law enforcement officers he saw in the supermarket while shopping with his mom.

That one act has snowballed into something much larger. “I DONUT Need a Reason to Thank a Cop” is on track to become an established nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading joy to law enforcement officers around the country through donations of donuts.

Tyler and his mother, Sheena, have traveled to 40 states and helped facilitate the donation of over 70,000 donuts to cops in America since Tyler first had his benevolent idea. He has remained adamant that he wants to give donut to every cop in America. While there may be an element of childhood naivety at play here, we’re not in the practice of rooting against positive news or people trying to generate such positivity in the world.

In fact, we think Tyler should not only be encouraged to keep on his mission for as long as humanly possible, but that others should draw inspiration from his actions. Not everybody can travel the country like Tyler and his mom – and they rely heavily on friends and family to be able to do so themselves, a blessing they count regularly – but you can make a small difference in your own immediate surroundings without too much trouble.

Is there a nonprofit that does good work in your community? Contact them and see if there is any way you can volunteer for a day or two a month, or as much as you possibly can within reason. Take a page out of Tyler’s book and drop off some donuts and coffee to a hospital, police station, fire department, school, or municipal building where people who work on our behalf (and are rarely thanked for it) will be absolutely floored by such a random act of kindness.

If there is one thing we should all learn from Tyler and his mission, it is that the actions of a few should not dictate how we perceive the entirety of a group of people. Some cops do not take their roles seriously as protectors of the public, and some have done terrible things to undeserving people. However, many more police officers go out every day and help people, without asking for anything in return.

Some cynical folk our there might point out that Tyler’s movement could be spun as exploiting a negative stereotypical cliché – that all cops like donuts. However, in reality this fact simply emphasizes the point we stress above. Everybody loves donuts, and cops are just regular people like everyone else. 

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  • richardcorrente

    Dear Editor,

    There is a very logical reason why "all cops like donuts". It's simple. And it's not negative. All cops like donuts because all PEOPLE like donuts! And cops are PEOPLE! I don't know anyone that doesn't like donuts. Do you?

    Editor, you said "Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a child to show us what it means to do the right thing."

    It is your wisest statement to date. Well put.

    Happy Autumn everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Report this