SavannahMann
Platinum Member
- Nov 16, 2016
- 13,925
- 6,511
- 365
When a pilot bends an aircraft, the resulting investigation is going to be either severe, or casual, depending on if the pilot is a private pilot, or a commercial pilot. The professional pilot is held to a higher standard, it is his or her job to be better. The expectation is that the pilot won’t be making mistakes, and any mistake the pilot makes will be savagely pointed out in the report on the accident.
A professional Boat Captain is held to a much higher standard than the owner of a day sailor or cruiser. One was prosecuted in Italy for abandoning ship before all the passengers were off and safe. If it had been a private boat, owned and operated by the fellow, and he had jumped off when it was sinking, nobody would have thought twice about it.
To the professional pilot, he is supposed to know what is really happening. He is supposed to know what the plane is doing. He is educated, and trained, and experienced. A simple mistake is unforgivable. Very rarely is the mistake ever considered “understandable” or anything like that.
There is one segment of our population where the professional is held to the lower standard however. That is the police. A commercial truck driver can not drive with any alcohol in his system no matter what he is driving. If the trucker is off, and driving home from the restaurant where he had a beer, and literally blows a .01, or well below the legal limit for regular drivers of .08, he loses his license. The argument is that the professional knows better, and is held to a higher standard all the time, because even if he is off duty, he is still a professional driver.
Yet, the cop is not held to a higher standard. If an average citizen shoots someone in the back, they will be charged with a crime. If the average citizen pulls his weapon without a pretty obvious threat present, then that is brandishing. If the average citizen starts pounding on a guy who is helpless, then that is assault. If a cop does any of those things, it’s just part of the job.
Worse, when a cop thinks you are armed, he is free to do anything he wants. The pilot and trucker are expected to KNOW what is really happening, and are savagely chastised by the authorities for not knowing, or for failing to take the appropriate actions. Cops are excused, and even told that it is perfectly acceptable to imagine that the baddie is armed.
Why is it that we hold the professionals to the lowest possible standard when life and death are on the line, while we hold every other profession to a higher standard? Professional is defined as being licensed and paid to perform a task. We expect Hookers to be good in bed. We expect Doctors to be experts in their fields. We expect the guy driving the Trash Truck to be a very good driver and do the job right. We simultaneously expect the police to make mistakes and shoot unarmed people, and forgive that mistake, because they are only human.
Nobody has ever stood up before the public and said that a plane crash was caused by a tragic mistake, and yes people died, but that is sadly just the way things are. They blame the pilot or the mechanic and hold that person responsible.
Nobody has ever said that a truck that ran over a small car because of a mistake the driver made was just a tragic mistake, and no crime was committed.
On the other hand, we accept that attitude when the cops are involved. Yes, the cop shot the guy with his hands up in response to the shouted order, but it was totally understandable that such a tragic mistake could happen, and no charges will be filed, and the cop is back on full duty after the investigation. The officer was absolutely correct to imagine that the motion he saw in response to his shouted order was the victim reaching for a weapon. Yes, we expect our cops to be delusional and make mistakes that cost lives.
Why is that? Why is it that we accept a lower standard from police, while demanding the highest possible standard for any other professional? When are we going to hear that a Neurosurgeon carelessly cut the spinal cord and killed the patient, but it was a tragic mistake, and no wrongdoing was intentional and no discipline is going to be considered.
All I have ever wanted was the police to be treated like any other professional. Expected to meet a higher standard. Expected to be as good as they should be when our lives are on the line. Expected to be the professionals that the propaganda claims they are.
A professional Boat Captain is held to a much higher standard than the owner of a day sailor or cruiser. One was prosecuted in Italy for abandoning ship before all the passengers were off and safe. If it had been a private boat, owned and operated by the fellow, and he had jumped off when it was sinking, nobody would have thought twice about it.
To the professional pilot, he is supposed to know what is really happening. He is supposed to know what the plane is doing. He is educated, and trained, and experienced. A simple mistake is unforgivable. Very rarely is the mistake ever considered “understandable” or anything like that.
There is one segment of our population where the professional is held to the lower standard however. That is the police. A commercial truck driver can not drive with any alcohol in his system no matter what he is driving. If the trucker is off, and driving home from the restaurant where he had a beer, and literally blows a .01, or well below the legal limit for regular drivers of .08, he loses his license. The argument is that the professional knows better, and is held to a higher standard all the time, because even if he is off duty, he is still a professional driver.
Yet, the cop is not held to a higher standard. If an average citizen shoots someone in the back, they will be charged with a crime. If the average citizen pulls his weapon without a pretty obvious threat present, then that is brandishing. If the average citizen starts pounding on a guy who is helpless, then that is assault. If a cop does any of those things, it’s just part of the job.
Worse, when a cop thinks you are armed, he is free to do anything he wants. The pilot and trucker are expected to KNOW what is really happening, and are savagely chastised by the authorities for not knowing, or for failing to take the appropriate actions. Cops are excused, and even told that it is perfectly acceptable to imagine that the baddie is armed.
Why is it that we hold the professionals to the lowest possible standard when life and death are on the line, while we hold every other profession to a higher standard? Professional is defined as being licensed and paid to perform a task. We expect Hookers to be good in bed. We expect Doctors to be experts in their fields. We expect the guy driving the Trash Truck to be a very good driver and do the job right. We simultaneously expect the police to make mistakes and shoot unarmed people, and forgive that mistake, because they are only human.
Nobody has ever stood up before the public and said that a plane crash was caused by a tragic mistake, and yes people died, but that is sadly just the way things are. They blame the pilot or the mechanic and hold that person responsible.
Nobody has ever said that a truck that ran over a small car because of a mistake the driver made was just a tragic mistake, and no crime was committed.
On the other hand, we accept that attitude when the cops are involved. Yes, the cop shot the guy with his hands up in response to the shouted order, but it was totally understandable that such a tragic mistake could happen, and no charges will be filed, and the cop is back on full duty after the investigation. The officer was absolutely correct to imagine that the motion he saw in response to his shouted order was the victim reaching for a weapon. Yes, we expect our cops to be delusional and make mistakes that cost lives.
Why is that? Why is it that we accept a lower standard from police, while demanding the highest possible standard for any other professional? When are we going to hear that a Neurosurgeon carelessly cut the spinal cord and killed the patient, but it was a tragic mistake, and no wrongdoing was intentional and no discipline is going to be considered.
All I have ever wanted was the police to be treated like any other professional. Expected to meet a higher standard. Expected to be as good as they should be when our lives are on the line. Expected to be the professionals that the propaganda claims they are.
