Ever watch "Cops," the show on Fox? Oh, you didn't know it was a Fox show, because you watch it on another channel? Neither did I, but I'm not surprised.
I never watched it until the past few years. (Apparently it's been on since 1989!) My husband and I have only been together a few years, and I never watched it until I started seeing him. He's not a huge fan, but he will put it on if there's nothing else on.
"Cops" is part of the problem America is having with police today. More below the squiggle.
"Cops" (and I will continue to put the name of the TV show in quotes as I write this to differentiate the show from the people), focuses on petty crime. Traffic stops, minor drug crime, DUI, things like that.
We don't watch it much any more because I guess it's annoying when I spend the entire show yelling at the television. The cops will lie to the suspect, who they often pull over for a minor issue. Or someone will be stopped as they walk across a parking lot. They "look funny." It's all that "cop sense" they have. They'll typically ask to search the suspect and/or the car. If I'm just walking down the street and a cop stops me, I don't have to empty my pockets for him. Most of the people who are stopped don't realize they can just say no. It often ends with the officer screaming at the suspect and pulling a gun, or several cops piling on someone who is not cooperating. If the cops stop you while you're walking down the sidewalk, minding your own business, and you don't answer all their questions, you will go to jail. The cops being shown are under the mistaken impression that everyone has to do exactly what they say, all the time. Not following a cop's commands will get you into serious trouble, people! Just tell them everything and let them search you and your car and everything will be fine.
"Cops," which is now syndicated and shown on other networks, is dangerous. It normalizes crazy cop behavior. It makes viewers think that people who don't cooperate are getting what they deserve when they are murdered by real life police. The fact that the police are clearly lying to the suspects is not addressed. The rights of the suspects are never discussed, but they're often violated.
"Cops" contributes to the right-wing theme that people who know their rights and do not allow their rights to be violated are bad. "If they weren't guilty, they wouldn't have anything to hide." I think it's time to "Cops" to go. Unless someone wants to rework it as a lesson in "what NOT to do" if you're stopped by a cop. Maybe like VH1's old "Pop-up Video." That would be fun and educational.