Solidarity

A new year is here. Blogmaster is hopeful that with the new year a new attitude may emerge among many of the pcos. Too often, as Blogmaster has noted many times in the past, it is always about "me, me, me". Now this is a useful concept in many instances--and often a necessary one. However, the sense of entitlement and the do not care about anyone but oneself attitudes among certain pcos truly saddens Blogmaster.

Dictionary definition of solidarity: "a unity of interests, purposes, or sympathies within a group". Solidarity means that everyone comes together, often subordinating ones self interst, to advance the interests of the whole group in order to acheive the most benefits for everyone in that group. Solidarity is present in groups with high morale, good leadership, and those that struggle for a common cause. Given the nature of oemc police operations, with its less than 400 pcos, solidarity seems a given. However, it seems to Blogmaster that we have never been more divided.

Part of the problem, Blogmaster thinks, is the lack of real leadership at all levels of the OEMC. No real union leadership, no supervisory leadership, no leadership from the executive director, and certainly not from the mayor/city hall. If anything, there is a big target on the ops floor the minute anything is amiss. No CPD, slow CPD service or inadequate police responses are all initially blamed on OEMC whether or not such claims are justified. Of course moving up the chain of command means bigger paychecks and less job security, so Blogmaster believes the natural tendency for those people higher up is to protect their turf by placing blame elsewhere. At OEMC this has become an artform. As a result, pcos have lost all sense that anyone is looking out for them or protecting their actions during the course of their duties. And that is why there is no solidarity, no struggle for a common cause, and an inclination to protect oneself at all costs.