I don’t know how many readers have ever donned a uniform. My life has been one of uniforms: School, Cub Scouts, Scouts, Venture Scouts, Nursing and the British Army. Each time I dressed in a uniform I felt it changed me. I had to respect the uniform I was wearing and respect what people expected of me when they saw me in it. There is evidence that uniforms change people. They create a sense of identity, belonging and being part of something that is bigger than just the number of people wearing the uniform. In fact, putting university students in a police uniform as part of a psychology experiment changed the way those students reacted to pictures of people wearing hoodies. A remarkable demonstration of the power of simply wearing a uniform.
However, I venture that the identity and sense of purpose instilled by wearing a uniform extends to other aspects of enforced collective identity. For example, the way corporate vehicles look and what it feels like to step out of one. If the local ice cream van sold the best flavours, played Greensleeves and had the friendliest of fake Italians on board—let’s call him ‘Mario’—yet appeared at the end of the street as an armoured personnel carrier, I think folk would be reluctant to buy ice cream. And poor old Mario would feel like a fool. Conversely, if the British Army arrived, for example, to quell the enthusiasm of our Catholic and Protestant brethren for throwing petrol bombs at each other on the streets of Derry in an ice cream van, I doubt many of the rioters would blink. I also doubt the soldiers in the ice cream van would feel that they were quite as able to fulfil their mission with Popeye the Sailor Man ringing out.
Then why on God’s earth have UK police forces decided to paint their patrol vehicles in rainbow colours? They have made themselves such an international laughing stock that this has even been picked up in the Hindustan Times. It is all something to do with making gay, transgender and the host of other sexual non-conformists feel comfortable and to be able and encouraged to report hate crimes. The social and conservative commentator, director of Reasoned UK, Darren Grimes and himself a gay man reckoned that the UK police are now becoming a ‘clown force’. I agree.
Homophobic attacks and hate crimes against gay and transgender people are reprehensible. But are things so bad in the UK that we need to paint our cop cars with rainbows? Is the police force only here to stop hate crime and to protect gay and transgender people? The UK is perpetually—and falsely—being presented in the mainstream media as a racist, religiously intolerant and homophobic country. The primary purpose of the police force is to stop crime and part of that is achieved, although woefully poorly, by catching criminals. These days the police, some of them already a few doughnuts over regulation weight, must carry such an array of accoutrements around their person that it is a wonder any of them can get into, let alone out of a patrol car. There are repeated calls to arm the British police but if we gave most of them weapons on top of all their usual clobber, they’d be glued to the spot and—definitely unable to stand—sitting targets. They are also dressed like they have just been to Poundstretcher in ill-fitting and baggy clothes. They must be ashamed to show their faces in public. Is it any wonder we see so few of them ‘on the beat’?
Nevertheless, inspired by the enthusiasm of the British police for their newfound mission and accompanying colours, I have two suggestions. The first, if the rainbow painted police cars prove a success on the streets of Britain, we try selling them to the Taliban for their regular and vigilant patrolling of the streets of Kabul. The second, again predicated on the success of the rainbow initiative, that the British police always carry a Lego police car with them. What better way than carrying a micro car to deal with microaggressions?
Opinions from the Unity News Network (UNN) editorial team & various contributors. | UNN always clearly distinguishes between news and opinion pieces and as an open minded outlet we publish views from a variety of people and organisation that do not necessarily reflect the views of UNN or its writers. Articles published under UNN Opinions are always opinion pieces and if published on behalf of a contributor will contain that authors name at the start of the piece.
