The weight of the badge
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A friend complaining about his weight grumbled that after years of eating unhealthily, he’d gained 50 pounds! He added, “Over the years, the police job has made me too lazy to do the work needed to lose the weight.” He also complained of his hips hurting, believing it to be from years of wearing his duty belt, which holds his weapon, Taser, cuffs and an assortment of other equipment. A few months passed and the overweight cop informed me he had lost 15 pounds, was going to a gym and was seeing a chiropractor, but even though he was feeling better, one thing was still nagging him. He said, “I haven’t had a healthy bowel movement since I came on the job 15 years ago.” At around the same time, I was driving my car and heard a George Strait song called “The Weight of the Badge.” It’s a beautiful song about the real (unseen) weight officers carry. The lyrics speak of the stressors the job brings. Being next to death and evil daily weighs heavy on one’s psyche and is not healthy. This enormous stress seeps into the body and causes havoc; for some, it’s deadly. Here are a few of the stressors officers carry:
- Death/evil seen daily = stress
- Poor leadership = stress
- Biased media = stress
- Local politicians = stress
- Long hours + court = stress
- Missing family events = stress