Pointless Announcements

Having a great Friday. My foster dog made me cry on the train 3 times this morning.

 

Gold standard for cold performance with pistol fundamentals, IMO. Definitely lets you know where you are.

 

Nurses, firefighters, military, they are all better received anywhere than law enforcement. Anywhere you go, you know someone doesn't like you. Somebody will come back to the office and say they just gave the cook at a restaurant a dui, so no more eating there.

 

Yeah, it sucks to be the guy that has to tell people to stop acting like retards on a regular basis. One of the advantages of being in the military is everybody thinks you're off waving the flag or impaling babies and thus can do no wrong.

Everybody has a Dick Cop Ruined My Day story. I guess the only advantage to LE is the sweet monthly schedule and overtime.

 

Even I have one.

 

"Impossible. You're not human, you're a LEO."

Another problem: People assume you can't shut the job off, that you become the job.

 

Well this was long before I traded my soul for a badge. When I'm on my days off its out of sight, out of mind. I do find myself looking at license plates though.

 

Pointless announcements? Hmmm

Hey, everybody at TFP I'm back after a brief absence related to a family matter. I actually found myself missing this board and the fun I have here. So, I'm baaaaack! (you might be stuck with me)

 

The entire way the instructor went about it rubbed me wrong. first we all went in as a group and sat in the back while everyone else sat around a large table. The group was small and obviously a tight knit. They knew each other well and they knew exactly why we were there. We looked like klan members at a NAACP meeting. Maybe being a nurse would have helped you but in the situation and the way it was done I rather doubt it. The instructor told us the next day she "sees that reaction often, so don't take it personally. We have to go because it's part of the course." And you can't find a larger group or send people a few at a time, anything that might make it seems a little less fishbowl for the group members? I felt the whole week was a waste of my time and tax payer funds.
--- merged: Nov 15, 2013 at 12:59 PM ---

Yes, exactly. Thank-you.
--- merged: Nov 15, 2013 at 1:06 PM ---

We worked four 10 hour shifts so three day weekends and overtime were nice. But yes, showing up and telling folks "got a warrant, gotta take you" or even worse "death notifications" do not make you popular. I had to drive about a hour out in the middle of nowhere one Christmas eve to notify a family that the brother/uncle and young son (9) were not coming home because they'd drown in the Columbia River. The walk up to that house and the image of the folks talking and laughing with the Christmas tree in the corner is etched in my brain.
--- merged: Nov 15, 2013 at 1:14 PM ---

I know where I am and having a firearm in my hands unsupervised is likely a bad idea. Seriously the last time I even held a pistol was nearly three years ago. Folks who think "oh, I did this for years." And believe they don't need a refresher are more dangerous then newbs in my book. I once saw a guy nearly kill himself because he knew how to skydive. It had been 15 years, but he was good... he wasn't.

 

I worked in a large city adolescent rehab center years ago. I have never heard such terrible stories about AA/NA. I took several teenagers at a time to various meetings for years. We were always warmly welcomed and members were helpful.
Sounds like bunch of jerks - is that working the program?. They definitely are not familiar with Bill W's philosophy (William Griffith Wilson, co-founder of AA).
To become familiar with the meetings I attended some alone and, again, MOST members were wonderful. Usually I noticed more recent 'regular' members seem touchier (and less adjusted).
Maybe you came across a group that is struggling to maintain sobriety and they are sticking together for survival, so to speak.
Or (hope not) a group that is spiraling downward - I've seen that happen with AA/NA "cliques".

Work your own program. Don't worry about them. You are your own priority now and if you are looking for encouragement, support, advice - you will receive it.
Persevere.

 

I think I was taken to a group where they'd been used one to many times by an instructor as a "case study group." They didn't seem to respect her and thus didn't like us being there. That was my impression at the time anyway.

 

Well, every group has its own vibe, too.

This one today, the subject was prayer and meditation. The leader of the group was an old hippie atheist. A forensic scientist. He put me on the spot. I talked about meditation, hurricane mind and trying to find the present moment. And being more forgiving of ourselves and of other people (yeah). Everyone nodded and we all had that in common for that moment. It was good. A nice group.

 

Yeah, see we were instructed not to participate, just take notes. Like that's a normal thing in an NA AA meeting.

Klan members at the NAACP I tells ya.

 

Oh, and...

 

I don't blame them. Shame on that instructor. She caused harm to the group and to your group also with her thoughtlessness.
They are trying to save their lives - so are you. Then the person supposed to help you treats people like guinea pigs?
Having worked in that field, I hope she has moved on to marketing, which seems perhaps more her forte, rather than people's hearts and souls.

 

Yeah, see, taking notes. That's an invasion of privacy. I can't imagine what they were thinking. We were told street clothes, no pen/paper.

 

Especially if they had been kind enough in the past to allow the instructor to bring people as a way to help others (but with paper/pen - is she totally clueless about confidentiality of AA/NA?)
She needs removal if still in that position - should be reported to your therapist or even your sponsor.
I hope that group shut her out and continued their path to healthy happiness.
Wishing you the best, too. Don't ever be afraid to reach out and ask for help from someone - sponsor, friend, relative, another member, anyone to help you thru the rough patch!

YOU CAN DO IT. ONE DAY AT A TIME.

 

That was over 25 years ago and she was roughly fifty so I doubt it she still instructs anything. She shouldn't have been doing it then.
--- merged: Nov 15, 2013 at 2:12 PM ---

At the time I'd been out of the military about a hot minute and was really clueless about correctional work. I had no desire to work in that field. I was trained in fire fighting and wanted to join a dept. Just got hired by a correctional facility almost by accident. I needed a job with benefits. I went to the training with an open mind and left thinking "wtf?"

 

Well, also, confidentiality wasn't a huge priority 25 years ago. Not like it is today.

 

Ha, it's so funny to type that in the age of security cameras and NSA surveillance. Lol, we're so screwed.