Also: poor losers abound in politics

Back in my younger days when I was in graduate school at LSU, I had a psychology professor who was unorthodox and unpredictable but very interesting.

For example, one day when we came to class, there was no professor. We waited a few minutes, then began badmouthing him and decided we had a right to leave the classroom. At that point, he leaped out from under his desk where he had been hiding the whole time.

Needless to say, we were embarrassed and shocked and hoped he could not identify the voices who were badmouthing him. He went on to explain that things are not always what they seem and that life will be full of surprises. So true.

During another class session, we were astounded when he said, “A lot of cops are just thugs with badges.” His reasoning was that salaries for police officers were way too low, making it hard to attract quality candidates 100 percent of the time. And there was that small percentage who let the badge and the authority they wielded go to their head. In other words, there are always a few bad apples in every barrel.

He further explained that we all liked police until one of them stopped us and gave us a ticket. Then, maybe not so much. We couldn’t disagree with that. Just remember, he said, who are you going to call when you are in danger? Are you willing to risk your life every day for inadequate compensation? He compared the salaries of officers to those of professional athletes, concluding that “our society is sick, sick, sick!” I have thought about that professor quite a lot in recent weeks as tragedies unfolded involving police officers. There were the shootings of black men by white police officers, which resulted in demonstrations and riots. And there were the ambushes on police officers in retaliation. To be sure, there are those few bad apples in the barrel. But the overwhelming majority of those in law enforcement are there because they see it as a calling to serve and protect the citizens.

The professor was right all those years ago. Our priorities are definitely misplaced. We expect police officers to risk their lives for us but refuse to demand that they are paid a decent salary. On the other hand, we have athletes making millions of dollars in all sports. We ask young men and women to fight and die for us in the armed forces, but they are not allowed to buy a beer if they are under 21. It just doesn’t make sense. So when you see a man or woman in uniform, whether it be a police officer or a member of the military, thank them for their service. Where would we be without them? Poor Losers I am taking a big chance here criticizing poor losers because I am one myself. I remember back in high school when we had a huge lead in a basketball game, got cocky, and wound up losing by two points. I had scored 40 points all for naught. I was so upset that I kicked the glass out of our school bus door, much to the shock of the coach and my teachers, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I must admit that I am still a poor loser to this day.

So it is with kid gloves that I point out the fact that we have had a display of poor losers in this political season with regard to the presidential primaries. On the Republican side, it was vitriolic between Donald Trump and the other candidates. And when Trump emerged as the nominee – surprisingly I must say – some of the other candidates turned tail and ran, refusing to endorse the party’s nominee.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders gave Hillary Clinton a run for her money. But now that she has won the nomination, some of the supporters of Sanders remain bitter and are refusing to support the party’s nominee for president, which, by the way, is historical in that Hillary Clinton is the first women to be the presidential nominee of a major political party.

I can understand it all perhaps more than most. When you put your heart and soul into an effort and it doesn’t reach fruition, it is hard to be a good loser. When I was in Washington, I was a huge Redskins fan. I remember one particular time when the Redskins had to win to make the playoffs and were trailing by five points with 30 seconds to go.

The coach was George Allen, and he gathered his team in a huddle where his words could be heard. “Losing is like death,” he shouted in the frenzy of the moment. The Redskins went back out, and Billy Kilmer (remember him?) threw one of his wobbly passes for a touchdown. Playoff bound. A group always gathered at my house for the games, and my house was in shambles after we celebrated the Redskins victory. Maybe Coach Allen was right. To many of us in all walks of life, losing is like death.

Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor “Bo” Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.