Hmm.. Respect for a role is different from a job title in my eyes. I work on the basis that you have to be a certain character to offer yourself up to be everyone's focus, and public service doesn't mean public servant. The Police in particular are servants of the crown, and as such do deserve a level of support.
Within any organisation there are those who fail to meet the role expectations, and as with Arwyn's post, things don't always go as people expect. That's just life, but unlike many private organisations the emergency services (and now, so do the medical profession and educationalists) there are ways of redressing these issues.
I watch the actions of corrupt countries where the actions of those people you turn to in absolute need fail to do what is needed, instead doing what either makes them money or what they are frightened to do for fear of punishment, and thank my lucky stars that I live in such a respectful and honest society such as this.
I just feel that we need to support the protectors, despite the odd fall out such as getting pinged for speeding or black plates, or indeed not doing what someone wants them to do, because without them we'd be in a far more serious and corrupt position.
In my experience, making names up for people is a very divisive thing. It's almost always relevant to something they have done, or how they look, and it's one thing having pet names between family members, but quite another to use those names to mock.
It's a very fine line between having a nick name and the power to use that to ridicule and that says everything in my eyes..
Well said Sir.
