Boss: I’d rather employ a paedo than a veteran

[Caliga]

That was an observation I made to Capetan Mihali when I met him in Philly in October, and later to Minsky as well, but extended it to reverence to authority in general, including police and firemen. I was meant to create an inflammatory thread about it but never got around to do it.   

I get why there would be little to no reverence for the military in most of Europe (and quite frankly, too much reverence for the military is downright dangerous).  But no reverence for police and firemen?  Or do you mean to say there's no more reverence for police and firemen than there is for other types of valued civil servants such as doctors?

[Admiral Yi]

The police are probably as associated with state repression as the military in Europe if not more so.

[Caliga]

Ok... but firemen?

[Martinus]

That was an observation I made to Capetan Mihali when I met him in Philly in October, and later to Minsky as well, but extended it to reverence to authority in general, including police and firemen. I was meant to create an inflammatory thread about it but never got around to do it.   

I get why there would be little to no reverence for the military in most of Europe (and quite frankly, too much reverence for the military is downright dangerous).  But no reverence for police and firemen?  Or do you mean to say there's no more reverence for police and firemen than there is for other types of valued civil servants such as doctors?

I think the European disdain/antipathy towards the police is even more understandable than Europeans' lukewarm attitude towards the military. I can't think of a single European state that hasn't experienced (within a living memory) either a police state of some sorts (Eastern Europe, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece etc.) or at least has a history of fairly recent clashes with the police (the 1968 student revolt in France, anti-Thatcher riots in the UK etc.). At least the military in some countries (UK for example) has had a rather good record, by comparison.

In fact, considering the American apparent individualism and anti-government sentiments (which are arguably bigger than in Europe), the anomaly here is the American worship of men in uniforms.

[Martinus]

Ok... but firemen?

I don't think firemen are disrespected. I think they are actually fairly respected and well-regarded, at least in Poland. Where do you get the "firemen are hated in Europe" thing from?

Edit: Ok, I saw Larch's post. I don't think firemen are viewed the same way as the military or the police in Europe, but if they are less respected in Europe than in the US, it could have to do with physical labour being regarded in Europe than it is in the US (so it is more along of the lines of my "too stupid to go to college" critique of the military, than the "fascist killers" critique the guy in the story has). In essence, Europe has a much higher regard for intellectuals and the "creative classes" (as opposed to the American anti-intellectualism which has a certain level of contempt for the "eggheads" and the like), so in relative social status, firemen may be lower in Europe than they are in the US.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't think firemen are disrespected. I think they are actually fairly respected and well-regarded, at least in Poland. Where do you get the "firemen are hated in Europe" thing from?

My guess would be from the post he quoted.

[Lettow77]

 Generally speaking, I respect soldiers and am suspicious and uncharitable with police.

[Martinus]

In a gross simplification, you could say that one part of Europe (the Romanesque countries, Poland, Greece, Hungary etc.) respects the intellectual and the artist, and the other part (the "Northern" countries) respects the civil servant and the academic - so everyone who isn't among these group is less respected by default. I think this is quite the opposite of the situation in the US, where these groups are not generally respected.

[Razgovory]

Who is respected in Slavic countries?  The accordion player and the meat packer?

[Grey Fox]

Firemen - overpayed muscular people that sleep all day waiting for fires.

[CountDeMoney]

Where do you get the "firemen are hated in Europe" thing from?

Probably from putting out all those burning Jews.

[CountDeMoney]

It was amazing, the small differences between the US and Canada.  The reverence for the military was rather unusual.

Yes, it was.

You're just mad because you had people spitting in your face and calling you a babykiller after the war of 1812.

[Neil]

I thought it was Canada that saved Britain in two world wars. Must Vimy Ridge go unremembered?

Canada helped, but it was dreadnoughts that allowed Britain to control the seas.

[Razgovory]

Firemen - overpayed muscular people that sleep all day waiting for fires.

That was the general consensus amongst the police I've talked to.  They didn't think it was fair that the fire guys didn't have to work unless there was a fire and they had to work all the time.

NOTE:  This may not be the opinion of police everywhere.  Just here.  Also the firemen here once burned down their own fire station one Christmas morning.

[CountDeMoney]

Also the firemen here once burned down their own fire station one Christmas morning.

Fun factoid: wherever there's a firefighter convention, something somewhere is going to burn.  Biggest bunch of arsonists you'll ever find.