Reply #131: An in an odd coincidence [View All]

[Sputnik]

My husband was also a college athelete. Though he is a former athlete and chose law enforcement as a career, certain jobs he's had within the department have included being able to write and speak coherently. The chief of police has even had my husband write his speeches on occasion.

My husband is now a shift supervisor. He and his immediate boss are sticklers not just for procedures, but also in how reports must be written. I went to school with his boss who was a brilliant student. He was acknowleged by our teachers as having a level of intelligence that was "off the charts." His knowlege on a wide variety of topics is stunning. It is common knowlege that he (and only he) has aced every promotional exam he's ever taken. Yet, though he is a "brain" he also was a longtime commander of the S.W.A.T. team (during the time my husband served there).

You are probably right that an athletic background is beneficial to certain types of professions, such as law enforcement, military, firefighting, etc. My husband has often commented that the discipline and physical skills he learned through years of competing athletically have helped him in his career. But I don't believe that possessing such skills precludes a person from being intelligent in other ways.

I'm not implying that all those who go into law enforcement are geniuses.....far from it, actually. But the law enforcement mentality is apparently changing. Before my husband was hired, the investigator assigned to his background check, interview, etc., expressed reservations because of my husband's size, saying that the department was long gone from the days of hiring physically-intimidating brutes and instead prefers now to hire applicants with academic strengths. Fortunately (or unfortunately, I'm still not sure) they decided to hire him anyway after his background and interviews were completed.

Since you've worked in that field, you know there are a variety of people who enter into and succeed in law enforcement careers, just as in any other field. We both know that many in our society however tend to lump all "cops" together. Knowing so many local, state, and federal law enforcement people as we do, I still haven't found the stereotype that applies to them all.

.....interesting topic to me, though. Thanks for your comments. :)