CATHERINE GALLIFORD IS SUING THE RCMP

Oh Lordy , oh Lordy! How many different allegations and scandals can one organization withstand? Is there anyone in the country who still has respect for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? How many young men or young women (especially) still have a desire to become part of the Mounties?

There have been a number of individual officers charged with offences and relieved of duty. There was the Pickton Inquiry preceded by sloppy police work that allowed a mass murderer to continue on for victim after victim. There was the Polish immigrant who was tasered repeatedly and died in a Canadian airport courtesy of our Mounties. Finally Cst. Galliford is neither the first nor the last female to allege systemic sexual harassment by her peers and or her superiors at the RCMP.

I have always been a great believer that shit flows downhill. Yes you can have an essentially decent organization infiltrated by the occasional bad apple. These bad apples however cannot thrive, be promoted and continue their anti social behavior unless those above are equally or more rotten. This is similar to politicians. If the self interested, self promoting, very smoothest liars get constantly moved up the ladder, who do you think they are fooling? Certainly not those who are moving them up. Like recognizes like. They are being promoted within an inherently corrupt (as in rotten) organization by those whose self interests are best served by promoting similarily honest and ethically challenged individuals.

The older I get the more I realize that many honours, promotions and endorsements by organizations and highly placed individuals are extremely suspect. An inherently corrupt political system for example, absolutely does not want honest people gaining political power and influence. The more honest people in an organization the less opportunity for the corrupt to flourish. It's all about appearance of honesty. It's all about appearance of morals and ethics. When appearance is far more important than reality then even the cleverest and most devious persons can no longer succeed in hiding all the cracks and blemishes in the organization.

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story: "Officers and doctors deny allegations".