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You watch that shameful scene on the news of a couple of yobs launching a railway sleeper at the legs of a police officer (in the name of "honouring the flag") and you think to yourself who would want to be a frontline cop in Belfast right now?
Money wouldn't pay you.
Yet, having said that, you can also understand how much justifiable pride those men and woman (and their families) must surely have in the truly remarkable and admirable job they do.
All those of us who support the rule of law owe them all an enormous thanks.
Whatever the arguments about overall police strategy, the officers facing down the rioters night after night have shown true, shining courage.
Around a hundred have been injured since this carry on started. A scandalous, shameful statistic.
Oddly we don't know the number of civilians who have been hurt. I'm not sure why these figures have not been made available. It's hardly taking the part of rioters to want to know. Apart from anything else it would serve to further point up the scale of the violence.
It is undoubtedly the police though, who are bearing the worst of the violence. So I hope they all know how very much the vast majority of people in this place admire what they are doing.
Right now they are about the only thing saving us all from outright, bloody anarchy.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/op...lice-heroes-on