Like other posters here, I was unaware of Andy Griffith’s political leanings. I suppose a good argument could be made that the Mayberry portrayed in his show did poke fun at Southerners. As a Marine, I’m certainly no fan of Gomer Pyle. As a cop, I could see you being aggravated by the Barney Fife character.

I never liked Barney, but never gave him much thought until a couple of events occurred during which I met real small-town policemen on whom the Barney character could have been based. I’ve always been a strong law enforcement supporter. Was raised that the cops were the good guys. My first “Barney” event was startling, but I figured it was a fluke. But about five years ago, Hessmer, La., had a policemen who Barney could have been based on, although he was a lot more devious than Barney. He nearly got people killed. Called in back-up for a “loud music at a graduation party” complaint, and had 23 officers respond to what they thought was a riot. People got maced, wrestled to the ground, and hauled off in handcuffs because this little clown thought he was “the law” in Hessmer. Fortunately for everyone, the people at the party were a lot better behaved than the cops who showed up, or someone could have been seriously hurt. And not one of the deputies who responded, or even the State Trooper, had the common sense to see that the situation at the scene was not what had been described to them over the radio. I’ve always been a little embarrassed that I wasn’t arrested that night. I hope the cops who were there are embarrassed that people were.

But my basic point is, Barney was a goofball TV character. I doubt anyone took him seriously, except in cases where they said “That Barney acts just like such-and-so the cop over in Podunk.” Barney wasn’t your problem. The real-life Barneys are your problem. And they are out there. I watched Mayberry for years, and never thought poorly of police. Since the night of that party, I’ve never looked at cops through quite the same eyes. Most cops are the good guys, I can not and will not argue otherwise. But you need to get rid of the real Barney Fifes just as quick as you can, because they hurt you a lot worse than they hurt me.

And just for the record, our little Barney had been fired from a job at the local State Prison, and also fired from a police job at a neighboring town prior to working at Hessmer. Not long after the party, he was dismissed from the department at Hessmer after several criminal complaints about his unprofessional behavior.