1. You know the opening line and repeat it at the beginning of each and every episode.
Let’s begin: "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories." Dun, dun, dun….
2. You see danger everywhere.
You know darn well after watching endless episodes that absolutely nowhere is safe. Home isn’t safe. School isn’t safe. For god’s sake, the Witness Protection Program can’t even keep you safe. Everywhere you go, you constantly keep looking back over your shoulder. As you’re shopping in the grocery store, you realize you’ve seen that man with the Santa Claus-like beard in almost every aisle you’ve gone through. Is he following you? Does he have a dungeon in his house where he will bring you to sodomize you and then KILL YOU? Well, just in case he does, I’m gonna go sit up near the cash registers and not leave until he goes first. In the case that that doesn’t happen, you’ll ask one of the husky male employees to please escort you to your car.
3. You wonder on the news if it was a “clean shot.”
For Nick, it wasn't lookin' like it. Us cops have got to be SURE. It seems more and more frequent that we see on the news cop/suspect violence. But NOW, because of Special Victims Unit, you know why it’s all over the news. Did the victim have a gun on their person? Did the cop SEE the gun? Because, if and ONLY IF the cop SAW the gun, it was a clean shot. Not to mention, the victim sometimes tries to dispose of the gun so you better check surrounding videos to FIND THAT GUN to cover your ass. Any issue like this, though, SVU has prepared you for.
4. You dream of going to visit Sing Sing and Rikers.
Considering I watch about three to four episodes of "Law and Order SVU" in a day, my dreams have changed from being about beautiful, tropical islands to becoming more about a visit to Sing Sing to face that evil rat bastard who is currently on trial for raping and killing little seven young little boys. And in these dreams, you feel outrageously confident that you COULD face any evil, vicious monster and BRING THEM TO JUSTICE (which for their victims is good but for them really, really sucks). And since, realistically, you’ll never be allowed into Sing Sing, you ask any New York cop that you meet (not often) if they’ve ever been to Sing Sing and what rat bastard they LOCKED UP IN THERE. Booyah.
5. You go NOWHERE ALONE.
Your mom and dad have, FOR YEARS, told you to never go anywhere alone. However, it was only until you started watching "Law and Order: SVU" that you realized you really can’t go anywhere alone. I mean, you watch Liv Benson and Stabler, Munch and Finn, Rollins and Fin, Liv and Nick, who all stick with their partners when fighting crime. When they have a partner, they can take on anything. With your partner, if a suspect tries to run, one of you has got ‘em on foot and the other is blocking off their route in the car. As pairs, they are unstoppable in fighting crime. Alone, well, they become as weak as the victims they try to save every damn day.
6. You triple lock the locks on your door and you definitely think about buying home invasion security software.
You get so panicked. All of these rape/murder victims live every day of their lives with no worries. They don’t EXPECT to go home and have these awful things happen to them. So you, of course, become so fearful that any of the things you see on SVU could become a reality for you. For god’s sake, Olivia Benson was TAKEN AND HELD HOSTAGE BY A CRAZY STALKER (TWO TIMES). And let’s not forget that the first time, he broke into her home. Yep, that’s right, even a NYPD detective’s home is not safe. If the strongest, baddest cop in the game isn’t safe, you sure as hell aren’t. So you’re up constantly all night checking the locks to make sure they somehow magically were not picked.
7. You really believe that you could change the justice system one day at a time with ADA Barba by your side.
At this point, you feel pretty confidently that you don’t even HAVE to be trained by the NYPD in order to be a detective. You could probably solve a case at this point before an FBI agent could do it. It’s been 17 seasons since you began your journey with the special victims unit, and you’ve just about seen it all. Most cases have similar patterns, and they aren’t usually all that hard to figure out. Within the first 10 minutes of every episode, you KNOW who the suspect is without question. It’s nothing but irritating to you that you have to wait another 30-35 minutes or so to have your suspicions confirmed.
8. Face your demons.
Look at the fierceness Benson is looking at Lewis with. She is saying, "You have NOTHING over me." If "Law and Order" has taught us anything, it's taught us to be strong and to face our problems. Detective Benson once said, "Once you tell your story, it can be empowering." When things happen that limit you or put barriers in front of you, you fight them. Sometimes, just by speaking up, you are doing more than you could even think. If Olivia could face her kidnapper and abuser, William Lewis, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. Take what Olivia does and apply it to your own life. Face your fears and fight your battles, because once you do, you will be free.
