It could be that government schools are failing us in this also, but I think *sometimes* it evinces an "us vs. them" mindset. There is a fire in Central Texas that injured two people (as of this afternoon): a firefighter and a sumdood. Earlier in the day on a the radio they called the sumdood a "civilian." The reporter I heard on the way home used a phrase which was a pleasant surprise to hear: "private citizen."
Policemen, firefighters, & EMTs, however militaristic they may be, are not military. They are citizens - public citizens. To an extent, they are not their own persons. Military personnel are effectively not citizens. They literally live by a different set of rules and are NOT at liberty to do as they please. A COP might be fired or suspended for not going to work - a solider can go to JAIL. In some particularly unpleasant circumstances, a soldier can be shot dead right there with no trial or appeals or nothing, just for refusing to do his duty. THAT is military. The opposite of military is civilian. The counterpart of Police is not civilian; the counterpart of Police is Private Citizen.
The only people who are able to call "all else" civilians are military people. Not your "only ones" in city-purchased wannaBDUs.
It is not proper, convenient verbal shorthand. It is both wrong and offensive.
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