To serve and protect has been the motto of the police force for as long as I can remember.
In Kindergarten, I was urged to wave and not to fear the badge. After all, they are only there to help, right? We were all taught that Officer Somebody was only after the bad guys who make the world a scary place.
Then we grew up.
Cops are no longer the friendly baton-twirling people who keep our streets clean of trash. Now they are after anyone that can pay a fine. The police department has bought into the capitalist idea of making money.
Their efforts seem to be directed at busting the everyday citizen for the most mundane of scenarios. Don’t believe me? Look at speed traps.
Cruising down the road the speed limit says 60MPH. The needle in your car is stuck right on 60MPH. So why are there red and blue lights in the rearview mirror? That’s because you hit a speed trap.
The cop, who is ready and willing to give anyone a very expensive ticket, was posted on his lonely mile stretch where the speed limit drops to 40MPH only to jump back to 60 for no apparent reason.
This just does not make sense to me. There are rapes, murders, meth deals, spousal and child abuses, robberies, and violent assaults going on daily in our own community. But where is the protection from that? It’s sitting on a lonely stretch of road trying to fill their monthly quota to assure the city gets all of the funds it needs.
It is capitalism at its worse. The very people who are supposed to keep us free from harm are now writing receipts. Some may argue that they are only trying to prevent accidents from occurring, that they are genuinely concerned about the well being of the community. I call B.S. on that!
If they were concerned about safety, it would be mandatory for every motorcyclist to wear a helmet, just like it is required for every person in a car to wear a seatbelt.
If they were looking out for our safety, we wouldn’t rush to put our hands at ten-and-two and avoid eye contact even though we have done nothing wrong.
Most of us do not trust the badge. Calling the cops for an emergency is now a last resort.
If there is an intruder in my home, I am more likely to grab a baseball bat (or any other weapon I can get my hands on) and defend my home before I would even think of calling the police.
After all, it would take them 45 minutes to get there anyways. The idea of the dirty cop is stuck in our heads. No matter how knowledgeable we are on our rights, we will still fear the law as some boogeyman out to get us.
In today’s society, that is the last thing we need.
I don’t know about you all, but I’m moving to Mayberry.