The Value Of The Police

What good are the cops for the common citizen?

How many times have you called the cops when a neighbor is breaking the law and gotten no response?

Every sought a solution to that neighbor and found out you weren't allowed to seek solutions without the police?

Have you ever had anything stolen to discover that it wasn't valuable enough to warrant an investigation?

Ever been passed by several people and been pulled over for speeding?  Especially when the cop was right behind you while the faster traffic passed you both?

What's that line?  "If your response to seeing a cop near you in traffic is 'shit' and not 'hurray' you live in a police state."

The incestuous covering of the bad apples doesn't do thing to endear the po-po to us unwashed commoners either.  Nor does the pandering behavior of the unions.  Nor does the lobbying against our wishes at the state capitol.

Pray, explain what you are doing that's valuable to me and I might be less obstinate.  Be sure that this value cancels the negatives I've expressed above.

Anecdotes.

I once wondered why the police force in my town was obtaining full-auto MP5 submachineguns.  I discovered that the city council had broken their own rules for allocating the funds.  I mentioned it to a friend who mentioned it to a friend and pretty soon we were a citizen's committee demanding an explanation from the city council.  We got a lame one and soon we were being active in the elections.  That got the make-up of the council changed and the machineguns were changed into semi-auto carbines.

Suddenly I was a reckless danger to the innocent on the road.  Ten speeding tickets in a month.  None for more than 3 over the limit.  All dismissed when I bothered to show up in court.  I was not alone in being harassed.  Getting some officers fired didn't stop it, it accelerated it.  I moved to another state.  I gave up on my home town.

So next time you want to justify the gang in blue, remember that this is not an atypical situation.  This is the norm.