I Got No Love for the Five-Oh

Cops are the ultimate d-bags. And not in the "oh he's so cute, he looks like Screech but thinks he has game" sort of way. The police here are an interesting sort in Falcon Heights, MN. Maybe my opinions have recently been colored by certain events or experiences, but when Officer Moore pulled me over tonight (for going 34 in a 30 zone), I was a little bit more than just nervous. I was irate.

Apparently two police cars, two officers and two running crown victorias (greater than or equal to approximately 100 tax dollars, hard at work) were needed to pull me over on the most desolate, dark and residential of streets, tonight in St. Paul.

Why am I angry?

Because: As my well-policed, sleepy, middle class neighborhood watched Grey's Anatomy and I got pulled over, elsewhere in the United States, approximately 19.5 rapes occured that will never be policed or prosecuted. In North Minneapolis even, it is certain that at least one woman got pimped to a john while I was waiting for my fine. Moreover, it is statistically probable that a gun was fired and a child was beaten by a parent during the minutes those two officers spent making sure the city was safe from my four miles over the limit. And it's also quite probable that another police officer somewhere was speeding for no reason himself.

Don't be fooled by my sweet yet angry expression, Officer Moore. Everything about our interaction tonight speaks to the power differential that exists between civilian and enforcement. You shined your tractor beam into my car. The other officer flooded my face with the other light so I couldn't see. People peered out of their windows. I could see their silohettes when you finally allowed me to go - there they were, dark and nosy, standing in front of the blue lights ..."Is this a crack bust?" "No, she was going three over." I mean I shouldn't really complain...But there is something about being pulled over on a dark street, by myself, by a man I don't know...And watching him inspect my 'documents' that makes me feel strangely vulnerable and unsafe. Hm.

Comparatively, I can't complain. All I have to do is pay $118 or appear at the courts and appeal it. It could be way worse for me, honestly. If I wasn't white and privileged, I guarantee it would be different. But maybe I'm making this up...

I mean, dude, it's not like in the United States we recruit 18-year-olds and give them machine guns (coughintifadacough) or elevated status without reason...Oh wait...yes we do! We just dress them in green, promise them minimal benefits, fill their heads with lies, and ship them to other countries...Or Guantanamo. The ones who don't pass the fitness test stay here, wear blue and beat up brown people.

(disclaimer: I'm generalizing, of course. some cops are great. some even have six packs.)

I'm gonna get in trouble for this one, for sure...

The take home message: police work hard to fill their "quotas" of moving violations in order to make money for the county, while real and heinous atrocities are occurring everywhere. And they do it with such arrogance and self-importance, too. Meanwhile, this same hunger for power translates into abuses thereof - brutality, profiling and corruption.

Seriously, what's the difference? I'll pay the fine, I guess. But I wish there was some guarantee that the money I'll shell out will be spent trying to prevent an aggravated assault or a case of child neglect, instead of paying the salary of that lazy idiot who is drinking his coffee and waiting to pull me over...again.