Your Most Disturbing Realizations

[Stearmen]

While watching, More Manners Of Downtown Abbey. It suddenly dawned on me, all the fashions, we hold so dear to our hearts, from the 20s and 30s, were once considered utterly scandalous!

 

[2jakes]

Can we see a picture of you?

I want to see if you actually look like a crook =P.

I wearing my favorite suit & tie.
Now I ask you...
do I look like a crook?

Be nice....I have friends in Toronto!

Bada-bing-bada-boom!

 

[HudsonHawk]

OK, I actually chuckled out loud, which I rarely do. That was a good one.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can stand in my dooryard, facing southeast, raise my head just slightly, and realize that at that moment there is a direct uninterrupted 365 million mile line thru space between me and the planet Jupiter.

 

[ChiTownScion]

It happened only once.

I fit the description of an escaped armed convict.
My height & build, both parent’s first names, first six of my social security
numbers were the same as this felon.
Plus I looked familiar to the cops, but they weren’t sure where they had seen
me before.

I was at a driver’s license office renewing some details about my license card.
Two officers came up to the clerk on her side.
I didn’t think much of that.
But then three more approached me.
One on each side & one behind me.
For an instant, I was thinking if there was a speeding
violation or parking ticket I had forgotten.
But I couldn’t recall of one. I was confused &
wondering “wtf" had I done to be in this situation.

The whole place became very quiet.
All eyes wide eyed staring at me.
I was “escorted" to another room.
I was “frisked” & told to sit down & place my hands on the table.
I was about to ask why but was told to keep my mouth shut,
adding that they were not going to tell me again so nicely.
In the first minutes, I felt like they were handling the situation as
to provoke me to resist so that they could apply physical harm.
I avoided that by complying.
I was not finger printed, but finally after what seemed like forever,
the mood changed.
They found out that the convict had been apprehended.

They asked where I worked. I told them at a television news station as a
cameraman. One of my jobs was to cover crime stories & police conferences.

That’s where they had seem me before.
They apologized.
I was not so much angry as I was happy that it was over.
I asked them to give me their card, in case this might happen again.
They asked me if I wanted to leave by another exit to avoid embarrassment.
I told them no, I had no reason for doing that since I hadn’t done
anything embarrassing.

What ever paper work required with my license was done immediately
with no hassle.

Now I know what it takes to expedite things of this nature & avoid
a long waiting in line!

The fact that they didn't bother to check whether the bad guy as in custody before doing that to you in front of others and restraining you exhibited a reckless disregard for your rights under law. I commend you for being so magnanimous. I might have been inclined to contact legal counsel and gone after them.

 

[2jakes]

The fact that they didn't bother to check whether the bad guy was in custody before doing that to you in front of others and restraining you exhibited a reckless disregard for your rights under law. I commend you for being so magnanimous. I might have been inclined to contact legal counsel and gone after them.

The bad guy was apprehended at about the same time I was being interrogated.

Finger printing was the next thing but there was no need.
As I said before, I was not going to give them any reason or action that they
would have to use force on me. That said, if they had still abused me
physically even though I was complying, perhaps I might have followed with
legal action.

The escaped convict was armed & had previous criminal records.
The officers had to react in such a manner to prevent innocent folks
from being hurt.
As soon as they found out, the whole atmosphere changed.
I was happy that the matter was cleared up.

 

[Stearmen]

The bad guy was apprehended at about the same time I was being interrogated.

Finger printing was the next thing but there was no need.
As I said before, I was not going to give them any reason or action that they
would have to use force on me. That said, if they had still abused me
physically even though I was complying, perhaps I might have followed with
legal action.

The escaped convict was armed & had previous criminal records.
The officers had to react in such a manner to prevent innocent folks
from being hurt.
As soon as they found out, the whole atmosphere changed.
I was happy that the matter was cleared up.

I had a similar incident when I was in my early 20s. We were in my friends blue 68 Mustang, when we were pulled over. Several officers had us get out, then started questioning us, turns out we fit the description of two robbers, down to the color of the car. They got the call that the perps were apprehended, and we were sent on our way. What made this scary was, a couple of weeks earlier, this same police department had a teenage boy face down on the side of the road when one of the officers shotguns went off, killing the boy. The whole time, I just kept looking at the one officers nickel platted revolver and thinking, this isn't good! Like you, we gave them absolutely no grounds to escalate the situation, just the facts mam!

 

[2jakes]

As a news photographer covering many events, I salute all the women & men in the police & fire departments
who are out there every day under very stressful, live threatening situations.

 

[Fading Fast]

As a news photo. covering many events, I salute all the women & men in the police & fire departments
who are out there every day under very stressful, live threatening situations.

I do too, very, very much. There was a fire in our building recently and as we were leaving to be safe, the firemen were rushing in - man, that says a lot. The same thing with police, they go in as most citizens (myself in included) leave. I am grateful to them, am happy to pay taxes to support them and hope most people feel the respect and gratitude toward them that so many here seem to.

This is why I hate any corruption, graft, petty arrogance or other similar behavior from any police or firemen - it besmirches all of them which is horribly unfair to the 99+% who don't engage in those actions.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've known both kinds of police -- the self-sacrificing and noble and the arrogant and fascistic. In general it's very difficult to get away with being a wanna-be storm trooper in a small town: you will be pegged fast, and you will be run out of town once the public catches on to your deal. It happened to several police chiefs in a row in the town where I grew up, and one I knew while I was a reporter had his career ended in a specatcular fashion with a public trial before the Board of Selectmen. We broadcast it live, and it was soap-opera like listening for about a month.

Small-town firefighters, on the other hand, are rarely anything but decent people -- in most towns they're volunteers and there is absolutely nothing in it for them in the way of power, glory, or big money. To become a volunteer firefighter, as my grandfather, his brothers, and his father all were, one had to be motivated solely by community spirit.

 

[ChiTownScion]

This is why I hate any corruption, graft, petty arrogance or other similar behavior from any police or firemen - it besmirches all of them which is horribly unfair to the 99+% who don't engage in those actions.

A definite advantage that we have over those in "the Era:" the ability to video record cop actions in the interrogation room, while on patrol in their cars, and even while on foot via body cams. The fact is that in the Era, bad cops were able to get away with murder- literally- if they felt that a suspect was a bad actor. And underpaid cops were ripe for bribes and payoffs as well. New tech not only enables us to weed out the bad actors, it exonerates those who are falsely accused. Not without its flaws, but the technology is a step forward.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It used to be a common joke in the Era that the official coat of arms of the NYPD should be two rubber hoses crossed on a field of brass knuckles. LaGuardia cleaned a lot of that up, but not all of it by a long shot.

 

[Fading Fast]

As my previous posts highlight, I have great respect and feel a great deal of gratitude to our police and firemen and women. That said, because of their roles of authority and power, I believe they should be held to a very high standard of integrity. These are special roles - we as citizens hand over a lot of power to them, and they deserve our respect and gratitude, but also we deserve (and need) to hold them to a high standard of honesty and thoughtful use of that power.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The most noble officer of the law is the one who refuses to follow an order he knows is wrong.

 

[Fading Fast]

The most noble officer of the law is the one who refuses to follow an order he knows is wrong.

A reasonable, probably outstanding (just want to reflect on it), definition and one that, if followed, would have, for starters, made WWII meaningfully less horrible.

 

[LizzieMaine]

To say nothing of Alabama in 1965. Or Flint in 1937. Or Toledo in 1934. Or Washington in 1932. Or Chicago in 1877.

 

[tonyb]

If only there were an absolute standard of right and wrong. Nothing is quite so dangerous as one who is convinced there is.

 

[LizzieMaine]

If any part of your mind makes you stop and think "hey, should I be doing this?" chances are you shouldn't be doing it. Too often we as a society equate "power" and "authority" with the complete suppression of that part of the mind. The result is a world in which those with the least amount of conscience tend to reap the greatest rewards.

 

[tonyb]

Sure. But be wary of anyone who has God on his side.

We aim for something akin to "justice," but we can all cite numerous examples of grossly unfair practices that were completely legal.

Law is often more about preserving someone's (or some group of someones') power than in serving justice.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Indeed. One could point out that the modern concept of a uniformed, paramilitary police force only goes back to the mid-19th Century in the US, when said forces were used largely as tools for keeping the working class and the poor in their place.