We really need to stop assuming bad faith 100% of the time on the part of cops, okay?
Look. I get that there are real, true, horrible, stories where police officers are supposed to be on our side and aren't. Then there are stories where we are just minorly inconvenienced because a police officer has to do his job and something about me/you/us makes giving him a small portion of our time PART OF HIS JOB.
Okay. Yesterday
seperis and I were driving down to South Padre. In a rental car. With florida plates. Without kids in the car. On a weekday. In the off season. While Very. Very. White. (See the tale told hilariously here.)
That was enough to ping a the police officer on the drug task force and he pulled us over for a grand total of 15 minutes to make sure we weren't carrying illegal drugs, firearms or large sums of money. He was not rude, it was not harassment, and he was just doing his damn job okay? I'm sure
seperis can write a very long, detailed and interesting post on the border in south Texas and how right now it can be described as a drug runner's playground.
The truth is, it was terrifying for about 60 seconds (until I saw that he was going to be really nice about it all and I was sure I hadn't committed a SERIOUS moving violation without realizing it), confusing for about 3 minutes (until he asked enough questions for me to realize what was happening) and bewilderingly amusing for the rest.
Actually, as soon as he told me what the violation was (didn't wait the full 100 feet after signaling before changing lanes), I knew it was just an excuse to pull us over and get a look at us. I got no ticket and an incredibly hilarious souvenir from it (a written warning! omg I just love that!) and as soon as HE was sure we weren't a problem, he EXPLAINED it in general terms. It wasn't overt b/c I'm sure he's not supposed to do that but it was very "I'm sure you're wondering about those questions" "There's a lot of weapons and guns that come through" etc. AND it took a grand total of 15 minutes. I hear check points can take like an hour or more AND might include searching of both your vehicle and your person. So in the end? I'm totally fine with giving 15 minutes of my time over to a guy who's just trying to do his job.
(I get that driving while Not White in south Texas carries its own issues and security concerns, but that's not what this post is about and I really don't want to moderate that discussion while on vacation.)
NEXT POST: PICTURES OF THE BEACH. OMG I WANT TO LIVE HERE FOREVER.
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Okay. Yesterday
seperis and I were driving down to South Padre. In a rental car. With florida plates. Without kids in the car. On a weekday. In the off season. While Very. Very. White. (See the tale told hilariously here.)
That was enough to ping a the police officer on the drug task force and he pulled us over for a grand total of 15 minutes to make sure we weren't carrying illegal drugs, firearms or large sums of money. He was not rude, it was not harassment, and he was just doing his damn job okay? I'm sure
seperis can write a very long, detailed and interesting post on the border in south Texas and how right now it can be described as a drug runner's playground.
The truth is, it was terrifying for about 60 seconds (until I saw that he was going to be really nice about it all and I was sure I hadn't committed a SERIOUS moving violation without realizing it), confusing for about 3 minutes (until he asked enough questions for me to realize what was happening) and bewilderingly amusing for the rest.
Actually, as soon as he told me what the violation was (didn't wait the full 100 feet after signaling before changing lanes), I knew it was just an excuse to pull us over and get a look at us. I got no ticket and an incredibly hilarious souvenir from it (a written warning! omg I just love that!) and as soon as HE was sure we weren't a problem, he EXPLAINED it in general terms. It wasn't overt b/c I'm sure he's not supposed to do that but it was very "I'm sure you're wondering about those questions" "There's a lot of weapons and guns that come through" etc. AND it took a grand total of 15 minutes. I hear check points can take like an hour or more AND might include searching of both your vehicle and your person. So in the end? I'm totally fine with giving 15 minutes of my time over to a guy who's just trying to do his job.
(I get that driving while Not White in south Texas carries its own issues and security concerns, but that's not what this post is about and I really don't want to moderate that discussion while on vacation.)
NEXT POST: PICTURES OF THE BEACH. OMG I WANT TO LIVE HERE FOREVER.
You can also read this entry here with
comment/s. You can comment here or there. OpenID is enabled.