Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Maryland's Incompetent Police

The police in the United States are a joke. Let's put aside for a moment their grievous misconduct against particular groups, specifically blacks, Arabs, and Latinos. Their brutality on numerous occasions goes well beyond unacceptable to the point of criminal and really, more accurately, immoral.

I want to discuss something far less wicked, but dangerous nonetheless. Over the past nine months I've noticed an increase in police speed traps in Maryland. What I mean by this is that a police car hides in order to catch someone "speeding" and give them a ticket. No big deal right?

Wrong. The police are supposed to serve and protect. We live in an age of terrorism. We can use all the help we can get, especially from the people who are actually paid to prevent criminal acts such as terrorism. Instead these lazy bums sit in their car staring at their radar guns, while Al Queda operatives plot. How is hiding behind a tree on Travillah Road in Montgomery County helping anybody?

Tonight, I drove to the McDonalds and passed a police car sitting in the middle of the road on Darnestown Road at around 11:45pm. When I returned on the same road, he was still there, blocking anyone who wanted to make a left. Now either he's an 80 year old Floridian visiting from Century Village and just waiting for the right time to make a left turn, or he is a horrible police officer. I think it's about time we redirect our policing emphasis towards "serving and protecting" this country and not hiding and disrupting traffic in order to give out speeding tickets.

Of course, I'm not advocating an increase in surveillance against any specific group, unless that group is known terrorists of any color or creed. There are plenty of white terrorists. Timothy McVeigh was just the tip of the neo-Naziberg. I'm not advocating more violent police officers. Quite the opposite actually, I'm advocating smarter police. Police that truly try to improve this country, not bother hardworking Americans of all shapes and sizes, but preventing violent crime, especially so-called terrorism.

Also police officers speed, cut people off, run red lights, and sit in the middle of the road. Of course, there are times when this is to be excused, but only on special occasions. You are not the law. You are supposed to enforce the law, starting with yourselves. Follow the rules.

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