Monosyllabic Pedantry

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Mercs in Blue

I was on my way home. It was about 9:45 Wednesday night. As I passed by the big Korean church, there was a policeman, hired by the church for traffic control. He was at the entrance to their parking lot, not out in traffic. As I passed, he pointed his flashlight at me and did the "waving the open hand up and down" signal to slow down. I looked at my speed, and was doing 47 in a 45 zone. Apparently, this officer felt that I was going too fast, considering that his masters were fucking up the traffic pattern.

Well, ya know what officer? Fuck You.

I have a real problem with the idea of taking the authority that is imbued in the uniform of a police officer, and whoring it out for personal use.

This includes any use of a police officer, in uniform, for non-governmental work. I've seen them working as bouncers, and fucking up traffic.

Guess what? I didn't tell you to put your business in a location that makes it impossible to get out of the parking lot. You have no right to hire a cop, to come out and stop traffic, so that you can.

It's just wrong. It smacks of conflict of interest.

Don't even start with me about the cops needing extra money. Whatever. That's beside the point.

We had a story a few years ago, here in Atlanta. Some Fulton County cop was working as a bouncer at a bar. Some guy phoned in an order for food to go. When he arrived to pick up his food, the cop gave him shit about paying the cover or whatnot. They get into a confrontation. The cop ends up womping the guy repeatedly in the knee with his cop-baton. (against training, by the way) If you've ever felt a cop baton, you know that is a serious thing. The guy's knee was basically shattered.
The guy ended up suing the county. The cop got fired and I'm sure the guy got some well-deserved money.

My point is this: The cop is not approaching the situation from a neutral viewpoint. He is, by definition, biased in favor of the guy paying his salary.

That is a mercenary.

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