The White Guy vs. The Black Guy

So my department has been very short handed on the graveyard shift recently so being the kind person that I am, (and also the person in need of overtime compensation), I said that I would stay over and assist this weekend and work two twelve hour shifts instead of my normal eight. Now, don't get me wrong, I like action or I wouldn't be in this line of work, but it seems like once the clock hits midnight, people just starting acting crazy.

The day time ends and the night life begins and with it comes a whole new set of problems. If it isn't a fight it's a drunk, if it's not a drunk it's a noise complaint... one thing after the other. And you can't reason with these people, they are all combative and mostly intoxicated so nine out of ten situations always end badly. By badly I mean by someone going to jail or injured and me stuck writing a long ass report.

So my main concern here was that there was one particular incident last night where I was trying to get this intoxicated guy to find a ride home so that he didn't have to take a ride in a police car to a place he didn't want to go. I explained the situation to him a couple times and gave him a few minutes to use his phone to get in touch with his friends. Out of no where this older black lady comes chiming in with every bit of profanity she's ever learned in her life, cussing me out, the guy out, another officer... I didn't understand what she was so angry about. However, she is walking to her vehicle as she starts this rambling and actually gets into it and leaves so I let her go... let her be angry, that's her prerogative. But then there is another black couple that is standing on the sidelines and they chime in with, "Well, she is right, ya know." And I said, "About what exactly?" And this lady proceeded to tell me that if the intoxicated man that we were standing with were black that we wouldn't be letting him call his friends and we wouldn't be giving him a chance, we would have taken him straight to jail, or as the first lady put it, "Locked that mother f*cker up and thrown away the key!"



Well, there you go. Wasn't I so racist and mean to give that guy an opportunity to call his friends? And how did any of those passers by know what would have been happening if a black man would have been standing in his place? Who gave them the right to judge and be so racist? If that white guy wouldn't have been cooperative he would have gone straight to jail but he was. He knew he had to call it a night and I was willing to work with him to an extent. It saves me and him a hassle.

Those people standing by making their comments just show how ignorant some people can really be. I was doing the right thing and not being the asshole officer and still had to hear someone say something about my actions. They would have been happier if the white guy would have gone straight to jail BECAUSE he was white and because that's what they felt would have happened to a black man.

This is a prime example of why I am in law enforcement and people like those who were involved in that incident are not. They cannot control their emotions. They would rather start conflict than avoid it. They always see themselves as victims rather than an advocate to bring peace into this world. If the next black person I come into contact with deserves a break then they will get one just like the white guy. I am just disappointed that grown men and women would act so childish.

Oh well, maybe I will see those people around sometime... and they will want a break.

Friend Confusion

Sometimes I get really confused at how people can just change so quickly. Someone who you think you really know well can turn into someone you barely know at all. It becomes extremely disappointing when you realize that a person you have come to depend on for what they give you by just being their self and they are changing or showing that they are a completely different person all together.

I don't think that friends realize how much we truly depend on them just to be who they always are to us. After all, who they are to us is what drew us to them in the first place. When someone begins to change, and not so much for the better, it brings about a rift that effects others as well. If the change is positive then it will positively reflect on others. If it is negative, then it will negatively effect others.

It's just really sad when the people you really wouldn't ever expect to betray your trust, do. It isn't inevitable. There are people that can remain trustworthy for the long-term. It just so happens that this is few and far between. I appreciate my true friends. Bottom line, admit your true character when you first befriend someone in order to avoid disappointment later.

It hurts my heart when someone I truly respect and admire ends up doing something that utterly disappoints me. Even worse, if I give that person advise not to make that particular mistake and they do it anyway... well then I feel like a failure as well.

I know that when you trust and love someone you carry the risk of being disappointed. So therein lies the question of whether or not one should even take the risk of caring. Well, when the stab of heart break comes after someone you love hurts you in some way it is really easy to say that you should just live with your guard high. However, I disagree with this theory. My theory goes more along with the, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.", theory. This way you never discount someone who could truly remain a great and honest friend while disregarding the friends that choose to hurt you.

Gas Prices And No Solution

The cost of living is ever increasing. Between the cost of gasoline increasing along with everything else that we purchase daily, weekly, monthly, it imperative that we, as a society, do what we can to bridge the gap between our current income and our increasing expenses without putting ourselves into debt. It would be pretty horrible to look back ten years from now, knowing that you can attribute thousands of dollars of your debt to gasoline.

I become increasingly frustrated at peoples gas saving solutions because not many of them assist me in any way. For example, work closer to home. Okay, well, I will just quit my job then and find any random job, closer to home, that pays half as much as long as it helps me save on drive time. No. Or, buy a motorcycle. That's a great idea, except for the added loan payment every month and where would I put my four year old son on that thing?

As far as who is incurring the profits from this surge in oil prices... the constant cynicism as to who exactly the try culprits are changes from day to day. I just hope whoever they are, that they are enjoying the billions of dollars they are pulling out of America's pocket books. Honestly, what can we do about this? Gas strikes? Could everyone really pull together for one day to "stand up" against the oil companies? I doubt it.

As far as what I will do for now, go to http://www.gasbuddy.com to help me find the cheapest gas prices so I don't have to drive around and look. I am not going to drive anywhere that isn't really necessary or a special occasion. I really just can't afford it. There isn't an end in sight to these raging gas prices either. If they reach $6.00/gallon, I really won't be driving anywhere but work! Actually, then I will just be working to drive to work... but hey.

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What Goes Up...

Birthday and traffic tickets... do these two things go together? I don't really think they are supposed to. However, in my world, they do.

I was driving home from WORK last night, (and I want to emphasize that I was working on my b-day as well), when I approached my home and I looked into my rear view mirror, only to see those dreaded headlights that we can all recognize as a police officer's vehicle headlights, and as I turned to park those infamous red and blue flashing lights flipped on as I almost knew they were going to.

I rolled down my window and began the whole process of politely asking what the problem was and hoping that my birthday was going to get me out of a ticket. Well, it didn't. I actually acquired two tickets, in fact, and I won't go into details but let's just say that it was all I could do to abstain from becoming the "bad cop" in this situation. It was almost like this police officer was trying to teach me a lesson because I should "know better" and it his his solemn duty to make sure that I don't commit another offense again based on his actions this night.

Nothing was going to save me from these tickets, not a birthday, not batting my eyelashes, not being a fellow law enforcement officer... nothing.

I can't help but wonder how that situation could have went differently. What could I have said to make that officer give me a break? The answer is, nothing. He wanted to do what he did so he did it. It is just that simple. I think that people over analyze these situations a little too much, trying to get a break when it really has nothing to do with their powers of persuasion. There are too many other factors involved.

What happened last night really upset me. I just couldn't believe that such a thing could happen on a day when nothing is supposed to go wrong. Now I have to get a lawyer, explain to my employer why I incurred to traffic violations, pay fines that I can't really afford (who can?), and catch up on the sleep I lost over this last night. Today, I felt and feel much better. I think it was partially that when I looked into my future I could see hundreds of dollars bursting into flames and the look of marked disdain on my boss' faces when I am telling them about this incident. As time moves along I realize that the situation really isn't that intense. After all, my violations weren't serious, not criminal and nothing that will be held against me long term so long as I handle them in a timely and appropriate manner.

One thing that I will do is probably give that next person a break, in lieu of the break I did not receive on my birthday. Sometimes mercy is something that you can pay forward even when you didn't receive it but wish that you had.