crazy government people

[TonyBar3]

My skins a little thin today, b/c normally something small like this wouldn't bother me. How can any refer to all military or all cops in a broad generalization and then talk about how they profile? Seems hypocritical to me.

Yes, I'm in the Air Force. And no, I wouldn't be doing nothing if I wasn't, I just have another job. That's like saying if the people in the IT world didn't have jobs they'd play dungeons and dragons all day.

They only real cop problems I have is with small town cops who don't have anything to do than enforce the laws to the "t". I guess I can't blame them for enforcing the laws, but I like my extra 5-10 miles an hour.

My biggest government job gripe is the Louisiana OMV, or DMV as you folks might call it, in Kenner. I don't know if I've ever seen so many people in one spot who are in no rush whatsoever.

[motorboy29]

I generalize because not only have i never personally met an on-duty cop who was anything short of a total jerkwad, but also because i have a problem with the whole idea of the american legal system and the opportunities that is offers its enforcement arm to harass, profile, and violate the rights of the public.

[TonyBar3]

Ah, ostrich syndrome then. If you don't see it, it doesn't exsist. I was like that for a long time too. Of course, I've had police officers pull over and ask me if I was okay while changing a tire and what not. Really, I think now that I'm a little older I can respect the idea of you have to be in their shoes. They look at a lot of behavior as suspicious because generally it is. When it comes to protecting life and liberty, I think a reasonable man would say profiling some behavior is okay. For example, I see 4 teenagers go into a quickie store all with book bags and they look around for 20 minutes, I'd say it would be okay to call that suspicious behavior, malls are for window shopping, liquor stores aren't.

With the second point I have no real argument for you. You don't like it, so nothing I can say will make you like it.

[hareek]

That's like saying if the people in the IT world didn't have jobs they'd play dungeons and dragons all day.

Of course not. That's absurd! They'd be playing World of Warcraft!


Sorry I couldn't resist. But I don't have a problem with any cops or the military in general. I'm not going to let a few of the bad ones generalize a whole group. My gripe is just about the armed forces recruiting offices. I don't think its right to call up 17 and 18 year olds who don't have a lot of real world experince and intimidate them by asking for personal information such as social security numbers and asking them when they can meet to discuss enlisting. But not all the recruiters were like that. Most would just ask me what my plans were after high school and if I considered enlisting or not. I'm completely fine with that. I think that's great. I just don't appreciate the few that try to intimidate you into joining. That's all I'm saying.

[TonyBar3]

I don't think you'd meet many people in the military, to include the recruiters, who like the way it's done. A common joke is at basic letting the folks know how it is. If it wasn't written on that contract, it doesn't exsist.

The problem is your annual performance report is based on how you do your jobs. And yes, recruiters do have quotas. So, if you don''t make your quota, you get rated lower. Then when they do promotions that year they look at your scores and see you got marked as "Fails to meet standards."

Would you promote someone who fails to meet standards? Vicious cycle.

[hareek]

Ah, ostrich syndrome then. If you don't see it, it doesn't exsist. I was like that for a long time too. Of course, I've had police officers pull over and ask me if I was okay while changing a tire and what not. Really, I think now that I'm a little older I can respect the idea of you have to be in their shoes. They look at a lot of behavior as suspicious because generally it is. When it comes to protecting life and liberty, I think a reasonable man would say profiling some behavior is okay. For example, I see 4 teenagers go into a quickie store all with book bags and they look around for 20 minutes, I'd say it would be okay to call that suspicious behavior, malls are for window shopping, liquor stores aren't.

With the second point I have no real argument for you. You don't like it, so nothing I can say will make you like it.

I have no problem with profiling. Profiling should be defined as making assumptions based on experience. I'm a Lebanese-american. If I go to an airport and they select me for a "random search," I wouldn't be upset because people that look like me are the ones terrorizing the world. It would be a waste of time for them to search a 90 year old woman in a wheel chair because they need to be "fair." Now if I was being abused or unfairly treated, that's a different story but as long as you remain in line, I don't think there's anything wrong with a little profiling to get the job done.

[iekobrid]

I get hassled by (and have almost come to blows with) union reps at work and third- (or fourth- or fifth-) party political reps on the street far more often than I have run-ins with law enforcement / military personnel. And even when I do have contact with the latter group, it's usually because I've legitimately done something wrong or I've been done wrong by another private citizen.

My best friend bellyaches about cops regularly, and 99% of the time I have the pleasure of pointing out that his real problem with is a particular law, not the people charged with enforcing it. I say if he wants to do something productive, he should bit** to his state assemblyman instead of wasting energy ragging on Joe Trafficduty.

This one time, he was f***ing livid about the wife of a guy he knows having been briefly detained at a police station until she could post bail. I went off on him. "Do you realize that within the story you just told me -- which was told to you by her husband and probably contained information selectively edited to make themselves look good -- that within that story there were:

¤ at least three clear instances of her breaking a law

¤ one instance of her blowing off a court date

¤ one instance of her failing to pay a fine in full

¤ one instance of a police officer pulling her over for moving violation ABC (which the husband admits to) but letting her off with a ticket for lesser violation XYZ (which the husband also admits to)

¤ one instance of a police officer informing her that there was a warrant out for her arrest but letting her go

¤ and at least four clear instances of her failing to follow printed and verbal instructions, not the least of which involved her trying to pay a fine at a police station (instead of, as she was told twice, at the courthouse) where they -- surprise! -- finally executed the outstanding warrant for her arrest

...and you're angry at the way the POLICE behaved?! Even in that no-doubt-biased version of the story it sounds like they went out of their way to give her plenty of chances to make things right but she was too f***ing stupid to recognize /appreciate /take advantage of them! I refuse to allow you to be angry at anyone in that story except your idiot friends. Who, by the way, I will no longer ride in a car with."

[nepalnt21]

people that look like me are the ones terrorizing the world.

do you honestly believe that?

[Skarekrough]

My skins a little thin today, b/c normally something small like this wouldn't bother me. How can any refer to all military or all cops in a broad generalization and then talk about how they profile? Seems hypocritical to me.

With great power comes great responsibility. We hold them under a microscope for good reason, they're the glue that holds society as we know it in check. It's an awesome responsibility and I firmly believe we don't give them enough credit for it.

However we should lever as much incentive to not use their power in a manner that would be considered abusive. This isn't uncommon nor something that has ever happened. Look at Abu Ghraib or the New Orleans Police Department when they fired EVERYONE because it was so corrupt.

I've known some cops that are good people. I spent an hour drinking Rum and talking fishing with a State Trooper on the cruise I was on last week.

But I also know the kids I grew up with that became cops that did it simply because of the allure of power rather than the distinction to serve the public. I like to think that they managed to weed them out but I know differently.

[drew_half_empty]

i don't think all cops are bad, or all people in the military are bad, i've had friends in the military & met cool cops

but you can't deny that certain occupations attract more crazy people than others

as far as people with "your skin color" terrorizing the world, i can think of many white americans in high ranking offices that have killed way more innocent people than the terrorists you're referring to

[TonyBar3]

but you can't deny that certain occupations attract more crazy people than others

Are you talking about the ACLU?

[LesStrat]

BTW, believe it or not, our local OMV office has been quite efficient for the last several years. I don't know what happened, but I LIKE it.

[iekobrid]

And then, there were d**ks in shorts...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6AYVn2yw4

[Gr8Scott]

Are you sure it's not free "tube steak" he was offering you?

The phone line was pretty static filled. Maybe it was tube steak that he was offering... I seem to recall some heavy breathing on the line and he did say that I had a nice butt. I thought that it was just typical recruiter talk trying to get me to join.

[theodie]

Speaking of Crazy Gov. workers....


You folks remember the movie "Men in Black" where Tommy Lee Jones was working in the post office and all the employees are aliens? Since I work for a mail contractor, I deal with these people on a daily basis and I must say, they are by far the weirdest collection of people I have ever seen or delt with. This is just not at one post office, it is at all of them I have been to. Yes, I have been to many other Gov facilities before and they are hard asses most of the time but, they are not even close to the weirdness from the post office.

[Skarekrough]

Speaking of Crazy Gov. workers....


You folks remember the movie "Men in Black" where Tommy Lee Jones was working in the post office and all the employees are aliens? Since I work for a mail contractor, I deal with these people on a daily basis and I must say, they are by far the weirdest collection of people I have ever seen or delt with. This is just not at one post office, it is at all of them I have been to. Yes, I have been to many other Gov facilities before and they are hard asses most of the time but, they are not even close to the weirdness from the post office.

To a degree I think that insulating yourself in the manner which revolving most of your interactions into a small space like working AND living in the same town combined with something like Gov't work just makes folks weird as all get-out.

Look at folks that run local access cable stations. There's two grades of people in there; those that commute for the job and those that live there and are actively involved in alot of different levels. Those folks are just nutty like you wouldn't believe.

I always felt that firefighters were as nuts as they were because they got lumped in with Cops but couldn't have guns. It was the only thing I could come up with as to why they had such a delighted expression on their faces when they were forced to resort to some level of approved violence to complete their task in the name of public safety.

[shawnr]

The one time I spoke with an army recruiter, he was giving me the hard sell--when he finished his spiel, he asked me what I thought.

I said, "My father and his friends don't think it was all that great, especially that getting shot and POW part." The recruiter quit calling me after that.

[theodie]

To a degree I think that insulating yourself in the manner which revolving most of your interactions into a small space like working AND living in the same town combined with something like Gov't work just makes folks weird as all get-out.

Look at folks that run local access cable stations. There's two grades of people in there; those that commute for the job and those that live there and are actively involved in alot of different levels. Those folks are just nutty like you wouldn't believe.

I always felt that firefighters were as nuts as they were because they got lumped in with Cops but couldn't have guns. It was the only thing I could come up with as to why they had such a delighted expression on their faces when they were forced to resort to some level of approved violence to complete their task in the name of public safety.

Nah, I seriously think "The Mother Ship" will pick a few of them up one day. Seriously, weird would say that they are weird.

Yeah, some firefighters can be a bit eccentric or out there but, postal workers are by far the worse by a large margin. As far as their work, well, most dont really do any. No, I am not kidding. Its for the most part more social than work.

[drew_half_empty]

man this thread is ooooold

[TimmyPage]

I've never met a bad or unfair cop. I've met one or two with a bit of a 'better than you' complex, but that's all.