the po-po

i was watching a rerun of black.white. and an ex-gang member, kenny, was talking with nick. he was asking nick why he doesn't like the police. nick answered that nobody liked the police. kenny said, "that's a lie. normal people love the police."

quite frankly, i think they're both wrong. first of all, not everyone doesn't like the police. there are plenty of people who like the police. and even with the people who don't, if it's a moment where they need the cops for something, they sure like them all of a sudden. for instance, someone may hate the cops, but if that person is about to get killed by someone and a cop intervenes, if nothing else, for that minute, they will like the police then.

on the other hand, i don't agree with kenny's assessment. it almost sounds like he's saying, if you're normal, you'll love the police. as though all normal people have reason to love, or at least like, the police. sure, non-criminals are going to probably like the police more than criminals. but there are innocent people who don't like the police.

let's take me, for instance. in a fairly black city that i lived in, i used to often hang out in a non-white part of town. i'd notice, as i was walking to the grocery store or going to a bead shop that any time a cop would be near me, he'd start staring at me and not take his eyes off of me. i'm talking about a police officer driving past me and watching me even once his car had past me. meanwhile, all i was doing was strolling to the store. after a few occassions of this, i moved from just watching them watch me to glaring at them and swearing at them. not cussing them out loudly. but cussing them out nonetheless.

do i like the po? in general, no. do i hate cops? nah, i don't think that's the case either. i have relatives and friends' relatives who are and who've been cops; i have no problem with them. i think part of my problem with cops is the punishment part of their jobs. the bureaucracy of it. how often do cops reward good behavior? now, how often do cops punish bad behavior? it's a punishment society; it's crazy. i think the other reason why i don't like cops is their profiling. they all seem to have their eyes out for black people to fuck up. say i sound like a paranoid, they're-out-to-get-us person. i would love for it not to be the case. i'm speaking from my experience, and what good would it be if i didn't share the truth because it's not pretty? because it puts me in a certain stereotype? because it makes me seem like a bitter black person? i'm sharing my truth.

and the truth shall set you free.