Why we need more cops like Judge Dredd

Know me long enough and you'll figure out I'm no fan of the police. Keep in mind, I said police and not the law. I'm a huge fan of justice, I just tend to gripe about the people enforcing it.

Why? Because people aren't perfect. Far from it. And yet we give to a select few this ability, this power, to decided how they want to interpret the law. The law isn't perfect either, but the system it goes through is decided by a larger amount of people than just the one person who will try to enforce it.

Think of it like this: We decide there should be a speed limit so that we all don't go crazy and kill ourselves. After surveys and tests, we figure that that speed should be somewhere around 65 mph. So then we tell our policemen and women to enforce that law. While they're out doing their thing, they see a violator. But he's only going 3 mph over and that's pretty close to 65 right? Now if he was going 80, well that's a different story. Believe me, that is totally FINE in my book. I do agree there is a certain affinity to laws that are based in less than black and white.

My real beef isn't with that kind of interpretation, but the kind of elitism that police extend to their super secret society of cop-dom. A cop pulls over an off-duty cop for speeding. No big deal. A cop pulls over a firefighter, no big deal. A cop pulls over the son of a cop. It's cool. Or change it up. A rich white man has a broken light in his Mercedes. He's told to take care of it. An Asian kid in a tricked out import without a light working over his liscene plate? It's a $150 irrefutable ticket. This is not how the law should work.

I guess the real reason I'm pieved about all of this is because of an expierence over the weekend. I went bowling with some friends where they have these specials for pitchers of beer while you bowl. We did the right thing and appointed a designated driver. To our left at one point were 3 young men drinking themselves into obvlivion and having a good time. They were overly friendly with the waitress, hugging her and making sexual inneuendos. At one point I noticed one of them had their wallet out after buying a round and I saw a badge. They then pointed out they were Sheriff's Deputies. Thinking we were buddies they talked about getting into fights, kicking ass and all the other things they do that I'm supposed to know. As they were going they knocked over their pyramid of drinks in Jenga-fashion and didn't bother with cleaning it up. ALL of them were trashed and smashed.

Some of my members wanted a smoke so we went outside to grab a breath of fresh air. The three buddies stumbled outside. Did they get in a taxi? No. They each got into their own cars and drove off, laughing the whole time.

It puts a whole new spin on the notion that law is blind when the people who enforce it turn their head away whenever they don't want to recognize it.