by Volcanic21 » Sun 11 May 2008, 05:14:03
I think the movie "No Country For Old Men" speaks relevantly to this issue. There's a scene at the end where Tommy Lee Jones is talking about how fucked up the world has become over the preceding decades. Then an even older guy says that it's always been fucked up. I tend to agree more with Jones, though.
I spent a summer doing tree work for the City of Boulder, and got to drive a city truck around town. We filled the gas tank at the city pump, which was also used by the Boulder Police. So I ran into a lot of cops at the pumps, and I have to say I was not impressed by their attitudes. They were all really aloof, and they would ignore me if I said hi or gave a courteous nod-hello. I sympathize, though, with their plight. This is a college town, and CU-Boulder students are by and large Grade A Douchebags. On several occasions I've witnessed drunks asshole college guys yelling out "Pig!" and "I smell bacon!" and other such unoriginal taunts at cops just out walking a beat, not hassling anybody. If I was a cop, after dealing with that shit for a while I'd probably get bitter, moody, and hostile as well. It seems like on both sides, the police and the citizens, there's been a gradual erosion of respect and decency, leading up to our current situation, with cops being feared and hated, and fearing and hating the citizens. I don't really know what I'm talking about, though, so I'll stop typing now.