It's been asked before, but
Image by Nathan Acks. Some rights reserved.
. . . why are police officers such assholes? Not all of them, but maybe 80% of them.
I have spent a good part of the day interacting with Denver cops. My job put us on the same side for several hours today - weird - I must confess. So, first, they nearly arrest me for not riding in a bike lane that is blocked by construction and overlaps many right turn only lanes. (My driver friends call it the "bike lane of death.")
Then, while I am helping "secure" an access area for VIPs escorted by the Secret Service - in the parking lot of a building we own, they nearly run me over. Their careening, unmarked van stopped within two feet of my chest. Then their next van made an effort to come within inches of me.
And, where were they rushing to? Some terrorist attack? Some effort to intimidate free speech? Nope. They were on their way to cadge a free meal from Dixon's.
To the great disappointment of the fifteen or so officers, Dixon's was closed for a private function.
And, there are police all over Denver - occupying a street corner across from a bookstore, riding in formation on horses (the horses wearing eyeguards that make them look a bit like Mr. Ed), riding around in big cars - the real thugs have black trucks (the wimps are in vans), and storm troopers clinging to the sides of mammoth, black SUVs. There are also formations of bike cops riding up and down the mall, dissipating any good will their bikes might generate with their stern, impassive faces.
The cops have all donned black costumes. It's like a Star Wars costume party - with only the Empire invited. (The Denver police have even found black camelbacks someplace.) The only things that aren't black are their faces and their blue handcuffs. The cops are nearly all white guys. And their blue zip cuffs sometimes hang at crotch level and resemble - I'm not making this up - male genitals, with two loops for testicles and . . . well, I'll find a picture.
The first time I saw these guys, I was scared. Then I started laughing. (Then I pedaled faster because thugs don't like being laughed at.)
There is little doubt that many of these guys are itching for a confrontation. Why do we put sociopaths in charge of our cities?
The big police event of the day? They blew up a backpack left behind in a protest march. Water bottle shards and fragments of a novel were scattered all over Broadway and Colfax.
I feel much safer now that the world has one less copy of Anna Karenina on the loose.
