[Lindenwood]

Sorry, there is nothing to politicize there. Rejected for better headlines. Pick a side and fight to the death without regard for the truth. That's the system.

Heh, that sounds about right!

Also, I thought the police were very respectable and respectful back in Oklahoma. However, I have had a couple occasions here in FL where I genuinely felt like the officers saw me as beneath them. So, I do think a lot of it can have to do with location. Not that I necessarily blame the officers because I know there are more troublemakers down here than there were where I'm from.

But to be 100% honest, whereas I'd happily stop and ask a police officer in Oklahoma for directions, I can't say I'd do so with the same confidence here.

 

[Lindenwood]

I have absolutely no doubt that location matters and that it matters for different reasons. But nobody really wants to hear that. They want the issue to be black and white (no pun intended).

Pun acknowledged!

Last year, shortly after the Ferguson incident, I got to spend a long evening doing ground training with somebody who used to be a Cop in Kissimmee, FL. Over the course of the conversation, he talked on how frustrating and bitter you end up getting having to deal with the same types of people all the time. And he said it gets hard trying to go into every encounter being respectful, when you know there is an 50% chance that citizen is not going to reciprocate.

So yeah, I totally get it. It is still an unfortunate circumstance, though. Not to dichotomously oversimplify the situation, but basically it comes down to this: One side feels like they are mistreated by police, and become less and less motivated to comply and show respect they feel isn't reciprocated; the other side feels like the other is being unreasonably bitter and disagreeable, and is often left with few choices but more aggressively exercising their authority in order to gain compliance.

I have my own ideas on possible solutions, but I'm sure nobody cares to smell those.