Holidays are for Harassment

The BBQ Pit
1

Just a cheerful vitriol-filled rant against the humble peace officers who make a dramatic effort to enhance public safety on a holiday weekend, and the disease-ridden, festering, pus-dripping media hacks who encourage same.

Was it really necessary to station speed traps every 2 miles on the outer beltway encircling town, pulling over every hapless bozo going 5 miles over the limit (and no, I wasn’t one of said bozos)? Why was seemingly the entire police force of Desperately Cutesy Little Village compelled to set up their version of Checkpoint Charlie at the biggest intersection in town, complete with flashing lights, pointedly aimed radar guns and strutting bike patrol cops, fish-pale in their sausage-stuffed uniform shorts?

I know why. It’s the same moronic shit every year. There’s little domestic news on a holiday weekend (something I am lately thankful for), so the media feel compelled to wring every bit of juice out of what passes for news, including the dreaded Highway Death Toll/Carnage on Our Nation’s Roads. Yes, you brain-dead jackals of the press, there are more people traveling on holiday weekends, thus more highway deaths. But with all this fuss, cops feel pressure to Do Something, and even worse, an opportunity to strut their stuff and get attention for small-time crap that wouldn’t get a casual look at other times.

Now it’s not only state troopers that go nuts, but every pissant local force that wants attention for being a huge, useless pain in the ass. Take Desperately Cutesy Little Village for instance. Their only previous claim to fame is harboring a nude flasher who fondles and photographs his victims - but their big law enforcement push focuses on the dog-ass 25 mph limit through town, the better to protect the daily average of 3 pedestrians and parkers patronizing their hamburger stands and pizza parlors, if there are any left open after the latest Health Department inspections.

For awhile I’ve avoided road travel on holidays to escape both congestion and hyper-enforcement. Now I can’t even drive around town without running into this bullshit.

Here’s a hint, ossifers: Give the public a break and do a normal level of traffic enforcement during the holiday periods. If you want credit for special effort, we’d feel a helluva lot safer if you were stationed down at the water and nuke plants, or walking patrol at the malls.

2

At least they attempt to pull over people who actually might be breaking the law (ie, those going 5 miles over the speed limit.) Here in the Republic of Boulder police have pulled me over just to ask me where I’m going. They used to have problems on Halloween with too many people going to the pedestrian mall here in Boulder and, well, hanging out. As a result, when I once attempted to go to my then-boyfriends house near the ped mall, I, along with everyone else attempting to access the downtown area, was pulled aside and questioned as to my destination.

They’ve also done such things as close off entire roads because people used them to pull off and watch the fourth of July fireworks. I’ve often wondered just how legal this is, and if theyd win a lawsuit if anyone had the time/money to attempt one.

3

If you think there’s little domestic news this weekend…well, then, you’re naught but a freaking moron.

To address your apparent concern: The reason there’s more traffic law enforcement during holiday weekends is because there’s more traffic.

4

.
In a way, you’re correct.
News Flash!!!

Monty, you’re an asshole.
The point here is that traffic enforcement on holidays, particularly on a strictly local level, is highly disproportionate to the need for such enforcement. We’d be better served if there were a dragnet out for ass-dripping fuckbrains.

In which case you’d better wear shades.

5

Jack(ass): Yet again, you are incorrect. Take a minute out of your oh-so-busy day and turn on either the radio or the television and check out the big domestic story. You could even check the news sites on the 'net.

Or you could continue being a jackass.

6

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way:

Think about it rationally, for a moment, will you? There are at least two valid, non-emotional, non-silly, non-stupid, non-diatribe reasons posited already for the increase in law enforcement presence:
[ul][li]Posted by Athena: At least they attempt to pull over people who actually might be breaking the law (ie, those going 5 miles over the speed limit.)[/li][li]Posted by me: The reason there’s more traffic law enforcement during holiday weekends is because there’s more traffic.[/ul][/li]
There’s also one that you posted!
[ul][li]congestion[/ul][/li]
As to your ocmplaint about the 25 mph speed limit in town: there are standard speed limits for particular types of streets (residences, business districts, highways, etc.) in most jurisdictions. Care to explain why you’re exempt from following that?

7

In defense of the officers – many times such speed traps are simply to appease the people who are really in charge (their superiors, and, more importantly, the politicians). Tickets are free money for your city/town/hamlet.

Pulling people over for 5 over, though, is really pushing it. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for people who are going 15+ mph over, but virtually all cops drive at least 5 over when off duty.

Yes, it sucks – so complain to your city officials. I’d put money on the fact that they, not the beat cops, made the decision to increase traffic enforcement (really, increase revenues).

8

So it’s not about holiday working + overtime ?

9

Well, it’s obvious to me that it was about the twenty-seven 8 by 10 color glossy photographs with the circles and arrows on the front and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was…

:wink:

10

Sorry, this gets a big ol’ shrug from me.

Around here, they’ve been running ads for weeks: Greetings, driving public! This is the police! We are running extra patrols over Memorial Day weekend! We will be checking seatbelts and ticketing for non-compliance! We will be cracking down on speeders! There will be zero tolerance for drunk driving! Have a great holiday!

In other words, just like every other big holiday weekend. AFAIK, the thinking is: Bigger and more obvious police presence = fewer accidents and fewer problems over the holiday. If you choose to interpret that as them “strutting around,” okay by me.

But then I’m partial to men (and women) in uniform and, if pulled over for a safety check, I’d be more likely to thank the cop than be pissed. Especially on Memorial Day. YMMV.

In fact: Thank you, police officers, fire fighters, rescue workers, EMTs, soldiers, sailors, and airmen. You do a great job and we are profoundly grateful for it. Happy Memorial Day.

11

I’ve seen far too much uniform porn. If I ever got pulled over by a state trooper I’d probably have myself in so much trouble…

Could sexual favors be considered a bribe? :smiley:

jayjay

12

Sorry, but maybe someone in the know, with the aid of charts and graphs, can show me how patrol units with flashing lights positioned every 2 miles on an outerbelt relieve congestion. Nope, everybody slows down to see what the excitement (sic) is. And putting Officer Friendly and his Radar Gun From Hell Troupe on display does nothing, except remind everyone how ridiculous it is to have a 25 mph limit on a four lane highway that experiences little traffic of any kind, not to mention virtually no pedestrian traffic (by contrast, the narrow two-laners in my neighborhood have a posted limit of 45 mph, which is clearly insane).

Jodi: I’ll join you in a Memorial Day salute to those it was intended to honor, which in my opinion excludes those who plan and benefit from reporting on self-aggrandizing ticket-writing sprees.

Monty: Bite me.

Is there something in the air in your part of California? Brain-sozzling effluent from the semiconductor plants?
Perhaps, you might ask yourself, if sufficient neurons can be brought to fire simultaneously, are there local conditions that make that 25 mph limit ridiculous? Like the fact that surrounding municipalities typically have 35 mph limits and must deal with considerably higher commercial and pedestrian traffic? Like the fact that there is very light traffic through Desperately Cutesy Little Village because people don’t want to deal with the bullshit and will detour well out of their way to avoid it?

Twit.

13

Heh heh heh, you said “pull off”.

14

I’ve always heard that checkpoints cut down on holiday traffic fatalities. That may be bunk, but I’ve heard it.

15

I have two questions, unrelated to the OP in any way:

  1. What is an EMT (as per Jodi’s post)?
  2. What’s the holiday that you folks are having? Somehow I don’t think it’s the golden jubilee.

pan

16

Emrgency Medical Technician

and Memorial Day

:smiley:

17

And I still can’t spell.

Or preview.

18

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Athena *
** I, along with everyone else attempting to access the downtown area, was pulled aside and questioned as to my destination. **[//QUOTE]

Now, I don’t happen to be one of them there high falutin’ constitutional lawyers or even one of those smarmy criminal lawyers, but I’d think that pulling people over just to inquire as to their destination would be a bit of a violation of their civil rights. Can anyone disabuse me of this notion?

19

I thought it was a Bank Holiday all over the civilized world.

20

Ah, so you’ve abandoned your original argument that there’s no news for that weekend. About time.