# I hate the oppressive police culture in the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534 "2014-09-15T04:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/121 "2014-09-16T15:14:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Everything the clerk did beyond that was obviously a product of poor training, which falls on his employers’ back as much as his own, but it doesn’t negate the fact that “OK, here you go” is a much easier response to that question than “ARE YOU ACCUSING ME OF SHOPLIFTING?!” If you care that it’'s easier than good for you. I see no problem with refusing to show my receipt to the clerk if I’m not required to. It’s easiest if the clerk learns what is required by law and what are the rules of his company. I don’t see that anyone should acquiesce to the clerk who is wrong just because it’s easier. If you want to, fine, it’s a value judgement you’ve made. If I want to tell the clerk “No, sorry, I don’t have to” that’s my right. After that, any blame shifts directly to the clerk and the store - lots of things are easy and also wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/122 "2014-09-16T15:30:05Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > I don’t refuse to allow the police to investigate me because I fear being arrested. It’s because I have civil rights. Use them or lose them. :taking bets on what the next attempt at spinning an obvious fear of the police into a civil rights issue will be: ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/123 "2014-09-16T15:34:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There’s no call for getting angry at one when all he’s asking is two seconds of your time. Your privacy is not being invaded in any way, no slippery slope to fascism and Big Brother is beginning because of your brief acquiescence. The Nazis didn’t come to power by asking people for their receipts. The fact that you hear “May I see your receipt, sir?” and your response is “MY RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED, I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS FALSE ASSERTION OF AUTHORITY!” says more about you than it does about the wage-slave who now has to deal with your sanctimonius bull. Again, the issue is not with a store clerk _asking_ to see a receipt. The problem arises when the clerk physically restrains a customer from leaving the scene after said customer politely refuses to show his receipt. > [@Smapti](#): > > If you _seriously_ think that being asked to show your receipt at the Wal-Mart is equivalent to a warrantless search of your home by the police… One more time, with emphasis: **I do not think that.** I think that a clerk is free to politely ask for a receipt, and I am free to politely refuse to show it. A clerk exceeds the limits of his authority when he physically prevents me from leaving the scene after merely refusing to show my receipt, just as surely as a cop exceeds his authority when he threatens me with arrest for refusing to permit a search of my premises or refusing to produce ID. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/124 "2014-09-16T15:39:43Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I think that a clerk is free to politely ask for a receipt, and I am free to politely refuse to show it. A clerk exceeds the limits of his authority when he physically prevents me from leaving the scene after merely refusing to show my receipt, just as surely as a cop exceeds his authority when he threatens me with arrest for refusing to permit a search of my premises or refusing to produce ID. Well, I guess we agree, then. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/125 "2014-09-16T15:42:24Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > :taking bets on what the next attempt at spinning an obvious fear of the police into a civil rights issue will be: If I was afraid of the police, I’d just pony up my ID and kiss their asses, wouldn’t I? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/126 "2014-09-16T16:57:42Z")
Hey, [van Gogh](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paint_with_a_broad_brush), [the Chicago Convention was nearly fifty years ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kt3Q00iJVU)! The vast majority of blue-jacketed thugs were left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/127 "2014-09-16T17:08:26Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > If I was afraid of the police, I’d just pony up my ID and kiss their asses, wouldn’t I? Okay, who had “denial of the claim that they’re thugs ‘armed with guns, a taser, pepper spray, a billy club, and an entire army of backup at their command’ that ‘[want to] stop me under threat of being shot and demand that I waste a single moment of my life interacting with them’ is fear?” ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/128 "2014-09-16T19:03:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The cops didn’t just decide to seize the house for shits and giggles. They did it because the civil forfeiture law which was voted into effect by the people and their elected representatives allowed it. Again, you’re blaming the cops for enforcing laws they didn’t create, so really your anger is misdirected here, and would be better focused into campaigning against those kind of laws - but I suppose you don’t even vote either. The title of the thread says “police culture” not “police”. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/129 "2014-09-16T19:28:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Moral of the story; Sometimes it’s a lot easier for everyone involved to just show the clerk your receipt and move on with your life. Moral of an earlier story: sometimes it’s just a lot easier for everyone involved to just get up and give your seat on the bus to the white man. But it’s a lot better for everyone involved if you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/130 "2014-09-16T19:31:36Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Moral of an earlier story: sometimes it’s just a lot easier for everyone involved to just get up and give your seat on the bus to the white man. But it’s a lot better for everyone involved if you don’t. Because showing the clerk your receipt is exactly the same as segregation. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/131 "2014-09-16T19:36:16Z")
> [@grude](#): > > The title of the thread says “police culture” not “police”. What is this “police culture” of which you speak in the U.S.A.? Are you comparing the U.S. to the former East Berlin? I have lived here all of my 57 years and I have never been afraid of encountering the police when I leave the house. Not even if I see a patrol car in my rear view mirror because I know all a ticket means is a fine and the inconvenience of going to traffic court. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/132 "2014-09-16T23:05:52Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think this is really the crux of it. 99.9999999999% of the time, if a cop stops you, they have the legal authority to do so. And on top of that, a case could be made that the person they’re stopping did do something wrong. > > I’ve been stopped by the police six times in my life… three times for speeding, twice for changing lanes without using a signal, and once where it could be described as an ID check. The thing with the last one is that I was technically trespassing at the time, so while I wasn’t “doing anything,” the cop had every right to ask me why I was there. Well, everyone in this thread should be in awe - you all are in the presence of a 1-in-a-trillion person. Because the cops apparently had no reason to stop me and my roommate while walking down main street that one night. But they did, and if they’d had a real reason, they would have likely held us. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/133 "2014-09-17T00:16:11Z")
So Sept. 2014 is\* bash the police month \* on the dope? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/134 "2014-09-17T00:30:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What is this “police culture” of which you speak in the U.S.A.? Are you comparing the U.S. to the former East Berlin? I have lived here all of my 57 years and I have never been afraid of encountering the police when I leave the house. Not even if I see a patrol car in my rear view mirror because I know all a ticket means is a fine and the inconvenience of going to traffic court. We had a thread on the board just recently where posters where shocked to learn that in some states if you have your own RX meds outside the pharmacy bottle the police will seize them and charge you with a felony, and they don’t care whether you can show your RX or the bottle you’re still facing a felony. This law stops nothing, it literally is just a way to harass and imprison law abiding people. My sister lives in a neighborhood where I have never seen a cop too, it is a gated community with million dollar homes. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/135 "2014-09-17T00:44:52Z")
> [@grude](#): > > We had a thread on the board just recently where posters where shocked to learn that in some states if you have your own RX meds outside the pharmacy bottle the police will seize them and charge you with a felony, and they don’t care whether you can show your RX or the bottle you’re still facing a felony. This law stops nothing, it literally is just a way to harass and imprison law abiding people. > > My sister lives in a neighborhood where I have never seen a cop too, it is a gated community with million dollar homes. I would love to see a cite on how often an ordinary citizens with an RX has actually been prosecuted for carrying around their prescription in their pocket or in one of those little plastic thingies old people put their pills in instead of the bottle it was dispensed in. I’m guessing it’s vanishingly small in number, and that there are probably other, extenuating circumstances, but it would be interesting to see the reality behind your claim here. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/136 "2014-09-17T00:49:33Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I would love to see a cite on how often an ordinary citizens with an RX has actually been prosecuted for carrying around their prescription in their pocket or in one of those little plastic thingies old people put their pills in instead of the bottle it was dispensed in. I’m guessing it’s vanishingly small in number, and that there are probably other, extenuating circumstances, but it would be interesting to see the reality behind your claim here. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17714951](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17714951) That is the thread I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/137 "2014-09-17T00:55:38Z")
Funny quote from the thread: > [@](#): > > My life is too tame to have much contact with law enforcement, but when I think about contacts in countries outside the U.S., what come to mind is times they’ve helped me. In the U.S. I’ve been hassled and wrongly incarcerated. > > “Land of the free” is a great song lyric. How many of you imagine it has a basis in reality? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/138 "2014-09-17T04:15:14Z")
> [@grude](#): > > My sister lives in a neighborhood where I have never seen a cop too, it is a gated community with million dollar homes. I have never lived in a gated community or million dollar home and I rarely see police. Actually I live in an unincorporated part of my county, so all I see are sheriff’s deputies. Still I have never seen a person being randomly singled out and harassed by the police. You may have had experiences being singled out, and I’m not going to judge you, but there is no monolithic culture of police oppression in the U.S. Your experiences are rare. Some cops may be assholes, but you encounter assholes everywhere you go. The bad cops don’t represent all police just as the assholes you run into elsewhere don’t represent all of humanity. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > So Sept. 2014 is\* bash the police month \* on the dope? Apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/139 "2014-09-17T05:13:34Z")
Actually their are times I wish there was a bigger police presence. Like they used to do these random checkpoints where they would stop all the drivers and check drivers license, title, and insurance. Often they would find stolen cars, felons on the run, drunk drivers, illegal aliens, and much more. But it seems they get alot of grief over these being “racist” or something because they found all that but I think they were good for actively going looking for criminals. Also many of the most dangerous communities should be practically under marshal law and have an officer every few feet to take back the streets from the gangs, drug dealers, and criminal elements. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534/140 "2014-09-17T14:16:23Z")
> [@grude](#): > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17714951](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17714951) > > That is the thread I mentioned. It’s just a bunch of anecdotes in an IMHO thread. So, before I get riled up I’d like to see some stats on exactly how many ordinary citizens have been arrested and prosecuted for having prescription drugs in their car outside of the bottle, even if they produce the RX. YMMV of course, since you obviously have a CHiP on your shoulder. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-oppressive-police-culture-in-the-usa/698534.md?page=8)