On Wednesday, I was coming home from Philly with my dad. We got to the 30th St. Station, to take Amtrak back to NYC. Once I got our tickets, I saw that there was a huge line forming where we needed to go. With the past two days being real energy-drainers, I was not in the mood to be at the end of a long line. So, I told my dad to follow my lead because we were going to skip about 95% of that line. He was apprehensive because of the cops that patrolling the area. I told him, "The worst the cops can do to us is tell us to go to the back of the line". Which is where we would be had we decided not to skip...no harm, no foul.
As we got into position to skip, I noticed an inordinate amount of law enforcement on that side of the station. There were five cops with bullet-proof vests on, four "security-types" (aka not real cops) at a "random search" table, three K-9 units with German Shepards, two S.W.A.T. team members (with automatic assault-rifles), and the ever-present "Partridge in a Pear Tree"...Or was it a pigeon just trying to look fancy. Anyway, they had 14 law enforcers hovering around one stairway at an Amtrak station...WTH?!?!? Does that sound right to anybody?
Then my father turns to me and says, "Now, I think it's better that we skip because if we go to that back of the line we may miss our train ". I looked at him, puzzled by his statement. He then says, "The people in the back of the line will probably miss this train because of all the 'searching' that will be going on". I told him that unlike most airports, Amtrak doesn't have a policy of telling their passengers to come a few hours before their scheduled departure; so they can't hold anybody up and make them miss their train, just to search them. At most, five people may get searched and the search would be minimally invasive. I figured that because my father likes cops, he couldn't see that they were just putting on a show. However, when I took a look at everybody else on line, all I saw was a bunch of people looking nervous. All I could do was shake my head. Then, as the line starts to move, one of the K-9 units runs his dog up and down the line, hoping that someone has an illegal substance on them. I wanted so badly to trip them as they came by me, you don't even know. I wish I had a megaphone so could've told them all:
"Don't be scared of these cops. The last thing they want to do is arrest someone without provocation. Their bosses would have their asses, if they did such a thing. They are nothing more than Peacocks with Guns. They are strutting around in all their regalia in order to justify their overblown budgets. If they don't do things such as this, when the budget has to be slashed, they'll be on the chopping block. So let them puff up their chests and 'look hard' but, there's no need to clench your ass cheeks. These cops are not here for you, they're here to save their jobs."
As expected, we skip the line and get to the train platform with no problem. It was a good thing too because that train was packed!! I would've been mad if I had to sit next to someone. As the train started to move, I was still thinking about all those damn cops who were getting paid to do nothing but look tough. I knew it had to do with the 4th of July being a few days away but then I thought, when did a major terrorist plot get foiled near a holiday? I'm not talking about some amateurish terrorist like the "Underwear Bomber" or someone on that level. I mean the 9/11 type of terrorist...would they be stupid enough to try something on one of our national holidays? September 11th wasn't a big day for Americans and neither was March 11th a big day for Spaniards but, those two days will now live in infamy in those countries. That actually makes the "peacocks" look more stupid. I get justifying your budget/jobs but the least they could do is show a real sign of force on random days. It's too easy to avoid the big holidays. Take that Amtrak station for example: If a group of guys wanted to do some damage to either the station or the trains, all they had to do was send in a lookout. That guy would've informed them that there were way too many cops to pull it off and they could've just drove away. If they come back next week with the same plan, most likely they can pull it off because those cops won't be there in such large numbers.
So, what's the point? The point is there really isn't any point to what they do. Just as the peacock flaunts his feathers to look pretty, most cops puff their chests out just to 'look' badass. Guns and drugs flow freely through our neighborhoods and no amount of fake-policing will change that. While these cops may give off the look that they are hunting big game, all they really want are a few rabbits to hold up in front of the press. Don't become a rabbit for them....Don't get into any physical fights with anyone. If you're going to get intoxicated, stay off the streets and behind the wheel. And by all means, don't buy or use any drugs this week. Those cops would love nothing more than to haul your ass in on some petty charges...DON'T MAKE THEIR DAY!!!
- Bru
