ORIGINAL: thegreenbandit

You guys mentioned that you wear sunglasses and don't get hasseled, but I was wondering what do you guys do when you ride at night??

ORIGINAL: riegnman

Unfortunately those "bigger fish" aren't all of the crooks in the white house and congress.

They should pass a law that congress has to wear eye protection whenever they are in session. All of the crap flying around in there is a lot worse that anything that we'll encounter on the roads.

ORIGINAL: fbeatty1

Cops are jerks for the most part. I got pulled over doing 5 MPH in a parking lot because my shield was cracked open on the first click. It was a 94 outside and I was going to class (a long while back). A cop had someone else pulled over and yelled "SHIELD!!!!' so I slapped the shield down. He yelled at me to pull over so I did. He then proceeds to yell at the top of his lungs about what I am doing wrong and my $hitty attitude. Now the 4 people in front of the building about 50 feet away hear him and can't believe it.

So i just figured since I already had a ticket, I would push it. He came back over and explained the ticket. I politely signed it and looked him right in the face. I told him, "if you are going to enforce the law, maybe you should obey it...". He got really bent out of shape yelled "what are you talking about". I told him very nicely that the Ray Bans he was wearing were not shatterproof and he was breaking the law. He said they were shatter resistant and I told him the law states they have to be shatterproof. Needless to say, I got told off some more.

A half hour later I reported him to his supervisor. The supervisor kept trying to get me to lose my cool, but I wouldn't. Ten minutes later, Mr. motorcycle cop was called back to the station and giving me an apology...

Sometimes life works out By the way, I took the ticket to court and beat it...

ORIGINAL: fishfryer527

I don't think the 4th amendment works in this case.

The claim is that driving is a priviledge granted by the state, not a right provided by the constitution. I think that when you accept your driving license one of the many things you sign is that you will follow the laws and follow the direction given by the Police.

So essentially what you are pissed off about is that you broke the rules and you got gigged. $80 ticket for no inspection and you got yelled at for two other things, that is the cost of doing business my friend. Whether the cops are useless ******** or not is immaterial, guys like you make it profitable for them to have these checkpoints where they can sit on their fat asses and give out $80 tickets without even working for it.

ORIGINAL: riegnman

You did the right thing here. "Kill them with kindness" is the key. It's hard, I know. The problem is that cops, (and people in general), that have to do things like that to make themselves feel important are already at a disadvantage. All they know is anger and flying off on someone. When you get smart with them or return the aggression, you are playing right into their hands and they feed off of you.
If you are kind and keep your voice low and even, it psychologically disarms them and they don't know how to proceed. Not to mention that it makes it a lot easier to prove that you were right in the end.

I've been doing therapeutic foster care for nearly 10 years now. Our program is the last step between these kids and jail, bootcamp, residential care, juvenile detention or a mental hospital. I have had around 30 kids come and go and they have all been just like the cop that you described.

They are under the impression that the louder they get means that they have proven their point better. My 10-year-old son has picked up on this and when they start going off, he gets a softer, easier tone to his voice. The easier he gets, the louder they get. Then when it's all over, he walks away with a big grin on his face. It's rather fulfilling to know that you have won an argument without resorting to violence or anger.


Now, I don't agree with the first comment about cops being jerks for the most part. Granted, there are cops that are jerks. I think however, that for the most part, they are people just like me and you that are doing a very difficult job for very little compensation.

ORIGINAL: KidCr3nshaw

Shortbuss, you've become such an idiot in my eyes for things of this very nature.

You apply a fair amount of intelligence to most things you say, however every once and a while you're ignorance shows it's ugly face.

Nothing in anything you've told me has anything to do with your constitutional rights or a violation therof - if you need me to explain, in PM, why you are such a tool and aound accordingly, just let me know.

Can't say I care enough to write back though...

P.S. Visors are for eye protection, tool. If you were being the asshat that I'm sure you were, well... forget it. Keep on living your life bro, the world needs smart people who make themseleves sound ignorant, wether it be intentional or otherwise, that's exactly what you've accomplished. Congrats...