cops

“Government is a group of individuals organized for the purpose of extracting wealth and exerting power over people and resources in a given geographic area.” -- Wendy McElroy

PETTY TYRANTS

-- June, 2001

Here in the Land of Clinton/Schumer (New York State) we've had a seatbelt law for 15 years or so. I hated it in the beginning and I hate it even more now. I live five miles from Honeoye, the nearest town. Lacking a decent restaurant, I've eaten lunch at a bar for going on 10 years. I rarely used my seatbelt while going to town, or while driving around any of these rural roads. If on the interstate, doing 70-80 mph, common sense tells me to buckle up.

This past May I was on the road, slowing down to turn into the bar parking lot for lunch. Coming towards me was a sheriff, and I instantly realized my "crime" of not being buckled up. The bastard passed me, hit the brakes and turned around.

I was out of my truck and headed across the parking lot when he pulled up. I played dumb, but knew what it was all about. He got out and said something like: "Sir, would you please get back into your vehicle?"

"Why?"

"Just do it, please."

I immediately became angry, and am easily agitated in situations like this -- but I kept my cool. This little 30 year old punk-runt with a gun and badge was interrupting my lunch hour over nothing. I felt like telling him to take his gun and badge off and then we’ll see who is going to give who a ticket.

Looking back on it, I now realize that my next move was the wrong thing to do: Like an obedient child, I got back into my truck and fastened my seatbelt as instructed, so he could see what the whole picture looked like from the front -- verifying what he thought he saw when he passed me on the road. He then asked me if I had been wearing my seatbelt, and I told him "no."

If this were to happen again, I would simply refuse to get back into my truck and continue towards the bar. "Write me a ticket if you think you must, or shoot me in the back, but I'm here to eat lunch," would be my reply.

So I waited in my truck, fuming, while (I'm sure) he ran all kinds of checks on me and wrote the ticket. Friends and acquaintances came and went, staring and grinning, making me feel like a damned criminal. I felt like telling the cop: "Is this all you have to do? Aren't there any murderers or rapists out there you should be apprehending? If not, then there are too many cops and your job should be eliminated." But, unfortunately, as we all know, government jobs are rarely eliminated.

He finally came back, gave me the ticket and instructions on how to handle it. I snatched it from his hand and went inside.

I was as mad and upset as I've been in a long time, and I stayed that way for over a week. Friends told me to expect a $100 fine. Fifty bucks for the actual "crime," and a $50 "surcharge." (Don't you love that? Are we supposed to feel better because the fine was only $50, and an "innocent" surcharge relieves us of another fifty bucks? Doesn’t that make the fine come to a total $100? Only the government can get away with that kind of sleight-of-hand.)

Initially, I thought I would go to court and plead guilty (which I was) with an explanation. I was going to say:

"I've ridden motorcycles for over thirty years. They are statistically more dangerous than a car, yet the seatbelt law does not apply to them. I am MUCH safer in my truck WITHOUT my seatbelt fastened than I am on my bike. If this is all about 'safety,' shouldn't motorcycles be illegal?"

The judge would sputter and spew out a bunch of psyco-babble, to which I would reply:

"The seatbelt law isn't about safety. If it was, the legislators would ban motorcycles. This law is about the DAMNED GOVERNMENT EXTRACTING MONEY from innocent, peaceful citizens. I'm paying YOUR wage, the COP'S wage, everyone that works here, and I'm even paying for this damned building. But that's not enough for you bottom-feeding thugs! Now I gotta pay a stupid fine over a bunch of BS? Why don't you get a REAL job in the private sector, providing goods and services that people WANT and are WILLING to pay for??"

At that point I would probably explode and have to be subdued.

So I decided against this tactic and mailed the ticket in. I lucked out as the surcharge was only ten bucks, making the total bill "only" sixty dollars. I guess the surcharge is whatever the judge decides it should be.

The seatbelt thing is petty, to say the least. After it was over, I had to decide which would be better: feeling good by defying the tyrants but paying more fines, or buckle up and just get more angry over the loss of freedom. I decided the latter, because that way the state will not get ONE more dime from me over this. As irritating as it is, I buckle up all the time now -- except after dark. For the minor inconvenience, I win because I keep my money. But when it gets to something more serious -- like confiscating firearms -- I will not be so compliant.

I used to be a big pro-cop, law-and-order kind of guy. In recent years that has gradually changed. As a gun-nut watching my RKBA disintegrate, along with 4th Amendment rights, I've turned against the drug "war." Now I'm starting to despise ALL cops, whether they deserve it or not. I'm sure there's a few good ones, but I'm lumpin' them all together.

Rush Limbaugh was recently ranting -- rightfully so -- over the banning of cell phone use in vehicles here in NYS. He said something like: "Once you let [government] into your vehicles, there will be no end to what they will want to do!!"

Umm, Rush, I don't know where you've been, but regarding the seatbelt law, they've been telling us what to do in our vehicles in NYS for fifteen years.