Comments on: I swear, I really don’t want to hate cops.

By: RachelPhilPa

RachelPhilPa — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:25:02 +0000

There are good cops and bad cops and I think too often the actions of a few (like in this case or cases of police brutality) too often get projected on the whole.

I’ve yet to meet a good cop. Every single one is in it to dominate and control other people. They are a primary tool of oppression of less-privileged groups, and they know it and relish in it.

I live in Center City Philadelphia. Here, in the 6th district, every single white male officer (who still are the vast majority of Phila police officers in a city where probably only 20% of the population is white and male) has it in for trans women of color. They take every opportunity they can to harass, arrest under false pretense, beat, and likely rape these women. I witnessed a cop verbally harassing a trans woman b/c she dared to stand on the street to wait for a bus. She had her work ID around her neck, but to him, she’s a “prostitute”.

And for me, a (white) trans woman, the police are a huge reason I don’t travel any more. Some random person may insult me in the bathroom (“man in the women’s bathroom” crap), but should that person complain to police (especially state police in the highway rest stops), I face a very high likelyhood of arrest, beatings and rape.

So, I don’t buy the “few bad apples” hypothesis. I’m still looking for a few “good apple” police officers. So, yeah, I have absolutely no trust of or faith in any police officer, especially white males.

By: kissmypineapple

kissmypineapple — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:15:03 +0000

I have never ever ever trusted cops. Not ever. I don’t know where that comes from originally, but every damn day, it’s becomes more and more ingrained in me, b/c of things like this.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:53:29 +0000

Holy motherfucking Christ. I have not felt so ill, so ready to vomit, since I was pregnant and had morning sickness.

My father, as I indicated in a previous comment, was a state trooper for 25 years. A New Jersey State Trooper. I grew up around his friends, thinking these guys were, generally speaking, “good” guys. Despite what I learned about him after he retired, I still held the belief that police officers, generally speaking, are ok.

My girlfriend, on the other hand, grew up knowing her gay history better than any other young lesbian I have ever met. She has had an inherent distrust of police officers since she was very young, because of what she learned about what they used to do to the butch women they arrested.

This morning, after reading this, I called her and read her the first paragraph of your posting. She said, “Well, thank you NJ State Police for validating my distrust based on what you’ve done to my people. Bastards.”

I’ve finally come around to her way of thinking.

I’m sitting, by the way, about 10 minutes away from Rider University and Ewing Township right now.

By: BettyBoondoggle

BettyBoondoggle — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:46:21 +0000

In case your rage isn't overloading today, read the update on the story of the Brazilian girl put in jail with 34 men.

By: Michelle R.

Michelle R. — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:53:02 +0000

Growing up my family indoctrinated me to trust the police – even with what i know now it’s hard to shake that off.

By: Michelle F

Michelle F — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:36:32 +0000

I think it is horrible of course what happened to this girl, and that it is horrible that in our society women can’t often trust to be alone with strange men. It sucks even more that people like police officers, who are supposed to protect us from stuff like this, can do stuff like this. But given how many cases of rape there are out there, you could probably find one covering every profession (i.e. doctors who commit rape, teachers, family members, camp counselors) I mention those professions because they are also supposed to be trusted males, but that unfortunately isn’t always the case. There are good cops and bad cops and I think too often the actions of a few (like in this case or cases of police brutality) too often get projected on the whole.