They have the badge, they have the gun, and they have a whole lot of collecting to do. And I’m not talking about legit collecting (such as following proper protocol, issuing tickets, etc.); this is straight up bribery right here. With all that, it would seem as though they have their daily coffee and merienda at some ritzy place; exclusive only to people who own horses and shares in Microsoft, or something like that. "Powerful" men such as them need to have coffee in places where they can spend all the day’s "earnings" so that they can collect more the following day.
I have no concrete proof of such cops having coffee and muffins at such places, but one has to wonder about all that kotong and why it never seems to stop. Ridiculously expensive coffee and low fat sunflower seed cupcakes allow for one hypothesis. Addiction to the power game and all its so-called benefits make for another one. Let’s face it. The "I’m stealing a loaf of bread to feed my starving family because my salary just isn’t enough" excuse is too overplayed. Maybe it’s because there’s too many mouths to feed? No birth control, you know? I don’t know. I’ll save that one for another article. In the meantime, that excuse no longer means anything.
I am motivated to write about this because of an e-mail that my friend Chase sent out to all of us. It was about such cops and how they continue to tarnish the name of the law-abiding police force. We all understand that in this game, there is no such thing as a totally clean cop. Struggles of power and interest compromise the decision-making skills of these guys, therefore some cops are forced into corrupt situations they don’t necessarily want to be in.
There are others, however, who have something in mind already before entering the force. These are the guys who want to run the show like businessmen, where in the end, they get the loot, sacrifice the name of the police and increase negative associations with the force.
It’s actually sad because instead of having a completely transparent police force, many cops become extremely good at hiding things from the public (you know, to avoid that other hungry machine, the media?). This continuous corruption, dishonesty, and dubious secrecy really only make the hole deeper for the local police force.
Like with any other story, however, there’s always the flipside. Enough about cops, let’s talk about civilians who take the law into their own hands.
These people are the ones who never follow stoplights or road signs, and somehow make it a point to piss you off so much that you scream profanities at them from inside your own car. They’re also the ones who create bigger problems for cops, and in many cases, it’s these civilians who create the bad name for cops. And from general observation, these are the guys, on an average, who rudely cut you off and jostle for position on the road. In short, these guys shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
Take for example one incident I recently witnessed while driving home from work. There is one intersection on Meralco Avenue that when open, allows for a left turn towards the White Plains area. This intersection was closed at the time and motorists were forced to take a U-turn somewhere down the road. I saw three cars pull over to the closed intersection and physically move the barriers out of the way so that their cars could pass through. I took the u-turn down the road and it only took me an extra five minutes.
I then started thinking that if there is potential for cops to go bad and start acting the way they do, then there is equal potential for the public to be bad civilians who think that they are above the law. I am not saying this to defend cops because I have encountered some really nasty ones that I would not mind meeting again; this time with a bat or my front bumper or something. I’m saying this because there are cops that are trying to change things around. It is about time the cops were respected, and an additional step towards that would be the realization from the public that not all cops are bad, and that not all civilians are victims to the power of corrupt cops.
From this one event that I saw, I started thinking of how it would be if there were alert cops nearby, ready to arrest these people. Definitely these lawbreakers would be caught and they would be in some trouble. But they have the one thing that can get them out of any jam: money. Being wrong, they would take the initiative and definitely bribe the cops instead of having their licenses confiscated. This is probably the dilemma of every cop, whether it’s some guy working the streets or one of the bigwig generals. Should I take the money and let this guy go, or should I do the right thing?
I know, I know, right and wrong are such abstract terms. It all depends on the situation, right? But this incident got me thinking in more black and white conditions. These guys were wrong. The intersection was closed my friends, what right did you have to get down from your cars, create a traffic jam right there, and pull the barriers out of the way? Is it because time is money, you can’t get caught in traffic like everyone else because it wastes gas, which wastes money, which eats into the fund you put aside to pay for your twin daughters’ beriberi treatment? That’s a whole load of bull, son. You can give any excuse, but you’re still wrong.
The lines between the good/bad cop and the good/bad civilian are very thin. So lets make it easier. Get rid of the bad cops. How? By being good civilians. Follow the rules, don’t bribe the cops if you do anything wrong, and just don’t do anything stupid, like those guys who removed the barriers from the intersection on Meralco.
You follow the rules and the cops follow in suit, it’s that simple.
So let’s help each other out. Peace!