We are at the Threshold of a Police State

Randleman, North Carolina is a little Podunk Hollow located along US Hwy 220 Business between Asheboro and Level Cross. A couple of weeks ago, I had the misfortune of having a flat tire there and I fell under the scrutiny of one of their “finest”, a mean spirited young fellow of a rude and cowardly disposition who was not one to offer any assistance. Rather, he lurked and ran my tag as I slowly limped to a nearby service station and like a fat kid just appointed to the elementary school safety patrol, he swept upon me as I made arrangements to purchase a tire and officiously informed me of my infractions (a fictitious tag and a suspended operator’s license which resulted from previous tickets for an expired tag and inspection which I could not afford to pay). He gleefully seized my tag and my license while a fellow officer and a sergeant circled about as if John Dillinger had just been apprehended and then proceeded to delay me as long as possible to ensure that I posed no further threat to the public.

During my ordeal with this bastion of public safety, the staff at Randleman Service Station were truly first rate. They provided me with a used a tire at an exceptional price, mounted and balanced it right away, and then moved my van to a secure parking place, which prevented further, overzealous scrutiny. Appearing sympathetic to my plight, they even allowed me to keep it parked on their premises without charge for a couple of days until I could move it. While I was there, I also noticed that these fine people still keep an ashtray in there waiting area for customers who smoke. As a smoker, I laud any business that remains tobacco friendly in the oppressive times in which we live and I highly recommend the good service offered by Randleman Service Station to anyone who suffers car problems while passing through Randleman on US Hwy 220 Business.

As I awaited my ride, I reflected upon my situation. Of course I was at fault for breaking the law and I brought this situation upon myself. However, being an educated person, I am also aware of officer discretion. A police officer is not mandated to write every infraction and misdemeanor that he discovers but this one in particular seemed to be the type to delight in exercising his authority and kicking people who are down. This same personality type was exhibited by police officers in New Orleans who, at the behest of Mayor Nagin, went house to house seizing the guns of law abiding citizens in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Such personalities are not friends of the public because they act solely upon edict and decree without compassion for their fellow man and with no consideration of either the spirit or the righteousness of the law that they enforce. Much like guards at concentration camps, such personalities innocently state that they are “just doing their jobs” when in reality, they relish the abuse that they can deliver upon others from their sanctuaries of authority.

Tag and inspection laws facilitate abuse to those with limited means or those who have had disruptions in income and, in the worst economy since the Great Depression, there are many. Most would gladly drive new vehicles that would readily pass inspection if they could afford them. Likewise, many North Carolinians would gladly renew their tags in a timely fashion if they were not prevented from doing so because their cars will not pass the emissions inspection. But, those who cannot comply will continue to chance expired (or fictitious) tags and expired inspections in order to get to and from thankless jobs providing meager incomes until they encounter a bastion of public safety like the would be NAZI in Randleman who believes that citizens' money is better suited to fund the state rather than to provide crumbs of bread for their families. We are at the threshold of a bullying police state that, if unchecked, will soon lay claim, via policy, law, and regulation, to every cent that we are able to produce.