The Right to Remain Silent
I've recently been down a YouTube rabbit hole about Police who abuse their position. If you were stopped by an officer, would you exercise your right to remain silent?
Ok, so I'm browsing YouTube, as one often does, and I end up down this rabbit hole of videos about "corrupt cops" and how they basically bully people into either a) giving them their ID etc. or b) being arrested for nothing.
Ironically, a few days later I saw this post from "Leftist Lawyer" on Mastodon giving some advice for people who find themselves in this position:
This kind of Police officer boils my blood, as they're just bullies who interpret (or ignore) the law to fit their rhetoric, for seemingly nothing more than a power trip.
I know there are plenty of good cops out there, please don't email me saying this - I know. I'm just focussing on the bullies here.
Despite the boiled blood, every time I watch one of these videos I can't help but think it would be so much easier for the individual if they just cooperated. Is what these cops are doing against the law? I dunno, maybe? Is your day going to get worse if you don't cooperate? Absofuckinglutely.
If I were to get stopped, I think I'd just cooperate and give them my ID. They can then have their little power trip, prove I'm doing nothing wrong, and we can go our separate ways while I shake my head and wonder what that particular cop was compensating for.
Being argumentative just doesn't seem worth it to me. I get it. It's your right to stay silent. And it's your right to representation. And it's your right not give over your ID and walk away if you're not being detained. But sometimes it's just easier to cooperate and get on with your day.
I'm probably wrong, but I think the majority of those videos I've watched would have been a couple of minutes of cordial interactions if the person on the receiving end would have just given their name/ID.
Let the bullies have their power trip and just move on. That's what I say. What do you think? You can tell me by using the button below.
Want more?
So you've read this post and you're still not satisfied? Ok then, here's some other stuff for you to do: