1957 hunting vs 2017 hunting
Men returned from WW2 with skills only acquired during wartime. The outlet for some of those in my childhood was hunting, both lawfully and illegally, along with other forms of skirting the law. Running liquor across the Canadian border to avoid taxes and exercise the most powerful motors of the time was another. These type of men came back from war changed and this is what I saw from the back seat. I didn't know them before but as a youngster I could see their collective distain for the police. The words they spoke about the law were in direct conflict with their underlying contempt for police, nothing personal. Something I later attributed to their military service in that war.
     A short example:
As youngsters of the fifties, 7 or 8 of us roamed the small Washington town on our oversized bicycles. While cruising main, on a Saturday afternoon, one of our number became interested in a deer tied to the front fender of a car. We all gathered around as he brushed the hair on the deers head to reveal that the antlers had been wired on. With a shout men burst through the door of the barber shop where they had, presumably, been reliving their derring-do. We of the one-speed bicycle club had stopped and pointed our bikes like Lemans racers knowing that the first stroke of the pedal was the key to escape. The old men, those over thirty, always went for the collar and by doing so telegraphed their intent. All we had to do was get to that second stroke and avoid the big hands, so like boxer we bobbed and weaved using all the dexterity the old men had forgotten. Only the slowest among us would be receiving the horse laugh, along with the pursuers. This day there were no collars in hand. It only took 30 seconds of talk and planning for them to mount their car. As they came on, our plan was always to bluff. Fight or flight was no part of our game, so we swerved onto the sidewalk and came to a sliding stop between the town sheriffs paddywagon and his office. As we turned to look over our shoulders the deer appeared to almost be running as the car wheeled over to make the corner and disappear. We would never have said a word to the authorities for the stigma would endure past the woodshed.
     Fast forward to 2017, our military men and woman have been circulating through multiple war zones for 15 years. On their retirement from the military they are increasing sought out to fill police jobs. Are the American people looking at the longtime motto of " To Serve and Protect" and wondering if it is reserved for those on one side of "the thin blue line". It has always been understood that police run the risk of being targets of the unstable, but the increasing premise is that all people all unstable unless they are allied with those who invented the thin blue line. There is a club that has stacked the deck against common citizens to the advantage of themselves. To navigate our minor offenses in court is an exercise in "whatever load you can bear". Almost no word will be believed, over the word of an "officer", no matter the reputation and history of either.
    I have no idea how to improve this situation for all concerned but know it has to start with a judicial reckoning of the blue line. To Serve and Protect must be for all and not just something written on the Paddywagons.