> In a perfect world, a midnight walk would be harmless. But alas, this is > NOT a perfect world. And the problems lie not with the by-laws, but with > deviants in the world who have forced us to create such by-laws. In the > eyes of a peace officer, ANY person out walking the neighborhood at midnight > is cause for suspicion, regardless of gender or age. Had it been a 40 y/o > woman, I'm sure the officer would have stopped her and thoroughly questioned > her. Too bad we all don't have neighborhoods that are being protected by > such concerned public servants.
*** T: I hear you, but I still have a problem with a stroll being a crime, regardless of when it takes place. Why can't a kid take a stroll to see a friend, for example, and then take a walk back home afterwards? I remember having lengthy philosophical discussions with my best friend that would go way beyond midnight. He had a car, which he'd invaribaly park outside my parents' home while we talked through the night. We'd often have policemen stop by (to check if we were smoking weed - which we weren't). I'd far rather that policemen checked for suspicious folks trying to break into homes, rather than youths chatting innocuously in cars. Why were we in the car, you may ask? Why didn't we talk in the house? A couple of reasons: My mother would always be up late, and when teenagers talk, they often don't want adults (even gentle and understanding ones such as my mom) to overhear them. Another resaon was that the chats were never intended to be epic in nature. My friend would pull over for me to get out the car, and we'd get talking about the party we were at, and one topic would lead to another. >>> I'm thankful he made it safely home, and that he was approached only by an officer, and not some maniac. IMO there is no such thing as showing healthy "disrespect"...toward anyone or anything...that's why the world is in the shapes it's in! If we don't like a particular law or ordinance, then we must convey our reasons as to why/when/how it should be changed with those whom we've hired or voted in to make those laws. T***: Laws are interfering increasingly with our right to chose. If I decide to take a midnight walk, I should be able to do so. With each decision we make, there are always accompanying risks. Yes, there is a chance that there may be some "maniac" out there, but I want to be in the position to make that judgement call myself. T***: Whereas facism has been called "the tyranny of the minority", democracy could well be labelled as "the tyranny of the majority". Just because the majority of people have voted in a daft law, doesn't mean that it is worthy of my respect. Hence the "healthy disrespect". By taking a midnight stroll, I haven't endangered the life of anyone in the neighbourhood, except, perhaps, my own. Why should others, then, be in the position to restrict my movements? T***: You may say: "What if the person taking the midnight stroll is a criminal?" Well, this is when the local patrolman comes into the picture. Remember all that tax you've been paying? Part of that is supposed to go towards protecting you - so that you can a take that midnight stroll if you so choose. T***: As it stands now, you're paying the local cop so that he can arrest your son - and while he's busy wasting your time and your son's, Fingers McGee is slipping into the Wilson's house, a block away... Just a thought, Shona ;-) *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Journey from clutter List Website http://journeyfromclutter.com Members Only Page http://journeyfromclutter.com/MembersOnly/MembersArea.htm Unsubscribe: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word 'unsubscribe' in the 'Subject:' field to be removed from the main list. To Unsubscribe from the Digest version of the list send the unsubscribe message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
