On a more practical level, I'd have just given you a ticket... -- Adilbrand Noblesword's Hall of Warriors

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Date Posted: 13:59:09 05/27/04 Thu
Author: mt. healthy mountaineer
Subject: On a more practical level, I'd have just given you a ticket...
In reply to: Adilbrand 's message, "I think there is more to it than that" on 13:10:29 05/27/04 Thu

On a more practical level, I'd have just given you a ticket because I am so sick of the handicapped spots, fire lanes and the like being used as loading zones and "I'll just be a minute" areas. My grandparents (the ones Adilbrand and I share) are two people who would be sorely pressed to actually walk across a 20 acre Wal-Mart parking lot just because someone decided that their needs were the most pressing.

Everyone would get a ticket...except, of course, for the handicapped.

Drifting off into excessive-generality-land and speaking of uniforms describing what you are lacking - what do you think of people who have long hair? What does that uniform say?

BTW - I agree with you, Adilbrand, on your assessment of typical cop behavior as described in your first paragraph. In the case in question, the goal was to get the car out of the spot and to make sure that it was understood that it was never to happen again.

In my own experiences dealing with the general public as an authority figure (public school teacher - 14 years - semper fi, ooh-rah, yadda yadda) I can tell you that diplomacy only works well with those that you already have a relationship with. I can get a student that I have in class to calm down from a fight situation or to stop goofing off during a convocation with just a few gentle words or a simple look that says, "Yes, I know you are funny but you've got to stop."

But...students that I do not know often mistake a few gentle words as weakness on my part and continue to do the misbehavior until they detect a real sense of resolve in my demeanor. I have learned to just be an a-hole with the students that I don't know who need to be straightened out - it resolves the immediate issue and sets the tone for the next issue. It is not my real personality - more of a persona that I jokingly named "Mr. Asshole" about 8 years ago.

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Replies:

That is an excellent example of what I was talking about (NT) -- Adilbrand, 15:35:02 05/27/04 Thu
And you would have been deficient -- mvd, 20:20:50 05/27/04 Thu
- We all live different lives... -- mt. healthy mountaineer, 23:54:58 05/27/04 Thu
  - Re: We all live different lives... -- mvd, 07:32:33 05/28/04 Fri
    - Re: We all live different lives... -- mt. healthy mountaineer, 08:38:24 05/28/04 Fri
      - Of course -- mvd, 12:08:41 05/28/04 Fri