Some folks can?t obey the law
I recently had an experience I haven?t spent my life anticipating. I got to ride with a police officer, but thank goodness it wasn?t in the back. Thanks to the Citizens Police Academy I got to participate in a ride-along with an officer during his usual route.
Ptl. Rodney Whiles showed me how all the devices worked in the patrol car. Then he told me a little bit about procedure when it comes to reporting everything that takes place while he is out on patrol and logging any incidents. I didn?t know the job came with so much paperwork.
That?s when we received a call about a motion sensor going off at a local bank. Although it sounded interesting to me, Whiles explained it was probably an employee who forgot the code. Just in case, he parked a little bit back from the entrance so I wouldn?t get caught in the line of fire if a burglar did come running out.
After that call turned out to be a false alarm, we staked out beside the road and waited for speeders. That was fun ? ZOOM went the offender and ZOOM we went. We did catch up to the speeder and that was fun as well.
During my ride-along adventure, I explained to Whiles that I think there are three types of people when it comes to the legal world. Imagine the legal boundaries of the law as being like a box. I know if you are claustrophobic I just lost you there, but try and hang with me. When it comes to those boundaries, there are three types of people:
? People who live within the boundaries of the law. These people have figured out how to live within the law and are perfectly content to remain this way.
? People who live along the lines of the law. Because they live along the lines, they sometimes weave in and out of the legal boundaries. These people ?seem? to function within the law to their friends and neighbors but they do have the once-too-often brush with the law.
? People who live along the outside of the law. For some reason, these people cannot live within the boundaries of the law. To them it is impossible to survive in there. These people have had so many run-ins with the law, an officer can usually call them by name when they walk by.
In my opinion, it all comes down to personal responsibility. When it comes to personal responsibility some people have been blessed with an over-abundance, some have a little, and some have none at all.
The first group of people take total responsibility for everything they do. If they get pulled over for speeding, they will be the ones that don?t argue because they know what they were doing was wrong. They may not be happy about the ticket but the shoulder the blame for what happened. That doesn?t mean group one won?t give excuses. Because we are all human, everyone does it.
If someone in the second group gets pulled over, that?s when some of the arguing comes in. These people will put up a little fuss for some reason. This group blames themselves somewhat but they will also blame someone else. For instance, they will blame the police officer, other motorists, family members or friends just to name a few.
This group lacks just enough personal responsibility to fully accept that their actions led to what happened. Even though they were driving and were in full control of the vehicle, someone else has to accept some of the blame.
If someone in the third group gets pulled over, watch out. These people have no personal responsibility. This group will blame others every time. These are the ones that will put up a fight instead of an argument.
Of course, this opinion excludes people who are on drugs or alcohol. Those people are in a world, not to mention a mind frame, of their own.
Lisa Hobbs is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191.