No public healthcare option for you, America. At least, not if the Senate Finance Committee, led by the intrepid insurance industry lackey US Senator from Montana, Max Baucus, and his gang of six “bipartisan” (note, bipartisan in this case means “in the pocket of the medical/insurance/pharmaceutical industrial complex”) Senators have their way. And I bet they will. It’s now all about passing “something” and declaring victory (except for Republicans, of course, who get to fuck it all up, and then bitch how bad a job the Democrats did when “the public” gets screwed over yet again). Time to buy some shares of Schering-Plough, AIG, Aetna, Amgen, Blue Cross….well, you get the idea.

On the bright side, Sgt James Crowley, Professor Gates, and President Obama are gonna sit down and have that beer this week. Who’da thunk it, two black guys and a white guy have a meeting in the White House, and the white guy isn’t the one who’s president. I certainly hope everybody plays nice.

Personally, had the cops showed up at my house under the same circumstances, I’d have been nice and polite, said “sir” a lot, and thanked them for their time. At least, to their face. I may not be a black guy, but I’ve been a guy with a beard and long hair on many occasions, and have been hassled for crimes like going to my car after work, driving with NY license plates in Toronto (got “pulled over” by two cops on foot – how embarassing – and had my car – and person – thoroughly searched – i.e., groped; they told me to “try Florida next time”), and carrying a cooler across the street in Georgia (from the store to where the car was parked). I always get my bags searched by security and customs, and I’ve been followed around stores for looking (I guess) like a shoplifter (not so much now that I’m old though).

So, yeah, not sayin’ it’s the same as (or even close to) growing up as a black man in America, but I’ve been hassled by the man, man.

In none of these instances did I start hollering at the cops. This is mainly because I didn’t want to go to jail or get shot (plus, on the odd chance that somebody did force their way into my house and is now in there with a gun, I’d kinda like the cop to make sure I was OK before he left).

Now, do I have the right to holler at the cops in a non-threatening manner while standing on my own goddamn front porch without getting arrested? I certainly do. Or should, at least. And are the cops obligated to respond in a timely manner next time, when they get a call that somebody really is breaking into my house? Yes, theoretically (it’s kinda like yelling at the waitress about your food; I don’t recommend it, unless you like the taste of spit).

For better or worse (and the cops do come in pretty darn handy when you need ’em), cops have guns and the legal authority to arrest and/or shoot you (which is a good thing, if you’re a criminal, but a not so good thing if you’re just a regular person having a bad day ‘cuz you’re tired after coming home from a long trip and all you want to do is take a nap, and the goddamn door won’t frickin’ open and after you finally get inside somebody comes bangin’ on your door telling you you gotta prove who you are and get outta the goddamn house NOW!).

So, they win (doesn’t much matter to me whether they get suspended – if that – after they pump me full of lead, or after I spend a night in the slammer the charges get dropped). No matter how shitty my day’s going, they have the ability to make it a whole lot shittier. Cops are cops, and they demand a certain amount of respect, whether they’re legally entitled to it or not. It might suck (especially if they’re snotty about it), but life sucks and then you die (an event I prefer to put off for as long as possible).

Besides, I don’t really like getting hollered at, and figure the cops don’t much like it either. Plus, did I mention they have guns?

But, I’m not a Very Important Person. VIPs also demand a certain amount of respect (entitled or not). I’ve had plenty of them go into great detail – often screaming – telling me how important they are when I’m unable to, for example, pull a new A/C compressor out of my ass. I must admit, the thought of smacking them over the head with a pipe wrench did cross my mind. But, I’m not a cop and don’t have the legal authority to shoot and/or arrest them (which is probably a good thing, or I’d have left a long, bloody trail of self-important pricks in my wake), and yelling back really isn’t an option when you’re just a peon.

Though you can leave a dead pigeon to rot in their duct work. 😉