4 ms·

"A Christmas gift of institutionalized corruption." Perfectly stated. That's precisely what these cards are - a physical token of nepotism and what I refer to

"A Christmas gift of institutionalized corruption." Perfectly stated. That's precisely what these cards are - a physical token of nepotism and what I refer to as the "blue wall of bullshit". I had a very close friend offer me one of those Gold cards for family members once (his Uncle gave him one and his family is small and thus had extras). I told him to keep it because even if I could use it to get out of a ticket, I'd rather take the fine and keep my morality in tact. Plus, given my belief on these cards, I doubt I could even muster the gall to present one. I mean, honestly, how arrogant does a human being have to be to present that card when stopped by an officer, expecting that the officer is going to basically be like "Aw shucks, guess my hands are tied. Please try not to do that again."

neveroffensive 9y ago
> expecting that the officer is going to basically be like "Aw shucks, guess my hands are tied. This happens more often than not depending on the nature of the relationship/ticket. Source, my Grandpa was State Patrol, and my Dad carried his business card (I don't think they had official cards back then). I saw him use it twice, and both times it work. However, he has gotten tickets out of state, so it depends on the circumstances. In the past it was just considered professional courtesy, and only applied to very close family members (wife/son). It wasn't an official thing. You would never have "gifted" it for Christmas to anyone, and sure as hell not to a politician/someone who wasn't family.
Cyberdog 9y ago
Cops are inherently immoral beings, so why do you feel to keep your morality intact when dealing with them? I would have gladly taken the card and used it at every opportunity. Trying to play honorable with cops will get you in jail. They do not recognize the concept.
- colanderman 9y ago
  Laws (unjust ones aside) are made by representatives of the populace; flouting them is therefore a moral infraction against your fellow citizens, not against police officers. (That said, many laws are unjustly/unevenly enforced. If I was pulled over for what I knew to be a legitimately BS reason, I'd have no qualms flashing one of these.)
  - Cyberdog 9y ago
    Kidnapping someone and locking them in a concrete box is a far greater moral infraction than almost all of the "reasons" that law enforcement does that to people. You deserve every opportunity to stop that from happening to you.
    - colanderman 9y ago
      What disingenuous hyperbole. The infractions for which you can use these cards result in fines, not jail time; failure to pay these fines typically results in wage garnishment, not jail time: http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1272338&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1272338&_da... (Jailing people for inability to pay fines/be garnished is a moral issue, about which there's been lots of rumbling lately: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjpmT5noto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjpmT5noto)
- lr4444lr 9y ago
  So what's your better alternative to police that no criminal justice system of any major civilization today has been sophisticated enough to figure out?
  - Cyberdog 9y ago
    The non-aggression principle. The only time violence or the threat thereof is acceptable is in response to unprovoked violence or threats against you and yours.
    - lr4444lr 9y ago
      And whom do the elderly, physically weak women, and children call when faced with this threat? Who responds to hold-ups, hostages, organized racketeering, riots, and theft after the fact? The real world is a little more complicated than the "Don't be a d*ck" principle. Who even determines whether thr level threat rose to violence or who instigated?
      - CamTin 9y ago
        > Who even determines whether thr level threat rose to violence or who instigated? Certainly not police departments or unions. They shoot first, never ask questions, and cover up for officers regardless of the circumstances of a shooting. The answer to "Was the officer justified in shooting this civilian?" is always, according to cops themselves, yes, irrespective of circumstances.
        lr4444lr 9y ago
        So then who?
        CamTin 9y ago
        In a libertarian fantasyland? I guess nobody, or their family, or a private security force that they hire. In a functioning democracy? A police force that is held accountable by elected officials.
cjalmeida 9y ago
Cops have a lot of discretionary power and, unfortunately, operates with very little information at hand. If you're for any reason in a "bad" neighborhood, specially if you're non-white having one of those may be the difference between a stop and go, or spending a few hours in a precinct.

neveroffensive 9y ago

> expecting that the officer is going to basically be like "Aw shucks, guess my hands are tied. This happens more often than not depending on the nature of the relationship/ticket. Source, my Grandpa was State Patrol, and my Dad carried his business card (I don't think they had official cards back then). I saw him use it twice, and both times it work. However, he has gotten tickets out of state, so it depends on the circumstances. In the past it was just considered professional courtesy, and only applied to very close family members (wife/son). It wasn't an official thing. You would never have "gifted" it for Christmas to anyone, and sure as hell not to a politician/someone who wasn't family.

Cyberdog 9y ago

Cops are inherently immoral beings, so why do you feel to keep your morality intact when dealing with them? I would have gladly taken the card and used it at every opportunity. Trying to play honorable with cops will get you in jail. They do not recognize the concept.

colanderman 9y ago
Laws (unjust ones aside) are made by representatives of the populace; flouting them is therefore a moral infraction against your fellow citizens, not against police officers. (That said, many laws are unjustly/unevenly enforced. If I was pulled over for what I knew to be a legitimately BS reason, I'd have no qualms flashing one of these.)
- Cyberdog 9y ago
  Kidnapping someone and locking them in a concrete box is a far greater moral infraction than almost all of the "reasons" that law enforcement does that to people. You deserve every opportunity to stop that from happening to you.
  - colanderman 9y ago
    What disingenuous hyperbole. The infractions for which you can use these cards result in fines, not jail time; failure to pay these fines typically results in wage garnishment, not jail time: http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1272338&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1272338&_da... (Jailing people for inability to pay fines/be garnished is a moral issue, about which there's been lots of rumbling lately: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjpmT5noto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjpmT5noto)
lr4444lr 9y ago
So what's your better alternative to police that no criminal justice system of any major civilization today has been sophisticated enough to figure out?
- Cyberdog 9y ago
  The non-aggression principle. The only time violence or the threat thereof is acceptable is in response to unprovoked violence or threats against you and yours.
  - lr4444lr 9y ago
    And whom do the elderly, physically weak women, and children call when faced with this threat? Who responds to hold-ups, hostages, organized racketeering, riots, and theft after the fact? The real world is a little more complicated than the "Don't be a d*ck" principle. Who even determines whether thr level threat rose to violence or who instigated?
    - CamTin 9y ago
      > Who even determines whether thr level threat rose to violence or who instigated? Certainly not police departments or unions. They shoot first, never ask questions, and cover up for officers regardless of the circumstances of a shooting. The answer to "Was the officer justified in shooting this civilian?" is always, according to cops themselves, yes, irrespective of circumstances.
      - lr4444lr 9y ago
        So then who?
        CamTin 9y ago
        In a libertarian fantasyland? I guess nobody, or their family, or a private security force that they hire. In a functioning democracy? A police force that is held accountable by elected officials.

cjalmeida 9y ago

Cops have a lot of discretionary power and, unfortunately, operates with very little information at hand. If you're for any reason in a "bad" neighborhood, specially if you're non-white having one of those may be the difference between a stop and go, or spending a few hours in a precinct.