Confirmation of a Police State?

I’ve been bitching to my buddy Micah (Like, actually whining, I don’t know why he puts up with me sometimes) for the past few months about the abuse of the Middletown Police Department and the local government. I’ve avoided local politics, and for the most part, been keeping my nose clean with any local activism. I’m accustomed to being pulled over for one thing or another, in my mind usually for my “controversial” car decals (Two Darwin Fish…). Here, I’ve been pulled over twice for a “random” check. I’ve been asked in malls to remove my hands from my sweater, and I’ve had my keys confiscated by a police officer for not having my Environmental decal displayed, who then proceeded to lie to me about the suspension of my registration. I had to attend a Tribunal to argue in front of the judge that the suspension of my registration was against the law, seeing as I didn’t break a law. I wrote a lengthy and well written complaint to internal affairs about the whole ordeal, to which the local Middletown Police refused to acknowledge. I brought the issue with the local government, with no proper confirmation or acknowledgment that my complaints reached the right sources. Meantime, the cops are all driving brand new Dodge Chargers.

From Micah:

“Providence AP. Middletown School District. Wow. We are famous as privacy abusers. You are right Dane (Savor that, by the way), Middletown is fast becoming a police state.”

Scrolling across Faux News the last few nights has been the headline that here in Middletown, RI, our lovely local government and school board will place electronic tracking devices in Elementary School Students to test better communications between teachers and parents with students.

Ironic. I happen to be in the right place at the right time. This was actually my elementary school in the short time I lived here, almost 20 years ago. There is still a time capsule in the playground from my Kindergarten class, I’m sure, long forgotten.

No, it’s really not funny. The big guns (ACLU) are coming in for this one, and coupled with national attention, it won’t be an issue for too long. This has been Micah’s home for a lot longer than mine. We both have come to a fairly solid middle-ground, myself leaving behind the fetters of a Big Government economy, and Micah leaving behind the detritus of Big Government social values. Perhaps we should consider running for local government, if anything, to protect our neighbors and friends from abuse of the system, something that is clearly necessary.