Not All Are Equal In The Eyes of The Law

I hated Palm Springs. I walked into a little bar on Palm Canyon Drive and ordered a pitcher of beer.

“We don’t have Pitchers” the bartender said.

“No pitchers!?” I wailed. “Why the hell don’t you have pitchers?”

“Nobody out here has pitchers, we don’t like the kind of people it brings in.”

“I am the kind of person it brings in!” I wailed and headed off for the liquor store. I was going to be drunk dammit, and most likely start a fight. I did that a good deal. It’s a wonder I don’t have a record. Oh wait, no, it’s not a wonder that’s how it works. You get your paycheck from dirty old Uncle Sam and you don’t have to follow the rules.  When violent incidents occurred at bars we never had trouble justifying my actions to the local police.  We were Marines and they took my side.  The fact that we would go into a bar looking to pick a fight was never their concern, only putting the citizen in check.  There was a bias by law enforcement that was most often in the Marines favor.  It was the good ol’ boy’s club.

I served five years in the Marine Corps. During this time I realized that if you are with the state the ‘law’ is not as rigid. When I would venture to cities away from military bases I would receive a new special treatment. People would practically bow to you. You were royalty. Often I would not have to pay for what others would have to pay, but most disturbing was that I was not subject to the same laws that others were subject to. Countless times I would be pulled over drunk by state police without a license and when I would present my Military I.D. I was simply told to sleep it off.  No DUI, no hassle, just a “get off the road soon.”

My ex-wife wanted to become a cop badly and had made many friends and connections with the local police station. Her mother was a retired Marine Corps Gunny who worked at the local police department. They were the little authoritarian tyrant family. She had the ability to get tickets and violations that would disappear. There were incidents where she would get a ticket, call her mother or the right person and the violations disappeared.  There was even one incident when I was pulled over by a new cop who did not understand how things worked.  Three cop cars came to our rescue to make sure we were not hassled anymore with an apology.

Is there a double standard? Oh hell yes, and unless you are in bed with the tyrants it’s most likely not in your favor.