Monday Ramble #48 “Arrested Development”

For those that may almost care about this little known fact: I have been either arrested, detained or stopped by authorities on four occasions on or surrounding the actual date of my birthday.

This of course leads me to believe that God has likely cursed the day I was born and wants me to know that any chance of celebrating the anniversary of being brought into the world will be thwarted if he has any sayso.

Ok maybe God didn’t do that, but it sure feels like it.

And don’t get me wrong, I know the deal, everything happens for a reason…what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger…Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and blah blah friggin blah.
I was in a cell for two days without food, a visible clock, a decent seat or real sleep so pardon me if I’m not choosing the spiritual path on this fine day to cope with my misfortune.
It could’ve been a lot worse for me so I’m not tripping.

And I learned a lot during my short stay with my fellow cell buddies.

I met a few rappers, I met a bunch of rappers, a young dancer that smacked up his girlfriend, a coke dealer whose girl wouldn’t take the rap for him, a man with kidney failure that had his dialysis treatment halted by jail, one guy that got locked for holding a train door open for a kid, another swiped his Metrocard for someone he didn’t know and got accused of selling swipes, and I even ran into a fan or two.

The system is the system, and once you’re arrested, they want you to go through it as an inconvenience that will hopefully deter you from coming close to doing any sort of crime again.

“To Protect and Serve” should not be the mantra of the police force. I don’t even have the extreme “eff the police” view that some folks have but I will say that they are more like a fraternity than a gang.

The force is made up of individuals who may not actually change because of the badge, but they use the power of the badge to be who they really are. They could have been corny in high school, in love with firearms, obsessed with power, all of these characteristics lead to folks that forget about helping a community and become concerned with numbers, provoking fear, and making sure they go home in one piece.

All that means they’ll do whatever to ensure their safety, including making you feel like the assailant and victim all at once.

I don’t know what it is about freedom that’s so precious. Until you lose it, then you know exactly what it is. Asking permission to use the bathroom, or to use the phone, not knowing what time it is, and not seeing daylight are the small things we take for granted and they can be snatched from us because another human being has the right to do so.

You are subject to restrictions because of the laws built in the space you reside in based on a certain time period, and these guys are the protectors of those laws…supposedly.
Smoking weed in one area of the world is illegal while somewhere else it isn’t. Killing in the hood is unlawful but murdering for your country is cool. And this is the justice system we humans made up. A jury of your peers will decide your fate if you ever do something that extreme. But what if you don’t do anything extreme but you still end up in a precinct?

For some of you this sounds foreign. Why would a police officer detain you or even harass you if you weren’t doing something wrong? It is because that is their job. It doesn’t mean firemen have to be arsonists or doctors should spread diseases but the best security guard in the world may get praised more for handling an incident over a low incident rate.
Was I supposed to feel cool that some people in Central Booking recognized me as an emcee? I didn’t. Was I supposed to have a lawyer on retainer for instances like this? Maybe definitely.

Should I feel like I never want to go through that process again so I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I don’t? That’s their plan. Or is it?

When so many cases get thrown out for being foolery, the system may seem to suffer and waste time but I still had to pay a court fee and that Booking area will be just as packed tonight with charges that won’t stick, teens that won’t be as affected as I was, and dudes that have been there so many times that they’re on a first name basis with officers.

I can tell you that two days away from the world is nothing compared to real time in prison. The difference for most people going to jail is that they wake up that day knowing they’re going or aware that they are about to do something that may land them there.

The similarity is that both are treated like a number and like someone that deserves to be behind bars.

So here I am, still mad at myself, disappointed for missing my own bday shindig, trying not to hate the law enforcement occupation, and you were waiting for a Watch The Throne review.

Well I heard it, I watched it, I learned a lot about Jay’s watch collection and his new fixation on the “ugh” adlib, both of their bank accounts, and for some strange reason I’m anticipating a Drake album. I know right, I made that face too. Shout to Ye and Jay though for making people pay attention and attempting to do some groundbreaking stuff.

Update: By some strange happenstance I ran into the officer that arrested me when I was leaving the studio last night, he said he wanted to let me go and then laughed when I told him I spent two days in there. He laughed alone.

Tell me your authority story…

Ban “Otis” freestyles!