I'm law-abiding... I'll be safe

reprinted from 6/27/03

Why do so many Americans seem so unconcerned about our liberties being eaten away?

I think there are a number of reasons, such as just not wanting to believe that our nation is in trouble, or, as I've said before, being so personally invested in one political party that they will deliberately blot out apparent truth. Feeling helpless, unable to have an effect is another reason, but the one reason that drives me crazy is the attitude that "Bad things only happen to people who deserve it"... I'm law-abiding, so I'll be safe".

You can see it when someone is arrested or taken into police custody. Bystanders will assume that the person has done something wrong... that the police must have some evidence. I think there is a certain fear of even questioning the police, and even a feeling of relief that "it didn't happen to me".

Libertarians are particularly aware of these mistaken public attitudes since many people join the libertarian movement because they've had some hassle with government... some problem they didn't cause and didn't deserve. They come to libertarian organizations looking for help because they know that libertarians try to battle all sorts of governmental abuse.

Frankly, there is usually not much that we can do to help, except understand and sympathize. Sometimes they're thrilled at just finding someone who understands that innocent citizens do fall victim to government.

Just this week, I listened to the story of a local young man, a Gulf war veteran, who was taken into custody at his home, by police who had gotten a phone call from someone who relayed second-hand information that he was considering suicide. In a nutshell... despite his protests, he was taken to a hospital, strapped down, sedated, and retained for 2 days until the police checked the facts. Once they had, he was released. In the meantime, most of the hospital employees treated him as if he were crazy or guilty of something.

Put yourself into that picture: If the police surprised you at home, could you convince them that you weren't considering suicide... if they had a supposedly concerned, helpful tip?

If they questioned you about health problems, psychiatric background, counseling, and medications, how would that come out sounding to the police? Any 12-step programs in your past? Domestic problems, divorce? Chances are good that you're going to sound confused (naturally), maybe defensive (justifiably), shook up, nervous, and maybe occasionally irate. Anything on your breath that might raise a flag? How about the medications in your bathroom?

A Georgia survey found that 53% of the public agrees that most people arrested for a crime are guilty. Only 41% of the public disagree. 59% of whites believe that most people arrested are guilty, as compared with only 44% of blacks. You don't suppose that's because 56% of blacks KNOW someone who was falsely arrested?

What percentage of people taken into custody or arrested later turn out to be innocent? I don't have an answer to that, but I can tell you that the numbers taken into custody have gotten much higher. That simply means that many more innocent people are affected as well. I can also tell you that over 100 people who were convicted and sentenced (some to death or life imprisonment) have been proven innocent and released due to later DNA testing.

Because of the insane War on Drugs, which has made illegal drug trade into a high stakes game, the police have responded by adopting high-stakes methods of their own, such as no-knock, door-bashing SWAT-type raids, often based on "tips" from other detainees who cut a deal for themselves in return for implicating others. Such raids are not infrequently based on false tips, and regularly result in injury or death to shocked and frightened innocent residents.

Thanks again to the War on Drugs and the War on Terrorism, profiling has become commonplace. Racial profiling has gotten a lot of publicity, but even if race is removed from profiling, it will still affect a great many innocent people.

When you fly... even if you don't look "foreign"... if you're among the first people off a plane, it shows you're in a hurry. If you're the last off the plane, you're trying to appear unconcerned. If you deplane in the middle of a group you may be trying to lose yourself in the crowd.

Seeming to be nervous, looking around, pacing, looking at a watch, making a phone call - all things that business travelers routinely do, especially those who are late or don't like to fly - sound alarms to waiting drug agents.

If you walked quickly through the airport, or walked with intentional slowness... if you deliberately don't look at a policeman, or if you stare at one... if you have too much baggage or not enough... or if you use a pager or cellphone (drug folks do too)... do you look "out of place" in First Class?
All of these things may draw the attention of the law.

Once a person has been stopped, they're likely to be strip-searched. Your money may be tested for the presence of drugs, even though it's now almost impossible to find money that doesn't test positive. Even if your cash is clean, if you have too much of it, you may be a drug dealer.

If the police don't get you, the informants might.

Paid snitches: The Asset Forfeiture Fund of the U.S. Justice Department last year gave $24 million to informants as their share of forfeited items. It has $22 million earmarked this year.

Many of those informants are average-looking people you could meet on any given day in an airport, bus terminal or train station. They can include counter clerks, x-ray machine operators, and package handlers, alert for any suspicious behavior that might result in them getting a reward. Bank tellers are watching for unusual cash transactions. There's no downside for a wrong tip, so why wouldn't they be extra suspicious?

It should be obvious that no matter how law-abiding you are, no matter how low-profile, unsuspicious, prosperous, or careful you are, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO.