What chance do they have?

My partner and I were recently patrolling one of the more crime-ridden apartment complexes on Nord Avenue. As we were pulling out of the complex, I saw a little 6 year old girl riding her cute little pink bicycle. When the little girl saw us, she screamed, “COPS!” then flipped us off. You heard it right, in perfect form, she gave us the finger.

I was shocked. I stopped my car and asked her, “Hey, baby-girl, what was that all about?” The little girl smiled a sweet smile, waved and rode away.

That situation left me with severely mixed emotions. On one hand, it’s kinda funny that we were flipped off by such a little girl. On every other side though, it’s completely disheartening that such a young child has been trained to act in such a way to the Police.

Does she hate us? No. Her smile and wave told me that. She did what she was taught by her parents to do. This incident begs the question, “What chance does she have in life?”

Here is this beautiful little girl with matching pink bike and dress, with her hair done up in neat little cornrows and colorful beads woven in; and she has little chance at success in life. These anti-social attitudes will do nothing but harm in her life. I realize that people can overcome anything in life, but why stack such odds against a little girl?

I recently spoke with a couple in downtown Chico, who were arguing in front of their children. The children shied away from my partner and I when we spoke with them. The father told us, “They’re scared of Cops.” Really. "And why is that?" I wondered. The father’s negative attitude, anti-social tattoos and dress spoke volumes about his previous encounters with law enforcement.

I tried to explain to the father that fear of Police is taught. I tried to explain that if he wanted to change their attitudes towards law enforcement, then it was up to him to change it. I further told him that he should start refering to us as “Police” rather than “Cops”, a word they associate with negatively. I saw the father a few weeks later and he said, “Look kids, it’s the Cops.”

The final story I’ll share is best illustrated by the following photo:

I took this photo in an apartment where domestic violence was prevalent. I looked at the sweet little faces of these children and was struck with sadness. They have no idea what they are doing, and what destruction this lifestyle is going to cause them. They only know that it makes their parents happy when they pose like that. These innocent little boys have no idea that this lifestyle that they are being taught will almost guarantee them that they will never be financially successful, or lead happy and violence-free lives. They only know that their parents are not yelling at them right now.