Browne's run-in with the pig cop on 6th and Grand. Downtown LA.

So I’m at Starbucks writing and surfing the web at 6th and Grand. In general I find this particular Starbucks one of the most unpleasant Starbucks, but I have a T-mobile account and they have plugs. I’m sitting with BusTard, but I go outside for a moment to get a paper, but of course there are no papers. 

(MORE AFTER THE TRANSFER)

People in LA don’t read and no one finds it problematic that the news kiosks are empty at 7am.

As I’m outside I see a cop. I felt he was watching me, because in general cops are always watching me (no it’s not in my fucking mind,) apparently 115 pound black women in downtown LA without a smart pantsuit uniform or a MTA uniform or a retail clerk uniform are viewed as suspect. Only certain types of people are allowed to write on a laptop in the daytime, because how does a black chick have the kind of leisure time that would allow her to fiddle on the computer all day?

Well according to LAPD it must be owing to the fact that I’m homeless (or up to some kind of no-goodness.)

The amount of times in downtown LA that I get mistaken as a homeless person or a prostitute is pretty amazing.

In Los Feliz and Silver Lake people just thought I was arty, not only was I arty people would ask where I got my clothes from, but in downtown LA the artless capital of the world with thousands of half ass galleries my non-corporate attire along with my dark skin gets me lots and lots of shit.

But today’s episode was especially annoying. It’s way too early in the morning for this shit. I seriously would rather never have to experience these kinds of things. I seriously would like to be left alone.

So I’m at Starbucks and this black cop who was watching me from across the street. Let me explain the depth he went to watch me. The pig cop was in the left lane on 6th, he goes across three lanes to turn right and he then parks his car on Grand in front of the Carl’s Jr. Pig cop them proceeds to come into the Starbucks where BusTard and I were sitting. He looks directly at me. He talks to the barista behind the counter, doesn’t order anything, he goes to the back and then he has a “talk” with me.

The implication was that I was a bum harassing BusTard and actually that’s an optimistic view of what he may have been thinking.

I know all of this theatrics was specifically because of me, because after our talk he doesn’t order anything he gets in his car and drives away.

What the FUCK!!!!

BusTard has giant tattoos and a thrift shirt over a t-shirt. I have on skinny jeans (yeah they are a little out of date now, but cop doesn't know that there are plenty of late people still rocking this look) and a very cute poncho I bought at Uncle Jers, but I’m the bum?

Yeah that was a little bit of bullshit.

Yeah in general I find people of color working in corporate America or as cops or within other fields asshole types like to work in even more annoying than white people in the same position.

They usually are way too enthusiastic at proving how they aren’t like the “bad ones”. Meaning they spend an inordinate amount of time harassing people (see the movie soldier's story for a visual demonstration of this) who look like them that they perceive as “bad ones” to cement their place as good tokens.

I have to say though living in downtown LA does give me a new perspective on poverty, homelessness and race, because you know? Say I was homeless and poor, would that mean that I wouldn't have the right to sit down to have a coffee?

I wouldn’t have the right to exist?

Apparently not, at least in downtown LA.

I don’t like this new world order in downtown LA.

Browne

-------------

Edit. I'm watching this asshole cop, he's back. He's bothering another black chick. She got a drink earlier, but I think she may be down on her luck so she's just getting and moving...such bullshit...so this is this dude's job.

Comments

[Random Hero]

I hear that. Cops are always on my case when I go to the library and threaten to arrest me because I walk in there with my fucking board. They swear that just because I have a skate board I automatically know every other person out in the city who rides a skate board. They tell me some B.S. that I should tell my friends not to skate near the library anymore or else. Puto cops can suck it. I know that starbucks. I have a friend working there and when I turned in an application to work there, they rejected me because I'm to sarcastic.

[Browne]

Random Hero,

Cops are assholes, but it's not your skateboard it's you. They always will find something.

Why can't people skate near the library? Maybe they should have made that "park" at Pershing Square a real park and people could skate there, but probably how it is now it's more conducive to skating.

I love skaters. I'm so happy people are into that again, though for me it never really went away.

You got rejected from Starbucks for being sarcastic?!! What's the world coming to when a barista can't be sarcastic, we were all sarcastic in the 90s.

I would purposely put half and half in "i want a nonfat, sugarfree, blah blah with a splash of coffee" but i won't tip you jerkoff.

I would send people to the back of the line for being butts...

Now you have to be nice to work at Starbucks!!! The insanity, sarcasm was born in Starbucks.
Browne

[Art]

Please give uys the details of the "talk" that transpired between you and the officer. Id love to know. Was it the "you arents respecting my authority" power trip, was it the "Ill haul you in for nothing so lick my ass" tyrade?

I have a nice scar across the back of my head from Monterey Park PD, and the UCLA pigs made me vomit blood for being mexican and having a shaved head in westwood (to quote them" you fuckers dont belong around here making trouble" my sin was not wearing a seatbelt), they then let me walk out the station because they were scared I had internal bleeding. Both times I literally said nothing before the asswhoopings, mind you this is in the 1990s, not the 1950s.

[Browne]

""Ill haul you in for nothing so lick my ass" tyrade?" Art.

It was this one.

He actually was like, is that your bag? Are you ok? Do you have a problem. Oddly it was like he was trying to protect BusTard from me. It was surreal.

Lucky for me he didn't understand that BusTard is my trusty white man and does not belong to the system (at least not that day) and he was like:

"That's my fiance, did she do something?"

That's white privilege right there, the right to tell the cops the fuckin' law with no repercussions (and the knowledge that you saved another helpless minority,) and no fuckin' static.

Man that sucks. I'm 30 dude. I'm 30, I'm on a laptop and I get singled out by the cops, is that not the most outrageous thing ever.

I get hunted and singled out like a fucking dog for daring to fucking exist, because I don't have a fucking no lye relaxer and I don't vomit up my resume and credentials every time I go somewhere.

I'm a woman. What if I were a guy. Thank god I'm not a guy, I'd be in jail right now and probably for nothing.

As many times as this happens, I still get pissed. I think this is good though I think if you start getting used to this treatment and you're cool with it, then you have some serious mental health problems.
Browne