Love, Peace and Joy?

The aerobic exercise lady was walking away when she heard the officers tell the guys they could not leave. Like me, she listened and then stuck her nose in the affair by asking questions. The officer whose name I did not get was quite angry when he got out of his car and when he stopped bad knee guy from leaving. She soon had the man relaxed and smiling. I did not hear all she said...

...multicultural, love, peace and joy and something about being a Harvard graduate. The cop guys were only doing their job. I know, I know, they have to respond to citizen complaints. Yet I think the citizen complainer needed to be told by the cops that the drummers were within the law ~ decibels not too loud to warrant a citation.

I did not call the police when people in my neighborhood started setting off fireworks a week before the 4th of July. The offenders would probably not be called in the act so why bother. I did not go to watch fireworks over the Queen Mary from the beach. See: afraid to walk home after dark from bus stop in this neighborhood post. But I remember years and years when the beach was lit up like the 4th of July. Wall to wall people, rather bike path to ocean people, up the grassy hill people setting off firecrackers and kids carelessly tossing sparklers in my path as I walked by.

I wonder if the drum complainer called and why did the police not speak to the hundreds of people, detain them, threaten to take them to jail. Did he live there then? Can not say what this year's scene was because I was not there. Those Cherry Bombs hurt my ears much worse than drum beats. I was tempted to call the police when a teen was tossing Cherry Bombs in a parking lot as I was on my way home from the library. The reason was not so much the noise as I could not see where the crackers were going to land and thought him quite rude to endanger walkers.

I only saw one obviously homeless guy napping on the grassy hill. All those homeless days, I never saw the police arrest anyone for drinking, using BBQ grills or bringing dogs on the beach or picnic area. Yet beware if you want to smoke or play a drum. And with our jails so overcrowded criminals are bussed to Los Angeles who is now transferring ~ and paying ~ prisoners to other states. There was a revolving door policy when homeless went to jail, picked up on outstanding, unpaid warrants: Time Served and back on the streets.

Most often the crimes were sleeping, drinking, jaywalking or drug possession. I did know a few who were arrested for smoking crack cocaine. I can not say they were released with "Time Served". They may have gotten fines later after appearing in court. Hard drugs and alcohol consumption ~ intoxication ~ seem worse crimes to me than cigarettes or drums. Whatever.