Back in the day, when I lived in Virginia, there every little town through the south on the highway to Florida had a quick series on signs, requiring lightning reflexes nearly slamming on brakes. Spaces out people on that long hard drive were easy pickens. There would be a local cop waiting staying busy all day and a convenient "judge" collecting a fine, in cash, from people with the threat of having to return, be locked up, etc. A very expensive toll in effect. I remember my dad reaction to being robbed one day by these highway men after saved vacation money. It was a revenue source for each town.
The Interstate Changed that, but network news did an undercover storythat found literally nearly all of the mechanics would sabotage people's cars and over charge. Simple thievery. Add extra oil, lying about dipsticks to much more expensive unneeded abuse.
Myself, driving home at night being stopped, in the wrong looking for the upper class section of town. Walking the street in the lower class part of town, downtown.
More recent, we got together and incorporated the town of Tortolita. We had differences, border war with adjacent Oro Valley who wanted to annex out fledgling town. I was a key player. I was stopped numerous times for the same brake-light that was never out. One of us was arrested, a dozen or so of us showed up doing the same thing, legally collecting their illegal annexation signs, and demand that they arrest us all. If a cop turning around quickly as he passed me going the other way, following my tail until I left their wanted borders and then parking sideways across the two lanes at the border, isn't intimidation, then I don't know what is. It was a fascist group of the department directly under the police chief, Her Volf. I could go on and on about Tortolita. We played it by the book, they didn't. The town was destroyed by the powers that be when we had to give up when Bush came to office. We were told that the political climate at the supreme court had shifted in favor of business. Our next stop was supreme court to argue a point of the 14th amendment voter rights and our lack of representation, but it just came down to the old dichotomy of wealthy few who own business against the will of the people. Our town was incorporated by petition signed by 94% of the voters, all alive and checked and double checked! You live in a fascist state or you have just don't get around.
Then there is the reputation of Oracle Road as a speed trap, even published in newspapers, although I haven't heard much since Wolf "retired." Then there was my neighbor, a Mexican-American who loved this old truck. Very nice home on acres worked hard, made good money. Told me one afternoon that he had been stopped in Oro Valley 42 times! These things happen. This is some of my personal experience briefly, as you requested. It goes on and on when I recall friends and then I could get into the media accounts.
If you stay out of politics, if you are white and drive a nice looking car, you are not feeling it. There are the facts. I don't want to continue this conversation here. Here we stay away from politics unless it has to do with nudity, and then we tread lightly.
Jbee
