re: #106 ckkatz

I see some very interesting cultural differences between Swedish socialization versus US socialization. How the Swedish police interact and, on that basis, how expected risk is judged.

In general, it seems to me that the Swedish Police adopted a stance that seems to indicate they were expecting both a lower chance of violence and a lower level of violence than US police generally would plan for.

These two ultra-violent incidents shaped a good bit of police response in the US:

North Hollywood Shooting

FBI Miami Shootout

There is a certain amount of privilege in how the police here treat people who are pulled over though.

When I was stopped last year by the Nebraska State Patrol on US-30 half a mile past Pine Bluffs, Wyoming for exceeding the speed limit, the officer sat behind us for a few minutes while he ran our license plates, then walked up to the car and initiated pleasant conversation. At no time did he move his hand anywhere near his pistol, nor did he have a partner nor wait for back-up.

I was pleasant to him in turn (he was just doing his job and I was speeding), handed over my license (with VETERAN emblazoned on it), insurance, and registration. He walked back to his car and ran the information.

He came back and chided me on how dangerous that stretch of US-30 is, then wrote me a written warning.

(Since then, the state has raised the speed limit on that stretch of road. Today I wouldn’t be stopped.)