re: #484 Obdicut

Probably the ‘not too much bother’ scenario. Most cops just want the situation to go away, rather than to actually protect civil rights. Not making a judgement, it’s just the path of least likelihood of things getting ugly.

I can understand that, even while disagreeing with it in principal*. Taking decisive action in a case like that just means more paperwork to fill out, and likely getting screamed at for days by monomaniacs who’ve made you into a devil-figure for opposing them.

And you’re right about something getting ugly. Cops would likely not want to be a part something that gives a organized lobby like the ultra-Orthodox a rallying cry. Because that’s a good way to find your career shrieking to a halt. Things getting ugly often produces a stink, and that stink has a way of sticking to the people involved.

*: “In principal”, because if I had been put in that sort of situation while I was in retail, I would have tried to find the “least likely to get ugly” solution myself. The bosses do not thank you for angering a customer, even a crazy one.