Over the years, I have interacted with the police in good and bad ways. Most of us have--some worse than others. I also have friends who have had experiences with the cops and the legal system. With all the stuff in the news about the how bad consequences are when ordinary citizens run afoul the police, here are some tips on how to avoid becoming a statistic.

First, how do you get busted? In a nutshell, you stand out in some way. Don't stand out. The best way to do this is to avoid the cops altogether. If you're not there, they can't bust you. But this is not particularly helpful advice because you can't always avoid them and, at times, you will have to deal with them. So how can you minimize bad things from happening?

Understand first and foremost that interacting with cops is an infantilizing experience. In other words, society is full of this type of role-playing where one party plays the child and the other plays the adult. In this case, you are the child and the policeman is the adult. You're the untrustworthy little brat trying to get away with something and he is the strict disciplinarian parental figure. It may be degrading but that's how it is. Accept it and use it to your advantage. Understand also that cops have a job to do and they appreciate it when you make their job easier by cooperating. When you don't cooperate, mean ol' daddy gonna take off his belt and whack yo fanny. So play the game, you have no choice.

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