Texas

[jon louis mann]

-I noticed that most of Julia's initial examples seemed to have as a 
basic assumption that you were _driving_ somewhere, and of course you 
are supposed to have your drivers license (as well as proof of 
insurance and in a lot of places the vehicle registration) in your 
possession whenever you are driving.  And indeed in many 
jurisdictions a white woman, particularly if she is also 
pulchritudinous, is more likely to get a pass from the police or 
other authorities than a black man.  And, as Dan's example shows, if 
you are walking or driving in a neighborhood where you do not seem to 
fit the neighborhood demographic, particularly late at night, you may 
well be stopped and asked for ID and asked what reason you have for 
being in that place at that time, and not just in Texas.  And at any 
time of the day or night you might be stopped while walking or 
driving along if you and/or your vehicle resemble someone they are 
looking for, particularly if a crime has just occurred in the 
vicinity, and again asked for ID and why you happen to be 
there.  OTOH, when a lot of people go jogging they don't have a 
pocket big enough to carry much of anything, and indeed some folks 
may still go out running with nothing but a door key hanging on a 
lanyard around their neck so they can get back in when they are 
done.  (Though similarly to Julia's next-to-last example carrying 
some ID might be a good idea in case they get hit by a car or 
something, as well as following your mother's advice to be wearing 
clean underwear . . . )  And because of crimes which have been 
committed on the premises of such institutions it makes sense that 
you should be required to show ID and give a valid reason for being 
there if you want to enter a school or some other places.  However, 
around here at least, you can still walk your dog around the block 
without being stopped at every corner by some guy in a brown shirt 
and jackboots carrying a machine gun and saying "Your papers, please, 
comrade."  And while it's been awhile since I was last in Texas, and 
on that trip all my father and I did was take turns driving a U-Haul 
truck across the state stopping mainly at places like gas stations 
and places to eat, no one in uniform demanded to see our papers when 
we stopped nor pulled us over to ask for them, so unless things have 
changed tremendously since then I'm going to guess that things there 
are likely to be about the same as they are here . . .
-- Ronn!  :)

i know why they have all those signs, "don't mess with texas"...  years
ago, driving through the panhandle, i was pulled over for driving over
the speed limit (keeping up with traffic).  i suspect it might have
something to do with my california plates.  i was ordered to follow the
cop to the nearest post office and pay for the ticket on the spot, in
cash.  fortunately i had the cash on me, otherwise i would have been
immediately taken to jail...  
 -- Jon! :)



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