American Diaries } “I HAVE MADE MISTAKES”
At least two men told me so. The first one to have said that is doing Uber during the day, while attending the evening classes to be a highway patrol cop. All the while being a father of two little kids. Why highway patrol? It is less risky, he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a cop, it is just that I got lost on the way. And my girlfriend told me that I should pursue it”. And his name is Ryan. I told him that is my son’s name too. As he dropped me off at a concert venue, he said: “Take good care of Ryan for me, will ya?”
Another man, another Uber drive. He talks enthusiastically about his passion too. “I didn’t do very well in the school. I’ve made mistakes.” But his uncle, who is also a cop, is keeping a check on him. “He is very supportive and wants me to get right on track”. So why does he want to be a cop? Because there are cops in the family, and he wants to serve people and a little more into the conversation… the pay is good too. So he is attending evening classes like the other one.
Men who have made ‘mistakes’ before, now so badly want to be cops. But that isn’t the whole story. One is of Filipino origin and the other is originally from Spain. Are the trigger-happy cops who thrive on race listening?