Early on in my career, I noticed a curious circumstance that repeated itself often: a crime victim would call the police but refuse to press charges against the suspect. It could be any sort of crime, or any sort of victim. I'm used to wives refusing to press charges against the husbands that beat them. However, it was different with others. People who had been robbed at gunpoint, groped in a parking lot, or damaged in a hit-and-run - oftentimes, people had no desire to see justice done. Instead, they would explain that, "I just wanted to let you know".
NOTE - The rest of this essay appears in my NEW BOOK! Check it out! http://www.amazon.com/Thinning-Blue-Lines-Poems-Essays/dp/1484928598/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373420067&sr=1-7
11:39 AM
Good stuff!
5th paragraph "This" should be "These." Don't know if you care...
I'm also a justice seeker, but there have been times where none could be sought. It still reassured me and made me feel better to talk to the police about it, even if they were just my friends from other towns. I totally agree that sometimes people just need to get it out there that something happened to them.
My favorite parts:
"It's not uncommon to arrest a man for savaging his wife, drive through taco bell for a chalupa, and wolf it down on my way to a gang shooting."
"I'm 27. I feel like a toddler with a SCUD missle."
When I was 20/21, and working in your field (albeit a slightly different role), it seemed ludicrous to me that ANYONE would to seek MY advice and listen to what I had to say. I wasn't even allowed to drink alcohol yet, and I was telling some parents how to raise their kids. Yikes!
You're a very good man, my friend. A very good man.