Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Bongwater

Fringe kills me. The opening scene is a partially open door and the sound of a long bong hit being taken. The mad doctor absolutely makes the show.

In related news, my buddy, also a cop and the guy who linked me into writing for 93 Games Studio, is trying to get another gaming group together.

He had some success, but then learned from his point of contact that one of the players of this new group smokes marijuana. They claim the smoker has a prescription and medical card, but as LE, it's a red flag. Not that the fellow is a criminal, but why risk it? I'm not against medical marijuana either. I think it has it's place.

The problem is that if, heaven forbid, one was exposed to second-hand smoke and then involved in a shooting, the drug test would come up positive. None of the fun, all the pain.

LE sometimes feel like they are second-class citizens. Sometimes it's just our perception that makes us feel that way. Other times it is quite clear we are not 'regular' citizens. Having to worry about such shit is a prime example of not being regular joes. There aren't easy answers for this and other things that challenge us in daily life, like wanting to give another driver a piece of one's mind without fearing for job security. Or expressing one's true opinion while working...

Drinking the bongwater isn't an option.

2 comments:

  1. In this day and age, most of those things are problems that most people have to deal with when working for a large organization.

    Most people face drug tests if they have an accident on the job, it's standard procedure for most companies. So they run similar risks from secondhand marijuana smoke or other things that can turn up false positives.

    Expressing one's true opinion is often a big negatory if it doesn't happen to agree with one's superior and/or official corporate policy. Doing so a little too often was a primary reason for me having to leave a job once upon a time.

    I don't know about giving another driver a piece of your mind, but I suspect that it's not an option for some who drive as part of their jobs (not taxi drivers obviously, but some...).

    You're not as alone as you think ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are correct, Fulmi, with one exception:

    the excoriation received should something go wrong at a 'regular joe's' workplace is usually much more private, not usually bandied about in the media.

    There is also a dearth of persons who have a vested interest in seeing the private person's career destroyed. Not so for LE. Defense attorneys love that shit.

    ReplyDelete