The world is in an unsafe place.
And sadly, often times it feels like we can’t trust the people who are sworn to protect us.
So what do we do?
Not everyone feels secure when the cops come knocking.
Case in point…
Redditor disasterdaughterr wanted to discuss their story for some feedback. So naturally they came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
They asked:
“AITA for not opening the door for the cops when I was babysitting?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I’m a college student making some extra money babysitting this summer.”
“I was staying at this family’s house in a different neighborhood I wasn’t familiar with, with their 4 year old and 6 year old for an evening.”
“I was getting them ready for bed and I heard shots.”
“I told the kids that it must be fireworks.”
“I just got them in bed on the side of the house that wasn’t near the street and sat quietly in their room for a bit until they were alseep.”
“I heard some knocking on the door and I didn’t move even when the guy called out that it was the police and wanted to talk.”
“Now to some of y’all, that might seem weird.”
“Especially if you have police forces that are trustworthy.”
“But I grew up in a country where the police were outwardly aggressive and dangerous to bring around.”
“Calling the police on any kind of crime against a woman was a surefire way to get a second crime done that night.”
“So I was taught early by my mom to never call police, just go to sleep.”
“If they come around you didn’t see or hear s**t, you were sleeping.”
“My family moved to America when I was 13 and learned that while the police in our area pretend like there a more formal ,safe organization they’re no different than the ones back home.”
“Even worse because at least at home everyone knows they’re corrupt and won’t tell them anything or help them with anything.”
“But here, some people believe the air of respectability they put on and aid them.”
“It’s a rougher area I’m living in and I can say for certain that I’ve never seen a cop protect or serve the community.”
“So for me it was the most obvious thing ever that you don’t come to the door if the cops knock.”
“Like that’s just generally accepted (in the places I’ve lived) as the stupidest shit you can do”
“I found out when the parents came home that that’s not universal.”
“They live in a rich neighborhood and I guess they actually do feel protected and safe with their police.”
“But I didn’t know that.”
“So when the mom came in and asked what was going on on the street, I said I don’t know, I didn’t see anything.”
“She said I must have noticed all the sirens and lights and I said ‘Yeah, I saw there were cops around, one knocked. I don’t know what it’s about.'”
“She asked me what he had to say and I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world ‘I don’t know, I didn’t come to the door.'”
“She got angry and asked why I wouldn’t go see what was happening and talk to the officer.”
“I was honestly incredulous, to me it was obvious.”
“I didn’t explain myself well since I was so incredulous and said ‘Why would I?'”
“In a ‘What the hell are you thinking?’ kind of tone.”
“She said I should leave and that she didn’t want me watching her kids again.”
“I had to argue with her to just get paid but she eventually did but tipped like s**t.”
“I’m curious about an outside opinion…”
“AITA for not opening the door and not asking questions when I was babysitting and the police came around?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA?:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors declared our OP was NOT the A**hole.
It’s a tricky situation.
Let’s hear some thoughts…
“But I grew up in a country where the police were outwardly aggressive and dangerous to bring around.”
“So in other words, the United States.” ~ 10sharks
OP responded…
“Lol fair. I guess I grew up in two countries with dangerous corrupt police.”
“One was just more blatant about it and one still has people being like ‘back the blue’ which is bizarre to me.”
“It was honestly such a culture shock to see similar police behavior in both places.”
“But where I grew up everyone knew that they’re bad news.”
“Don’t tell them crap, don’t let them come around, leave if you see them.”
“And in the US, same s**t from the police and people just think it’s chill?”
“Do some people have no common sense or concern for their safety?”
“If you’re an American reading this and you feel alright with the police… they can and will brutalize you and your family without due process, and there is often very little recourse.”
“Learn your rights.”
“Take care of yourself and your family.”
“Form community where you live, to create a group that will actually protect and serve each other and the communities needs.”
Reddit continues…
“I’m a white person.”
“Not affluent, but in cases I thought the police might help, it only escalated the situation.”
“But, they are definitely bigots as well.”
“I live in a small complex that is sort of in between affluent neighborhoods and those that are P[eople] O[f] C[olor] and underserved.”
“A while back, police knocked hard on our door in the middle of the day.”
“You could tell they were hostile.”
“Apparently they were looking for a young Black teen neighbor.”
“They relaxed a little when they saw we all were white.”
“But they were still obnoxious.”
“I mean, they couldn’t even get the apartment number right.”
“We could have very well been killed.”
“And had we been Black, if not killed, been harassed and questioned about nothing to do with us.”
“The OP is NTA. I’m white.”
“Born and raised in the U.S. and don’t trust them at all.”
“Maybe OP knows it’s best to call the parents if something weird happens in the future.”
“But I very much understand their reasoning for their actions that specific night.” ~ BreadfruitAlone7257
“I’m white, and avoid cops if I can.”
“I’m also in the south, but grew up in a liberal northern state.”
“The cops here can be really aggressive to anyone so I keep my mouth shut.”
“My Mom, who adopted me when I was older, now lives with me and my husband.”
“We are extra cautious because she is black, and trust me it’s like racists are everywhere.”
“I don’t let her go any place alone, even for a walk around the neighborhood.”
“Definitely avoid the police now at all costs.”
“NTA, not even a little bit.” ~ Remarkable_Winner_91
“You were not at all unreasonable not opening the door.”
“My brother lives in a really wealthy suburb and has a full-time nanny.”
“And she will not open the door to the police if neither parent is home.”
“She does not feel comfortable being responsible for something terrible happening if she does open the door to them.”
“My brother and his wife think this is a totally reasonable position for her to take.”
“And she is an adult child care professional making full-time money with health insurance who has been with the family for 8 years.”
“I can understand the mom feeling like it’s not a good fit, because she would rather you have a different attitude towards the police, and that’s fine.”
“But you are not unreasonable, and she should not have acted like you were unreasonable.”
“She should have just said, ‘I’d rather hire someone who has a different mindset towards the police.'” ~ AliMcGraw
“People need to remember that it was pretty recent that cops in the US murdered a white woman from Australia living in the Midwest, who called to report a crime.”
“Even being a white woman doesn’t make you safe.”
“I was shocked that that case didn’t get more outrage than it did at the time.”
“I guess somehow we reached a point where only black people getting murdered by cops outrages people.”
“Then there’s the fact that many of them will gleefully murder your dogs for no f**king reason.”
The cops sure aren’t welcome on my property.”
“In fact, I was wondering just earlier today, after reading that horrible news story about the one cop who shot a random dog twice and then their force joked about it.”
“How one goes about removing cops from your property for trespassing.”
“For example, say they come to your door like they did in this case but you want them off your property because you don’t want them killing your dog for no reason–seems unlikely that they’ll leave if you tell them to.”
“Definitely NTA.” ~ A_Drusas
Well OP, Reddit is with you.
It’s tragic that you’ve been so traumatized this way.
We can’t always trust our “protectors” and that makes the world so much darker.
Good luck in school.