It takes someone very naive to be rude to a cop or other government official, knowing how miserable they can make your life with very little effort.
It takes someone even more naive to genuinely care about someone who would be willing to use frivolously the power to make your life miserable.
There are "good" cops and government officials, but they are the minority. When you encounter a random one, you don't know which kind they are, and by the time you find out it's too late.
Pretending to be nice, in this context, doesn't seem shitty to me, it seems like the ONLY course of action a reasonable person can take. And thus it's my MO when dealing with cops or other government employees.
It takes someone very naive to be rude to a cop or other government official, knowing how miserable they can make your life with very little effort.
It takes someone even more naive to genuinely care about someone who would be willing to use frivolously the power to make your life miserable.
There are "good" cops and government officials, but they are the minority. When you encounter a random one, you don't know which kind they are, and by the time you find out it's too late.
Pretending to be nice, in this context, doesn't seem shitty to me, it seems like the ONLY course of action a reasonable person can take. And thus it's my MO when dealing with cops or other government employees.