IS THIS BULLSHIT OR APPROPRIATE?

[Cutz]

I worked at a Philadelphia public high school for a few years. One day after leaving work early I saw a kid from a nearby middle school practically skipping down the street with such joy on his face. You could tell he was on top of the world, though it was a bit strange to see what looked like a 10 year old alone at 1pm in the afternoon.

As I watched, a cop car drove down the street, got parallel with the kid, pulled up to the curb, the driver got out, and just opened up the back door of the SUV cruiser and stood next to it, holding the door open. The kid had maybe 2 more seconds of bliss before he looked over and saw the cop, and his heart and attitude sank so drastically. His shoulders slumped, his head fell and he stared at the ground as he trudged towards the back seat of the cop car and got in.

I pulled two lessons from this scene. First, that truancy laws are aimed at even such young kids, and second, that this kid and cop had such a comfortable relationship that the cop didn't even feel the need to chase him. I can only assume that means this kid had escaped many times before and this same cop had gotten him at least several of those times.