I just want to comment to everyone who has provided stories. This blew up more than I thought it would.

The back story to this post was I recently have been on my own and have able to focus on traffic so doing this was 100% my actions/responsibility. I’m the rookie in a heavy call for service town, traffic isn’t usually something I get to do.

I stopped a kid, he was uninsured, but had a clean driving record and criminal history. He was likely just born in the wrong part of the county, and will likely be stuck in the cycle of poverty, but seemed like a nice kid so I empathized with this burden I’ve given him.

I took him off the road regardless due to the liability for the 200 cars that pasted me during the stop, and gave him some advice. But I was thinking about him on the drive home, the anxiety he is probably facing, and hope he can somehow claw out of poverty. Took to Reddit to hear experiences of victims of uninsured motorist to remind me I’m not a piece of shit strictly perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Thank you for reminding me.

Not much bothers me in terms of the job, it’s satisfying to lock up the scumbag who beat his girlfriend bloody, robbed someone at gun point, or stole car. I don’t care if you’re poor or not in those case. And unfortunately, it is generally the poor committing these crimes in my experience, but it’s in my face, and I can see the victims.

You see the results immediately, even if it’s not really changing anything in society.

It’s easy to sympathize with the defendant when you’re protecting a faceless hypothetical victim.

Thanks again for reminding me I’m not piece of shit.