Sometimes, I feel like a lot of us who live in a country like this, where the police do little to no investigations before making an arrest, don't know how lucky we are that we're still roaming everywhere and not being locked up behind bars.
Earlier this morning, I was seated outside having one of those quiet times all to myself when one of my neighbors came to sit right next to me. It was a quiet morning for me, so I didn't say a word to him, just a nod to acknowledge his presence.
The next thing I know, he dipped his hand into his pocket, brought out some rolled-up marijuana, and started smoking it right next to me. Now in a situation like that, there was nothing I could do but to either sit down there and continue enjoying my quiet morning or get up and go back inside my place.
I couldn't complain to him about it because we both were seated in a public area, and anyone could do whatever it is they wanted to do. But you see, if I had chosen to remain there and continue with my quiet time, then it would mean that I would have to be on the lookout to make sure the police won't jump out of anywhere for an arrest.
And this is because, in as much as I wasn't the one smoking, the fact I was sitting right next to him was all they needed to arrest me, no questions asked. And I don't know about you, but having to be on the lookout for the police kind of defeats the entire purpose of a quiet morning for me.
So rather than do that and risk my life, I had done the smartest thing I could do; I had gotten up and gone back inside. But the truth is that I was only able to make this decision simply because he had brought the marijuana out and I had seen it.
What if he had it in his pocket the whole time and we both got stopped and searched by the police? I most likely would have been arrested alongside him, even though I had no idea that he had that thing in his pocket.
And although not all police officers in the country do this (we still have some good ones out there), some of them don't care if you're guilty or not simply because they want the bail money. They know that if you get arrested and taken to the station, you will be required to pay a large sum of money for bail, money that they wouldn't make if they took their time to properly investigate and find out that you're innocent.
