In case you haven't heard yet, some Baltimore cop with a complex got in some kid's face about skateboarding at the Inner Harbor.
Out of Touch Baltimore Cop
Normally I really try to see it from the cop's side, and have for the most part come to terms with the fact that skaters and cops are not going to get along any time soon. They both tend to antagonize each other as well in an attempt to make the other look bad, and usually both parties just end up looking like infants.
Start Somewhat Unnecessary Recap
In this case I really wish I could see the 30 seconds before the camera started rolling, although it seems like it got explained pretty well via the dialog. Looks like the kids were skating in the Inner Harbor, they claim ignorance to the fact that they weren't allowed. Whether that is even remotely true is questionable, although to me it doesn't really matter in the end here.
The officer asks them to stop, and the one keeps going for a little because he supposedly didn't hear due to his headphones being in. Eventually his friend got his attention and he took the headphones out. The cop is already pissed that he had to ask him twice, thrice, or however many times to get his attention. Being a cop takes patience, he shouldn't already be riled up. He then accuses the kid of being defensive when he confirms that he can now hear the officer.
This then leads to the rant that the officer goes on and that whole headlock and confiscating the skateboard thing.
TL;DR
Here's what really gets me here. The cop goes ballistic because the kid keeps saying "dude" and "man." I get that the officer had to work to get on the force and so he wants his title of officer (maybe next time some jerk tries to pull a title stunt on me I'll inform them to call me master). What the cop doesn't seem to understand is that these kids grew up on "dude" and "man." It's not a form of disrespect as the officer takes it, it's just a modern way of speaking.
As you know, I say "dude"
all the time. I called a female calculus teacher in high school dude once. I didn't even notice until she caught it and was like "so I'm a 'dude' now?" It was awesome, and she was an awesome teacher. She was young so she understood. Probably no younger than this hyper cop, but for some reason he just wants to pick a fight with a little 14 year old kid, so he takes it as disrespect.
Like I said, I usually like to conclude both sides acted like babies when I see these clips. If you haven't seen a skater vs. cop clip before then you haven't spent enough time on YouTube. This time I can't though, and the more important point is that for better or worse "dude" is and should be an acceptable way to address someone. Maybe not on your first week at work, but I have no doubt that I've called 90% of the people at my workplace "dude," including women and my superiors. Because of the fact that they are reasonable people, they shrug it off and actually find it cute or endearing.
I also use "sweet" a lot, and that's my true catch phrase at work.
