Ricardo through the looking glass

The Capitol - is that how you spell it?

The Capitol is an impressive place.  It holds the lower house, Congress, where representatives are elected for 2 year terms - too short; and the Senate, which is the upper house, where Senators are elected for six year terms - too long; in my view.

The debate style was very different to the UK.  It appeared to me that each side had a time limit and the leaders of the debate on each side was able to give time to members  to speak.  For example, a member may be ‘recognised’ for ninety seconds or two minutes etc, depending on what the leader thought best and when that time was up…bang: the gavel came down.  Very different but still quite similar.

The building contains a huge number of statues.  There are two each from every state plus the few that Congress have instructed to by made.  It can appear a bit cluttered.  Anyway, the one at the top caught my eye.  This is the statue of Rosa Parks who, in 1955 helped change this nation by refusing to give her seat to a white man on a bus.  She wasn't the first to do this nor was she the last, but her case certainly raised the issue of discrimination and brought it to the front of the nations conscience.  She was lay in honour in the Capitol when she died in 2005.  Thats the same as lying in state, but they only call it that for presidents and other holders of federal office so that really underpins the impact she had.

Its beginning to look a lot like…every other day!

One of the things that has really struck me about DC over the last week is how little it looks and feels like Christmas.  I am not the most keen guy when it comes to commercialism at Christmas or for the over gaudy lights put up in some parts of my home town.  However, I am finding the opposite here and it surprises me, I must admit.

I took a walk through the Mall last night, which is the main area of trees and monuments in the city.  Not a Christmas light to be had!  Compare that with Princess Street Gardens and it looks pretty dull!  Similarly, I was in the Downtown area too, there is a wee Christmas market, again nothing on the size of Edinburgh’s but again, not a festive light in sight.  George Street wins again for Edinburgh! Even the shops and bars are bereft of decoration, once again Edinburgh wins it on the basis of the Dome if nothing else!

Something else that is missing here is the office Christmas lunch.  I’ve not seen any bar or restaurant offering the turkey lunch for the office nor have I seen office workers enjoying either a Christmas lunch together or the good old party night so beloved of us Scots.  And as for crackers?  They are simply nowhere to be seen!  This is also the time of year where cards are sent and left on colleagues desks, wishing them a happy Christmas, again, this is just not in evidence here.  I think the Victorians are to blame.  They really invented the Christmas card and only sent them to friends in the UK.

Next Friday, the 19th, will be celebrated by Scottish Cops.  This is the Friday before Christmas and has a number of names, Mad Friday and Black Friday being two of the printable ones.  This is the day the offices close early and everyone goes for a quick Christmas drink which, for many, slips into several.  For a few this turns into heavy intoxication and the need to celebrate Joy to the World by fighting with  friends, passers-by, partners or the police.  In short it is a dreadful night for the cops.  On the evidence I have seen here so far, I don’t think this will be an issue in DC, I get the impression it will be just a normal Friday…but we will see.

Now I guess there may be lots of reasons for this lack of Christmas visibility.  Perhaps its the mark of the massively diverse society that I’ve found here, which shies away from Christmas  in order to adopt more of the ‘happy holiday’s’ approach which is prevalent across the city.  It might be that Thanksgiving provided the cards and celebration opportunity for all and that Christmas is generally left as a bespoke religious affair.  It may be too that the American’s, certainly in DC, just don’t feel the need to over commercialise, after all they have just done the Black Friday sales. I guess too, from what I’ve seen, most of the bars and restaurants are pretty full anyway and perhaps don’t need to advertise special deals? It might also be a DC thing, its a governmental, administrative city which, apart from the President’s tree, might just not do the whole lights thing.  Or, perhaps, its just too early and the Washingtonians have a later and more reserved approach to Christmas than us Scots. 

Perhaps, however, its that Scotland, whether we see it/like it or not, is still a nation with one predominant faith, Christianity and that enables us to put up the lights and decorations which we do, and do so in the knowledge that we are not seeking to offend, just celebrate.  Whatever it is, what I do know is that, despite my normal reticence about it all, I am missing how the Scots do Christmas!

A cop is for life not just for Christmas

I visited one of the police departments near DC this week; Leesburg Police Department.  This is, in Scottish terms, a fairly small organisation with around 110 staff, comprising 87ish cops and 20 or so police staff but a fairly average sized US police department.  In the States there are around 22000, yup you read it right, twenty two THOUSAND police departments - around 80% of these have under 100 cops.

This initially struck me as strange, particularly after what we have recently been through in Scotland.  However, I have had a chance to look at this from a US view point.  Americans love, protect and demand their freedom.  This is evident across society here and is really reflected in policing.  Americans in Leesburg see themselves as being different to people in the next town or county and so, they want a police service that reflects those differences.  They are also prepared to pay for that and, consequently, a proportion of their taxes goes straight into policing.  I guess thats like the UK, however, here, that proportion is set by the local community, so they can pay for the service they want.  This means police officers are paid differently in different places, cops in Leesburg are particularly well paid in comparison to colleagues just over the county line and so can attract a higher level of recruit.  When this is multiplied 22000 times over, one gets a sense of the challenges that policing faces here.

However back to Leesburg.  This is a really caring service.  They know where their funding comes from and really understand the importance of supporting and delivering across that community.  This means fostering good community relations.  Each year they provide a Thanksgiving diner for families in the town who can’t afford to enjoy this most American of meals.  They also, and I think this bit is great, raise money, most of which comes from their own pockets, to provide presents for local kids who would otherwise go without.  What makes the Leesburg experience different is that rather than giving gifts they by store cards for $200 then an officer and their family take one of the local kids shopping.  This allows the child to buy presents for their family as well as getting something for themselves.  The bill is regularly more than the $200, which the cops who are with the kids simply pony up for and pay the difference. In addition they ensure that each of the families involved has a Christmas tree.  This followed a kid, a few years ago, asking to buy one form his $200 as his family had never had a tree.  How good is that?  Brings a wee tear to my eye, writing this.

Whilst these cops do this because they think its the right thing to do, it is also something that has a benefit for the department.  There remains lots of coverage, concern and protest about both the Grand Jury decisions in Ferguson and New York.  One of the things Leesburg retains, in the wake of those two incidents, is the confidence of the community.  

I guess real community policing can sometimes be difficult, it can certainly be expensive but it is rewarding.  As Leesburg demonstrates those rewards are felt both by the department as a whole when faced with challenging issues, but on a personal level by the officers who invest time and effort into the people they help protect.

Activism is a good thing

Talking of the Grand Jury decisions, I came across a citizens protest on Sunday night in DC which related to those decisions.  About 100 people walked through the Downtown area.  There were cries of ‘no justice, no peace, no racist police’ ringing out across the streets and, do you know what, I thought it was a very good thing!  

We are lucky, I think, to live in a democracy where such protest is allowed.  Where people can legitimacy disagree and take to the streets to say so.  I think these protests, and others like them, do help in achieving justice and reducing and, I hope, removing any racism in the police.  Where policing is not challenged in this way, is where the significant issues arise, East Germany, the Soviet Union and China being examples which spring to mind.  The ‘Meet the Press’ programme on Sunday included contributions from police officers and District Attorneys; I’m not aware of the police from these totalitarian places engaging in similar political debate around officer behaviour; one of the reasons being there was no debate about these, or other, issues.  

I spoke with a number of cops policing this protest and with some protestors too who all agreed with this and understood the importance of having one another.  It was great too, to see the leader of the protest coming over to the cops, shaking their hands and asking how they were doing, many of whom he knew by name.  It is also fair to say this protest was just that, a protest - no looting, rioting or robbing took place.

There is strong feeling here over these Grand Jury decisions, and, I think, it is healthy in this democracy one is able  to debate, challenge and protest where one believe the system is simply not working.

Drinking and driving, Virginia style

I had my first driving experience here last Friday, which was also the day the drink driving limit reduced in Scotland.  With that in mind I thought I would ask what the position is here.  In short, its not good if you chose to drive after a drink.

The limits are much the same as have been introduced in Scotland, so pretty low but suitable to allow for mouthwash or medication with some alcohol therein.  

If one drives over the limit there is a mandatory 5 days in the jail for a fist offence, 20 days for a second and six months for a third.  The financial penalties start at $250 rising though $500 to $1000 and on top of it all driving bans start at a year for the first offence, its three years for the second and an indefinite ban for a third.  

It doesn't quite stop there either, pictures of offenders are published - humiliation is a powerful disincentive!

Like many, I have no tolerance for drink drivers and given the volume of traffic here, they are a major risk on US roads.  These penalties certainly, I feel, make the point clear that its not acceptable, and I am sure for the average middle class, professional who drinks and drives, five days in the jail would be a significant learning experience.

To see ourselves as others see us

I went to the Scottish Walk in Alexandria last weekend.  This is a genuine celebration of all things Scottish within this most atmospheric of towns.  There were pipe bands - expected; although I'm not sure whose job it was to choose the tartan for this band…

Mary Queen of Scots on horseback - not unexpected 

and the Scottish Westie Rescue Society - not expected at all!!!!

There were a few Santas there, one played bagpipes 

and there was this guy too.   

He was not part of the parade, he was simply rejoicing in being able to dress like this with impunity for a few weeks of the year.

In all, it was a nice and enjoyable parade which was led off by my local band The City of Alexandria Pipes Band.  All the participants genuinely celebrated their links to Scotland and the culture that entails, including pipes, kilts and the odd dram which was good to see.  Which was less good was a visit to the Scottish Shop in Alexandria which sold, amongst other things, Irn Bru - expected and Regal Cigarettes, as smoked in Scotland - really?  I hate to see us portrayed in this way!

I've spent a good deal of time looking at America through a Scot's eye, it was interesting to see that reflected back at me this weekend...but I think we came out of it okay!

Aw, come on, I’m at my cornflakes! (parental advisory warning)

I was watching the sports news over breakfast at 0730 AM, hours o’clock in the morning this week.  I was keen to know if RGIII was still on the Redskin’s roster (see I’m getting the language).  Anyway an advert comes on.  It features a bronzed skinned couple with silver hair who were evidently in their golden years.  They were clearly a close an loving pair.  Then the product became apparent, it was for some sort of viagra pill.  Okay, I’m fine with that so far.  It was sufficiently bland as to not cause graphic images in my head.  Then came the heath warning regarding the side effects.  America loves this, litigation is king here so best get them all on the table at first ask so nobody can say there were not warned.  The list of potential issues was laid out, which included the hives and fatigue, still all good, no images in my head - then…”if you experience an erection lasting more than four hours seek medical advice”.  Now the image is there, now the cornflakes are being spluttered out my mouth and now I was left thinking how do I explain THAT to my 6 year old later this month?

The result, I will no longer be finding out wither RGIII has made the roster or not, once my kids get here we will be sticking to the very wholesome ‘Good Morning America’ over the porridge!!

So what I’ve learned this week is

DC does not sparkle like Edinburgh.

As a cop, caring is not always enough,  its how you care that really counts.

Protesting is what makes a democracy not something that undermines it.

It's good to be a Scot who doesn't smoke

Four hours can be a VERY long time!

As always, thoughts discussion and comment are all very welcome.

Very best~

Richie