Quote: (08-02-2016 06:57 PM)stefpdt Wrote:The freedom is one of the reasons I do love Colombia. The police may smack you in the head with sticks if you're a dick - I wouldn't chance it - but mostly they just leave you alone. Most Colombian police are compelled to be police (they have obligatory service), and they're just young kids. They can serve in the armed forces or be policemen. And like most kids, they're not going to eff with anyone. They just want to be law abiding citizen. They're very cool usually.
And even with the violence, it seems like Colombian cities can give you a certain sense of freedom, at least from what I can tell (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).
I don't feel as free in the USA as I do in South America. The cops are WAY more tolerant in South America.
Watch this video. The guy has a fucking machete, and no cop has his pistol drawn. They don't even have their hands on their weapons. US police would have shot him. The Colombians are trained by the US police, but they still seem to have their heads about them when dealing with problems. But then you can find other videos of Colombian police smacking about civilians, so I don't know, man. A good rule is to not fuck with anyone's police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h10upTG6zrg