That's sad that you have to fear the detectives and officers. It's sad to continue to read about people dying, unnecessarily, from police aggression. I know that that's an exception and not a rule, but it's still too often, especially for minorities and the mentally ill. We know that someone who's a minority AND mentally ill is especially at risk. It's horrible that such abuses by policemen are way too often permitted, unpunished, or inadequately so.

I realize that I am lucky, where I live, and what I look like, in terms of the above issue. However, I know that stigma and racism even exists where I am. One time, in particular, I got a good lesson in that. It wasn't directed at me, but I saw/heard it directed at another person -- a very friendly elderly African American lady. I didn't speak up. I was in such shock, paralyzed. That ended my naive assumption that it "didn't happen in my hometown". Not only was the waitress' and manager's behavior highly offensive, but some customer's, too. After that lady left, I sat feeling horrible. Then the customer comes to me (seemingly wanting to voice his prejudice against her to someone) and said "What a looney she was! Really! I worked in the psychiatric ward at X psychiatric hospital, and had to deal with those types all the time!”

The African American lady was perfectly normal-acting and what she had said was fully justified. Why that customer said the above, I cannot even guess. Even if she had acted oddly, his statement was stigmatic and offensive. And it turns out, that I had been a psychiatric patient (psychotic) at that very hospital he mentioned, and another one, as well, nearby. I didn't even stand up for myself, let alone her. I was deeply ashamed of myself! I've since done things to at least start to make up for that.

Sorry this is off-topic.