Police in Tennessee, in a black SUV and in full body armor, pulled over an elderly couple because they had a marijuana (or so the cops thought) bumper sticker on their car. In fact it was a buckeye leaf – the couple are Ohio State Buckeye fans. The cops then ordered the couple to remove the bumper sticker, even though the woman had already explained it was a buckeye, not marijuana.
Good grief. I’m not sure what’s the most ridiculous part of this recent episode.
Was it the person who phoned in the dangerous car sticker that slightly resembles a marijuana leaf? The cops insinuated that it was another cop who called it in.
Or perhaps the idiotic Tennessee cops that pulled over the elderly couple with armor-covered police in black vans simply because they might have had a marijuana leaf sticker on their car? Although, perhaps the most ridiculous part is the cop, after learning that it’s a buckeye leaf common to Ohio State fans, still ordered the woman to remove the sticker. (Not that it’s entirely clear that, even if it were a marijuana sticker, a cop could make you remove it from your car.)
Now, let’s take a look at both marijuana and buckeye.
First, marijuana:
Marijuana via Shutterstock
Next, buckeye:
Buckeye leaf via shutterstock
In the Tennessee cops’ defense, I guess they both are leaves.
Here is some of the fan paraphernalia from Ohio State’s shop with the infamous “marijuana” leaves. This took all of 30 seconds to find and confirm.
This is just crazy.
It takes a special kind of stupid to think a major drug-running gang trafficking in marijuana would be so stupid as to put marijuana stickers on their car, just so everyone knows they’re doing it.
But then again, Tennesse is the same state where:
- the lieutenant governor called Islam a cult
- the GOP called for jailing anyone that followed Shariah law
- the state wanted to let science teachers offer alternatives (i.e. a pack of lies) to teaching about climate change
- a GOP legislator claimed that AIDS came about “from one guy screwing a monkey”
- a local gun nut made a video saying he was “gonna start killing people” if President Obama issued any executive orders on guns
- a school principal told kids ”If you’re gay you’re going to hell”
- the state Tea Party said on Barney Frank’s retirement “good riddance you perverted sodomite“
- a GOP congressman suggested secession from the Union over health care reform (do you promise?)
- the state legislature and governor bash gays pretty much every chance they get (along with the help of the US Chamber of Commerce)
- where only 33% of GOP primary voters think President Obama was born in the US.
It’s bad enough that far too many states still spend far too much time focusing on marijuana, but this is too much. Are these people really responsible for maintaining law and order? If only the Tennessee police weren’t serious when they did this.
I love the woman’s comment after the fact:
“It’s just amazing they would be that dumb,” Bonnie Jonas-Boggioni said.
It’s not amazing. It’s Tennessee.
Print
