The nation is well aware of the State of Tennessee's turn to the darkside lately by it's passing of legislation intended to discriminate against Muslims and Gays and more gays. However, a recent local news story also has me sick at my stomach as I have to witness the reported abuse on a regular basis. Nashville CBS affiliate, NewsChannelFive, recently ran a series of reports on local law enforcement agencies aggressive harrasment of Hispanics on I-40 as they troll for large amounts of cash often found in many vehicles. This is the consequence of laws being passed, I believe in the 90's, that allow seizure of such money without due process. I have always been disturbed at this nation's bent toward becoming a police state by passing those laws, but apparently Tennessee has kicked up the money raising program to a new level.
I have often seen the Dickson County Police talking to obviously Hispanic individuals in nice SUV's at a traffic stop near the intersection where I live. The routine, as I understand, is always the same; have an unmarked car cruise the highway, profiling drivers for potential pullover. Then an officer follows, often for miles, waiting for one minor violation such as improper use of turn signals when changing lanes or drifting slightly over the center line. Once they are pulled over, the intimidation begins. Since they are looking for money and not drugs, they apparently don't use drug dogs. But they will continually question the 'victim' with different officers until they get a contradiction in the story. The intimidation level increases until the driver admits there may be some money in the car. It doesn't matter if it's actually drug money or someone's life savings, the agency gets to keep it. From what I've seen on news reports around the country, the money stays with the local police, District Attorneys, and Judicial Offices. This helps fund salaries and nice seminars and workshop trips to exotic locations around the country.
Tennessee used to welcome visitors to the "Three Great States" of Tennessee with signs at it's borders. This referred to the three distinct geographical and cultural regions in the state. They should be honest about it and warn people of the "three great hates" of Tennessee; Muslims, Gays and now Hispanics. I am ashamed to see the type of leadership we have elected and the lengths they go to in appealing to the few narrow-minded bigots who influence them.