COPS CRANK UP TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERS

Don't flash your headlights at passing cars, because the driver and occupants of that car could be gang members that will kill you as part of an intitiation ritual.
That's the word that Worcester Sheriff's deputies were whispering among themselves recently. We heard that from straight from the mouth of high-ranking official at the Pocomoke Fair a couple weeks ago. Geez, that's enough to strike fear into the hearts of Mr and Mrs Whitebread America, who will gladly pay whatever it costs to put more cops on the street to protect us from real and imaginary bogeymen....or is it bogiepersons.
Well, file this Police Alert under "imaginary bogeyman." It's an urban myth that's been around for at least 10 years. We tried to tell the Sheriff's official he had nothing to worry about, but he would have none of it. This information apparently came from the most trusted law-enforcement intelligence sources, and so was unimpeachable.
Yikes. We first read about this myth in Cecil Adams' book "The Straight Dope" about 10 years ago. You can probably still find the column online. You can also find it on Snopes.com, a website dedicated to debunking myths.
But this story still raises a couple of troubling questions. Among them are: Shouldn't the people charged with ensuring the safety of the public know what's happening on the street? And shouldn't they know that this myth has run like a wildfire through the law-enforcement community several times before now? And if they do, why would they continue to propagate it? Is it perhaps to ratchet up fear among civilians and get them to relinquish even more civil liberties?
Come on, Boys in Blue, (I would call you Boys in Brown Shirts, but it sounds a little too 1939 Germany and it would make my stomach roll) you should know bullshit when you hear it. We certainly do.