Don, I wouldn't argue the US is a police state (which places would you recommend by the way, it seems a sort of rhetorical trick used in this thread a few times without ever coming to concrete suggestions, a bit too nudge nudge wink wink say no more sort of thing. At the end of the day even in pre war Iraq most people, especially the middle classes, are now reported to have lived mostly happy and safe lives much like our own, as long as they stayed away from politics.).

Anyhow, from a distance there are a few things that are notable:

A few years ago a man on a different forum (Chiff & Fipple)told how he was driving through LA, on holiday from the UK, when he was pulled over by police. He got out of the car asking 'can I help you sir?' next thing he was kicked to the ground and had two policemen pointing guns at his head. The universal reaction of US member of C&F was 'you were lucky they didn't shoot you. You never get out of your car when stopped.'

Now, I hear that same undertone in reactions here: 'you do as you're told and don't talk back, otherwise you're in deep trouble', stories have been related here of policemen hassling people into a reaction so they could arrest them (or give them a severe walloping). Anyhow, the general attitude is that of doing as you're told otherwise they'll make things difficult for you.

To be honest, stopping well short of invoking 'police state' this is all very disconcerting to those used to a different state of things.

Mind you, before anyone starts, recent police brutality and treatment of protesters in the UK is equally disconcerting.