If I chased someone down and beat them up for giving me the middle finger I would be in jail on any number of charges.
If I can not do it, neither can the cops.
They are just citizens like you and me.
It’s better not to give cops probable cause to pull you over if you’re going to flip them off. The air freshener is weak, but it is PC. Read the officer’s account of the perp trying to distance himself from his car....making a fuet, trying to bite. Compliance is thr only thing a cop cares about, if you cross a line. Could be a steroid case, could be an a** hole, could be both...so play games and take your chances, if you want.
“They are just citizens like you and me.”
I’ll back you up on this. Amazing how those who complain about the erosion of their own Constitutional rights are all in for hypocritically denying certain individuals Constitutional rights.
Two wrongs do not make a right.
You are gravely mistaken. The individuals sworn to enforce the law have much greater latitude as to what they may do to use their authority, and it may mean to kill you if you resist their authority. You had better get this principle fully into your knowledge base, or it may not go well with you in an interaction with them. "Sir, yes sir!" is the correct response.
They are just citizens like you and me.
They most certainly are not, they are sworn officers of the law which you are not. To think that you are of equal authority in a confrontation is a deadly error in your ignorance and lack of fear of a person who may justly terminate your existence.
See my post #85 in this thread.
The middle-finger flipper was just as ignorant as you seem to be. Considering the prevalent increasing lack of respect for these peace officers, in this confrontation the officer acted quite well within his purview of exemplifying a warning to others, like you, of the nature of what "law-abiding" means.
Do you understand how beneficial it can be to you to grasp the concept?