Not like some of the people who absolutely love to lick them of their own accord. I've had to, in the past, and it left a sour taste in my mouth.
The Boot in question has kicked my assailant to the curb more than once. It's let me go with a warning before. This is undoubtedly because I am a white woman, which is by far the Boot's most favored on the list of whom it has sworn to protect and serve. It sees me as a small creature, abused and weak, that constantly is in need of help and makes mistakes because it doesn't know better.
The truth is, though, I was going 72 in a 60 because I was late to work and I know that on holidays, the Boot Patrol is much fewer and farther between. I cried on purpose and lied that I was only following traffic because I knew it would let me off easy. And the shitty part is that I was right. I was only fined for going 5 over the speed limit rather than 12.
I am a white woman, and the Boot loves me.
Which is why it leaves such a sour taste in my mouth when it helps me, and other white women like me, and then turns around and stomps out a trans person, or a person of color, or both, just for the sole reason of existing.
And then the Boot gets let off easy, because it is the Boot. It gets off on the plea of, "I felt threatened," and, "Just doing my job, ladies and gentlemen."
Maybe the job is wrong.
Maybe the Boot should be dismantled and repurposed into other types of shoes that might be able to do the job more efficiently and less violently, like running shoes or sandals or loafers.
Black lives matter.
Queer lives matter.
This is not an opinion.
Defund the police.