---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The police are very mean people sometimes."
description: "\"The police are very mean people sometimes.\" — Vince Staples"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg"
---

#  The police are very mean people sometimes.

![“The police are very mean people sometimes.” quote by Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg)

> “The police are very mean people sometimes.”

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A brief, stark observation that law enforcement can act harshly, reflecting broader societal tensions.

**In simple terms:** Police can be cruel.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess authority and seek accountability.

Themes

justice authority social critique violence trust

Mood

critical serious

Type

social commentary musical lyric

When to use this quote

- public policy debate
- community activism
- personal safety planning

Key Concepts

systemic bias power dynamics community relations

Questions to Reflect On

- How do personal experiences shape views of law enforcement?
- What actions can improve police‑community relations?

A Different Perspective

The statement is a generalization that may not reflect all officers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Mean people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/)

## Related quotes

> [There's nothing really to talk about with the police. I mean, for what?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-ron/there-s-nothing-really-to-talk-about-with-the-police-i-mean-for-what/)

[Cam'ron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-ron/)

> [Release what no longer serves you to create a space for that which does. And yes, sometimes this even means people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-gage/release-what-no-longer-serves-you-to-create-a-space-for-that-which/)

[Randy Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-gage/)

> [There was a product on late night TV that you could attach to your garden hose - "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/there-was-a-product-on-late-night-tv-that-you-could-attach-to-your/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [It rolls off my back. Ridicule doesn't mean anything - even from people you're supposed to wear knee pads around, like the scientific community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-rolls-off-my-back-ridicule-doesn-t-mean-anything-even-from-people/)

[Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/)

> [Mean people are no fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-filicia/mean-people-are-no-fun/)

[Thom Filicia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-filicia/)

> [I think it's a very central tenet to it yes, it is. I can't bear it, I can't bear inequality, I can't bear bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-suzman/i-think-it-s-a-very-central-tenet-to-it-yes-it-is-i-can-t-bear-it-i/)

[Janet Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-suzman/)

> [There are all sorts of topics and themes that just recur time and time again, which either means people have less imagination or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-henry/there-are-all-sorts-of-topics-and-themes-that-just-recur-time-and/)

[Buck Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-henry/)

> [In general, inquiry ceases when we adopt a theory. After that, we overlook whatever makes against it, and see and think, and talk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-general-inquiry-ceases-when-we-adopt-a-theory-after-that-we/)

[Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/)

> [I feel like my songs are very relevant and very meaningful, but I literally have to get rid of the nostalgia for shows because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-feel-like-my-songs-are-very-relevant-and-very-meaningful-but-i/)

[Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/)

> [Twiddle-twiddle away at my softly clicky keyboard for a while, making twiddly adjustments all along- and then print what I have twiddled. Glare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/twiddle-twiddle-away-at-my-softly-clicky-keyboard-for-a-while-making/)

[Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/)

> [The Japanese army is now prepared to use every means within its power to subdue its opponents. The objectives of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iwane-matsui/the-japanese-army-is-now-prepared-to-use-every-means-within-its-power/)

[Iwane Matsui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iwane-matsui/)

> [If grace is to be free - which is the very meaning of grace - we cannot view it as something to be repaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/if-grace-is-to-be-free-which-is-the-very-meaning-of-grace-we-cannot/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [The best way to cleanse the heart and prepare for the stilling of the mind is to lead a normal, worldly life. Living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/the-best-way-to-cleanse-the-heart-and-prepare-for-the-stilling-of-the/)

[Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/)

> [As for the various religions, there's no doubt that they are very meaningful to adherents, and allow them to delude themselves into thinking there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/as-for-the-various-religions-there-s-no-doubt-that-they-are-very/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [ \[In\] the realm of science, ... what we have achieved will be obsolete in ten, twenty or fifty years. That is the fate, indeed,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/in-the-realm-of-science-what-we-have-achieved-will-be-obsolete-in-ten/)

[Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/)

## More by Vince Staples

> [We're all equally important at the end of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/we-re-all-equally-important-at-the-end-of-the-day/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I'm just saying what I think about at the time. I don't make a point to do anything, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-m-just-saying-what-i-think-about-at-the-time-i-don-t-make-a-point/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [Someone who only wants to play sold-out shows will find a tempo that works at the shows and then focus on making that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/someone-who-only-wants-to-play-sold-out-shows-will-find-a-tempo-that/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I saw The Revenant, and they were calling Native Americans "tree niggers," and that is not cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-saw-the-revenant-and-they-were-calling-native-americans-tree/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I wouldn't say I fear the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-wouldn-t-say-i-fear-the-future/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [Everything's going to end eventually. I don't know if we're rushing it or making it faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/everything-s-going-to-end-eventually-i-don-t-know-if-we-re-rushing-it/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I don't care at all. I don't know the difference from one president to the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-don-t-care-at-all-i-don-t-know-the-difference-from-one-president-to/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [Everyone serves a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/everyone-serves-a-purpose/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [It's human nature, we take a mile when we're given an inch. We're crazy. You see what we did to the animals! They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/it-s-human-nature-we-take-a-mile-when-we-re-given-an-inch-we-re-crazy/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I think there's too much of the wrong type of influences that stem from hip-hop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-think-there-s-too-much-of-the-wrong-type-of-influences-that-stem/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [There's a price tag on everything including black people's lives and what they do with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/there-s-a-price-tag-on-everything-including-black-people-s-lives-and/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [ When you have this job \[as an entertainer\] you're suddenly not a person anymore. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/when-you-have-this-job-as-an-entertainer-you-re-suddenly-not-a-person/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [We live in an age where everyone is so opinionated about everything in general in life, especially their expertise or their personal knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/we-live-in-an-age-where-everyone-is-so-opinionated-about-everything/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [We should focus on the things that are bad that we can immediately control, because people are always going to be people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/we-should-focus-on-the-things-that-are-bad-that-we-can-immediately/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

> [I'm not really scared of a lot of things. I'm scared of possums. And I'm scared of raccoons sometimes, it depends on how big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-m-not-really-scared-of-a-lot-of-things-i-m-scared-of-possums-and-i/)

[Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

[Explore all 90 Vince Staples quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/)

## More Mean quotes

> [That we have the vote means nothing. That we use it in the right way means everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-henry-hoover/that-we-have-the-vote-means-nothing-that-we-use-it-in-the-right-way/)

[Lou Henry Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-henry-hoover/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/)

[James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/)

[Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/what-is-a-moderate-interpretation-of-the-text-halfway-between-what-it/)

[Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/)

> [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/)

[Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/)

> [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

Browse all 33,959 Mean quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The police are very mean people sometimes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vince Staples"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometimes/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Mean"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometimes/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/vince-staples-7552_mean_the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometime_1298982.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The police are very mean people sometimes.” — Vince Staples",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Vince Staples",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The police are very mean people...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometimes/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/the-police-are-very-mean-people-sometimes/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
