Some Folks Don't Pay Attention...
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to announce that I am FOUR FOR FOUR this month; four days, four calls into the FWPD for various things, mostly related to unsupervised children.
Be nice if SOME folks paid attention...to their KIDS for one thing.
I dislike loitering and playing in the damn streets...it leads to other and more dubious behaviors. I never did that as a child...my parents wouldn't have any of that. I had to have a bonifide "destination" like a friend's house...or the corner store.
And we had PLAYGROUNDS to play at, if not inside one another's houses...couldn't GET any easier that that, right?
(I'll be filling you all in on THAT in tomorrow's post)
Yepper...That's the price for giving a damn, I suppose.
You CARE, even when you shouldn't...you do anyway...
*** And THAT is why people like ME keep getting called for JURY DUTY!
I knew this would happen AGAIN...always does (with me).
FOUR TIMES in a dozen years...this is getting REAL tiresome.
This latest fiasco (read waste of my time as well as money for parking and gas) will occur in conjunction with the frigging FULL MOON...how apropos is THAT?
These articles will show the depth of "broke" this system is in:
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2011/01/18/opinion/doc4d348b19daffe500330095.txt
and this:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/boston/BO133130/
Now before I launch into today's tirade, let me assuage your fears about me not "fulfilling my civic duty".
What I consider to be CIVIC DUTY is apparently a LOT different from what those in the Hoosier Court System consider to be.
We are WORLDS APART..and probably will never reach ANY common ground.
MY civic duty is to be a GOOD CITIZEN, and by that I mean to be a good EXAMPLE of what said citizen or neighbor would be to others.
I do NOT seek out trouble, nor do I ask for any from anyone else.
(it usually comes by all on it's own)
I OBEY THE LAWS and ORDINANCES of the city (regardless of how others treat them, or how ridiculous those laws might be).
I also realize that any "rights" I have come FIRST from my CREATOR...period.
The rest are granted by our CONSTITUTION...and that's that.
Everything else is a privilege, and that includes serving on a jury.
Well, I refuse the privilege...how's that?
I have never signed an agreement that made the court system lord and master over MY life on ANY specified day, week, month, or year.
Would I be SO fortunate to find ANYONE living around us that would have HALF the impetus to practice a like mind.
For the last three times I have stated in no certain terms on that stupid-ass questionnaire (which apparently means not ONE DAMN THING to these morons downtown) that I am VERY BIAS when it comes to criminal activity or criminals themselves.
I don't LIKE them...I DETEST them, and have no desire to mingle or live among them, but since the government has taken away the LAST vestige of decent people down here and saw fit to drop these pieces of human crap all around us, I have little recourse BUT to keep further to myself and not bother with such annoyances, as much as I can.
I have NEVER been through the court system, and only appeared as a witness TWICE, and as far as I'm concerned, the LESS time I spend in City Hall and it's courtrooms...the better (for everyone).
I also come from a police family (back in Philly), and have stated every time that I cannot be "impartial" when it comes to sitting on a jury...tell 'ya right now...in THIS city (Fort Wayne), doesn't mean a damn thing to anyone downtown!
(which means someone isn't paying the hell attention in the court system)
When you see a failed judicial system in operation every damn day allowing the wrong people to cop pleas and walk their asses out of the building, or get such reduced sentences because of attorney bargaining (bypassing juries altogether), you just HAVE to wonder WTF is wrong with this system and why do we keep allowing it to function in the manner it does.
When something's broke, you up and fix it.
THIS system IS indeed...broken.
So don't come calling on me and all but "demand" that I fulfill my civic OBLIGATION...!
(that's like placing me behind the wheel of a dangerously UNSAFE vehicle...ain't gonna happen)
How DARE you make such assumptions about me, based on my reluctance to play into your adjudicating hands.
My obligations are to my spouse as well as myself...FIRST.
I owe nothing to YOUR system of skewed "justice", because I have never been part and parcel to it's function (luckily).
I have never had the "opportunity" to be a "guest"of any of your facilities, because I practice self-restraint and know what is meant by THE LAW.
For those that do neither, all I can say is find yourselves someone who CAN be THAT impartial...THAT unbiased, and THAT willing to face the worst that humanity has to offer and "judge" them with words which often only serve to slap them on the wrist for their heinous actions.
I prefer a much more "simple" method...NATURAL JUSTICE.
I prefer to PUNISH those who do wrong, and not merely scold them.
Is that being judgmental? Yes, but with PURPOSE...and often...FINALITY.
I believe in making those PAY for their crimes, and for as long as it takes to get that job done.
For those who cannot or will not be made penitent...that's what the DEATH SENTENCE IS FOR.
So don't BS me into believing you're innocent..rather, PROVE to me you're NOT GUILTY.
That works for me.
I swore an oath a long time ago to uphold the Constitution and pledge my loyalty to this nation, and I will do so until I die.
No one is trying to "un-swear" me that I can see.
In many ways, I still demonstrate my loyalty every single day by the manner I conduct myself, and by watching, listening, and reporting those that do wrong...for all the good THAT seems to do.
I perform what I believe to be a "civic duty" far above a mere one-day stint on some jury in a county that doesn't know I even exist, except for one day every four damn years. They must like seeing me and hearing why I think the way I do. They must enjoy hearing some TRUTH in those marbled halls every so many years.
Back in the day, when you kept your nose clean, listened to those in authority and played by the rules...you got SOME kind of reward for your efforts.
It could be a letter of commendation, some medal, or perhaps even a monetary award or gift from those that acknowledged your achievement.
These days, I get NONE of that, nor am I seeking any of that.
(which is exactly what I'm getting - bupkis!)
It's worse than THAT, in fact...
I can't even get LEFT THE HELL ALONE...by ANYONE that I don't care to bother with. Imagine that.
And to think that former Supreme Court Judge, Louis Brandeis once stated that: "The makers of our constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness...
They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations.
They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone – the most comprehensive of the rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
Yeah, that sums it all up nicely.
Sorry, but I'm certainly NOT feeling all that "protected" these days, especially by ANY form of government, and I'm sure not being allowed to pursue any form of happiness down here, thanks to the government.
Helluva conundrum, isn't it?
I value my right TO BE LET ALONE...but apparently neither the aboriginal neighbors NOR the Allen County Court System seem to feel in like manner.
That's a real shame...for THEM that is.
Maybe the court system would be better served with people who could be jurors FULL-TIME...get paid money to do so.
How's about we snag the HOMELESS or possibly even the WELFARE GRABBERS and get them set to "working" off the freebies?
It's sad when the Allen County Courts feel this "need" to always come back to little old me, who has no desire to be bothered in such a way from them.
In an "ideal" scenario, those downtown would have reviewed my PAST questionnaires, and known full-well that I am not the "juror" they're looking for, and move along...but no. I would have been removed from the jury pool list, and we'd all be done with it...period.
Now, I might be set in my ways and more than a bit old-fashioned, but I think the MAIN JOB of the government is to PROTECT that which they are entrusted with...sounds simple enough.
The FEDS take care of the NATION (and not run it into the poor house)
The STATES take care of taxation, revenue and jobs to produce said revenues for infrastructure maintenance and repair
The CITIES, TOWNS, and COUNTIES take care of their areas by enforcing the LAWS and ordinances as well as providing utility services, educational opportunities and infrastructure for its citizenry, who pay for such amenities.
Yeah, I know...a perfect world...and we ain't got one at this point.
But nowhere in all that should any citizen be forced, coerced, or intimidated into jury duty, if all that citizen wants is to be is left alone and follow the laws of the land, bothering no one along the way.
I will be seeking a way to be removed from the pool list (I know they track us through voting records and the BMV). Maybe I don't wish to be "tracked" or kept watch over. Maybe I value something called PRIVACY.
And maybe I also stand for something this country needs...people who DO chase after doing the RIGHT THING...and for the RIGHT REASONS.
Perhaps in a world that did not seem to favor the "privileged", or the guilty, while tossing victims to the curb like common animals or a piece of trash, I'd be OK with sitting in judgment of another human.
But for now, everyone is guilty in that court building, along with a helluva lot of others along our streets that haven't been caught yet.
The only thing I can be called guilty of, is "shirking a civic duty".
Like I said...all depends on HOW you define "duty".
I already know.
I am also guilty of wanting to exercise my right to be let alone.
And, I am guilty of being someone who gives a damn about JUSTICE...the way it USED to be defined, and not what masquerades as justice today.
MY sentence is easy - hard time on planet Earth.
But since I was once called a patriot for MY beliefs, that "sentence" isn't as hard to stomach as one might think.
And I can deal with that.
So when I again go downtown to demonstrate my beliefs to the "judicial system", and get dismissed for the FOURTH TIME, I hope someone is paying the hell attention...to ME...and what I say, because it does echo the sentiments of others too shy to speak up.
Fix the system first, dole out punishment, make the guilty pay, and then...MAYBE, I might want to sit and judge another.
In the meantime, I'd rather count the hairs around my cat's butt than be saddled with your "sideshow" antics in the courtroom.
Find a person with blinders for that task.
I can see way too much of the truth.
There...I feel much better now...
Hey, maybe I should send a copy of this post to the court clerk...or the local newspapers!
Nah, that will do anything but have me left alone...and that's for sure.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.