I gave this kid Vik $20 to let me shock him with a tazer cane. The cane 'seemed' to be waaaay more powerful than a tazer, but I was sadly mistaken. Vik let me shock him a ton of times, but out of all of them only one of the shocks seems like it would have deterred and attacker.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Why do they ruin their own communities???
Why do we keep allowing it??!!??
On the odd occasion that I am out walking on the streets of my city (or any U.S. City for that matter) it's not gangs that I fear, nor is it fear of racial violence, robbery, or being murdered by gangs, what I fear is our own police force harassing, assaulting, and violating my rights. Why is that? According to popular conception, I should not only have no fear, but due to being a middle class, college educated, blue eyed, fair skinned Caucasian, the world should bend to my will and open up to me, baring all her secrets and the gifts and wonders that she has to offer. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has become apparent to me that the only color our government sees is the color green. I have always been under the opinion that our local police and judicial system were only there in order to protect the rights of the citizens who implemented them and to better the living conditions of the people whom they are sworn to protect. If this was ever the purpose, it is no longer the case. There is an abuse of power and a perversion of our laws that cannot be ignored. The police abuse their power blatantly, and a large majority of the populace are not aware of it until they are subjected to the gang in blue. Our courts have lost their direction and instead of interpreting the law to make a decision which is best for the community and the family, they press the letter of the law to acquire the monetary maximum possible, and they achieve this with clearly unethical measures.
The motto of any local police department has always been “To serve and protect”, and even though the 'who' of that motto is never mentioned, it is assumed to mean the people of the same communities that are being abused by them. A couple years ago I remember getting off of the freeway near my home, and I counted 8 sheriff and state patrol within 2 blocks of the exit. They were simply posting up seeking to ticket traffic violations. Later that same day in a large field behind my home, someone was discharging a fully automatic weapon. I called the police because I had no idea how to approach the situation, but they never showed up? I called back, and was told they should be coming soon, but again they never showed up. After numerous calls, and the situation resolving itself, I received a call from the staff sergeant telling me that they had come and checked it all out, but that was simply a lie. I was slightly high strung after 2 hours of crouching and being in fear of a stray bullet, and I confronted the sergeant about their lack of service and duty. The officer's reply was all about how busy they were, and he actually said, “We had a possible drowning to deal with!!” I remember all I could think was that I couldn't believe he used that as a reason? I simply couldn't imagine that even a 'for sure' drowning required over 40 deputies?? On another occasion a large group of young adults came onto our family property to drink and party in the woods. My wife asked them to go elsewhere (I was not home at the time) and one of them spit on her, and they verbally abused her and threatened her, so she contacted the authorities immediately. Approximately 4 hours later when I was back home a deputy showed up and walked around the property. He informed us that he felt the assailants were no longer present.......wow thanks officer....??? While living at the same residence our home was burglarized. The police came to do the report, and I showed them a bunch of glass that the burglars had handled, and they said they don't take prints for stuff like burglaries. They then proceeded to arrest me!!! I was informed I had failed to pay a fine from over 10 years ago!!!! I was released 24 hours later, and the judge did apologize by saying he didn't believe I should' have been arrested, but I had been arrested in front of my family and neighbors.
The police aren't the only public servants who are contributing to the degradation of our communities by their abuse of power, but the court system is another one of the big problems. I am speechless at how the people who sit on the bench can look themselves in the mirror each day, and not be overcome with shame. Here is a fictional situation of a daily court decision in our local community. A 22 year old roofer who was recently divorced after a layoff from the job he'd had since high school has his license revoked for falling in arrears for child support. At 5am he is on his was to a new job for a roofing company he just applied for , is pulled over for driving at 5 am, and is arrested for driving without a valid operators license. While being booked, he loses his new job for not showing up. The next day he is brought into see a judge. It is apparent that if he pleads 'not guilty' they will set a court date for 60 days out, and impose a bail that is unattainable for the now unemployed roofer. He quickly realizes that if he wants to get out of jail today his only choice is to plead guilty. Reluctantly he pleads guilty and the judge imposes a $1000 fine for the man who can't afford his child support and now has no job again. How does this help ANYONE?? I also know a guy who was sent to state prison for selling $80 worth of marijuana?? How can this happen?
The way that the police actually investigated and arrested him for the trivial amount of plant material was absolutely unethical too. They waited for over 2 years from the time they allegedly made the controlled purchase. At that time he was no longer even in that sort of life, but he had moved on and had a job and a life. Once he was arrested he was trying to create a time line and he soon realized that he no longer lived in the residence they said he had done the transaction from. He went through his picture albums and found a picture with the date imprinted on it showing how securely they had locked the place up after he moved. Instead of backing off the police arrested him for 'intimidating a witness'. Even though this hadn't happened his lawyer said it was his word against theirs and theirs was worth more. The bottom line is THERE WAS NO ILLEGAL TRANSACTION only a written fabricated report of one, a bunch of police and court man hours and money wasted, and an upstanding citizen falsely imprisoned and a felon for life. How in any way shape or form can this help our community?
Nearly a decade ago I had a fight with my wife and we had slapped each other (Yes I am ashamed it happened) and I was arrested for a domestic violence charge. I was interviewed by an alleged domestic violence expert and he stated I didn't possess the necessary mental functionality to understand the nature of the level of violence that had been committed.???!!?? It quickly came to light that he was also the counselor who would receive the $50 fee two times a week for 2 years if by chance I did require violence counseling. How is it ethical that the person who stands to gain the money is also the person who decides if you are in need of that counseling. The final outcome of the matter was that I went to jail, was given a $2500 fine, and spent two years of twice a week $50 a visit violence counseling. (Where the counselor collected cash, then put in a video and went into his office.). This is our fault for allowing them to keep abusing us.
I have finally come to the conclusion that I cannot change these problems, but I feel that a large percent of the populace is totally oblivious to the fact that our own protectors are our greatest villains. Just because the law allows for something does not make it just. If you work as a police officer or a judge, please consider the ultimate outcomes of your decisions. This is also your community and creating desperate citizens help none of us.
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Willing to relocate for the right job.
- Harlan W. Olsen
- Whatcom County, Pacific NW, United States
- I am currently seeking employment in the IT field. You can review my resume in your preferred format at the bottom of this page. I have been working in IT since I took my internship in the beginning of 2007. At the end of my internship, the 'real' Administrator gave his notice. I then had the wonderful experience of becoming the Systems Administrator, and that is when I really got the opportunity to to see 400% growth in the company in under six months! In a mission critical environment, there is a sense of urgency that school just doesn't have. With such a rise there was inevitably a fall, and I was phased out. I believe that as a sole administrator for a multi-site company helped to accelerate my learning,and I am more experienced than my years in IT would indicate.