The Bitch Box

Paedantic Basterd · 10-07-2010, 12:38 PM

I admit that I don't have a lot of sympathy for those sorts of incidents. You guys know what you're doing, you know the risks, you've assessed them, and you've made your choice.

Mojo · 10-07-2010, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaimon

A (seemingly) good kid from school died last week. Today was his memorial, and I feel like **** for not feeling as bad as I probably should. Wish I did meet him though; from the way a friend described him, he seemed awesome.

Why should you feel worse about it than you do? Because he was young? I don't know.

Death can be a really hard thing to come to terms with, it can be devestating. However there usually tends to be an emotional involvement for this.

I went to a funeral yesterday. Now, she was an old lady. She was 85. So, i dont know if you feel this way because he was a young kid or if this has anything to do with it or not but I don't have an emotional attactchment to this woman. She used to say hello to me every time I saw her, her husband was the same when he was alive. She was a neighbour, had lived around here pretty much all of her life and so I knew of her, would talk to her whenever I saw her and thought she was a lovely old lady.

Thats the extent of any attatchment I had to her though, so I went to her funeral to pay my respects and then I went to the pub with my mates and got drunk.

You don't necessarily have to feel any worse than you do to learn of someones death.

duga · 10-07-2010, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePhanastasio

That is extremely horrible. I'm very sorry to hear that. Fortunately, if that's her first drug-related offense, they will probably reduce the sentence to a misdemeanor. She's still probably looking at being charged with at least two misdemeanors, and could be looking at between 30 days - 6 months jail time, if the court where you live is anything like where I live.

For example: A friend of mine was in the car with me once, and she (stupidly) had a bunch of pain medication that was not hers on her (60 pills) and I pulled over because I got a phone call and don't like talking and driving. I pulled into a gas station right beside the high school in my town (within 25 yards of said high school) and it was 3 in the morning. The gas station was open, but the cops came over anyway.

I quickly ended my phone call to talk to them, and they claimed they smelled pot, which was completely untrue; I'd never smoked pot in that car, nor had I smoked for over a month at that point. They used this as probable cause to search the car, however, and found the pills in my friend's purse.

Her initial charges were possession with intent to sell (felony) and then an increase in intensity because we were within 100 yards of the school. She took all the blame, and I just stayed completely quiet; I knew that I wasn't involved, but was afraid that if I spoke, I'd implicate her further.

They wound up dropping the school zone charge completely, and reduced her possession to a basic possession, dropping the intent to sell, and it was a misdemeanor because it was her first offense. She spent 30 days in jail, but if she'd been charged with everything, it would have been something like 3 years.

Hopefully, if it's your friend's first charge, they'll be equally as lenient.

It is her first charge, thankfully. A class D felony here is worth 6 months to 3 years in jail plus up to $10000 in fines. She has two of those plus a misdemeanor. If they really do drop the whole thing to a misdemeanor, here in Indiana that usually just means probation and community service. My dealer buddy has also set her up with his lawyer, who is apparently great for these kinds of things. So, there is still hope...but that doesn't make this situation any less horrible. Minus the pills they found (which I didn't know about), I just kept sitting there the whole time thinking our lives could be ****ed because of a plant. I've thought about that before, but I never felt the full impact of just how ridiculous it is until that night.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I admit that I don't have a lot of sympathy for those sorts of incidents. You guys know what you're doing, you know the risks, you've assessed them, and you've made your choice.

Surely. We did know the risks. That doesn't make the law itself any less stupid. I won't get into a huge drug debate here (I'll save it for the appropriate thread), but I will say that I am of the opinion that a person's body is their own property and they have to right to do with it what they may. When it starts to endanger others around them, that's when I have no problem with the police showing up.

Barnard17 · 10-07-2010, 12:50 PM

I have utmost sympathy. No harm was being done and the laws are unjust. Yet because of social stigma, potential felony charges and a criminal record, Duga's friend is facing probable jail time and a permanently effected career. Over having some pot in her possession which was for her own social use, and she wasn't driving under the influence. Simply saying "you know the law, it's your own fault" doesn't really cut it when the law is flawed and baseless.

Paedantic Basterd · 10-07-2010, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnard17

I have utmost sympathy. No harm was being done and the laws are unjust. Yet because of social stigma, potential felony charges and a criminal record, Duga's friend is facing probable jail time and a permanently effected career. Over having some pot in her possession which was for her own social use, and she wasn't driving under the influence. Simply saying "you know the law, it's your own fault" doesn't really cut it when the law is flawed and baseless.

Definitely a matter of opinion, and what I'm saying is, accept the consequences of your actions. If you don't want to see those, either don't do it, or do it smarter, like at home in your basement or something.

Barnard17 · 10-07-2010, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

accept the consequences of your actions.

Why, when those consequences represent a gross and baseless injustice? You have a brain capable of rational thought, use it rather than remaining complicit to the herd mentality of outdated social values.

Paedantic Basterd · 10-07-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnard17

Why, when those consequences represent a gross and baseless injustice? You have a brain capable of rational thought, use it rather than remaining complicit to the herd mentality of outdated social values.

Like I said, whether it's baseless or not is a matter of opinion, and both of us being biased makes for an impossible argument, which I am not about to have.

duga · 10-07-2010, 01:49 PM

I agree with both of you. If we had been blatantly on drugs or were obviously in possession of them, then yes...we deserve every consequence coming our way. We may not agree with some laws, but technically we should still be following them. The thing is, we were driving safely, weren't hurting anyone, and no more than a few yards from our home. We got pulled over because of her broken tail light. I have a strong feeling the car would have been searched regardless because that's just what cops do here. "I smell weed"..well, who is to prove otherwise? It's the go to probable cause. I do not agree with that one small bit.

Paedantic Basterd · 10-07-2010, 01:52 PM

Okay, while I still retain my personal views, that's a reasonable way to look at things, and I can respect that.

Barnard17 · 10-07-2010, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duga

We may not agree with some laws, but technically we should still be following them.

Why? If laws cannot be shown to have a meaningful function (that is to say that they do not benefit society, nor do they protect society) then what does it benefit us to blindly follow what is nothing more than an arbitrary instruction created by societal mores rather than through rational thought process. I'm not saying you should spark up a dooby in front of a cop to stick it to the man. However following a law simply because it's a law rather than because it has genuine value and merit benefits no one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Like I said, whether it's baseless or not is a matter of opinion, and both of us being biased makes for an impossible argument, which I am not about to have.

Why is it a matter of opinion? Why are we both biased?

Can it not be agreed that Government exists for a reason, that laws exist for a purpose, and therefore the nature and validity of existing laws can and should be assessed?

View Poll Results: Hey. Did you just grab my ass?
Yes...	30	34.48%
From where I'm standing that is a physical impossibility	26	29.89%
Sh...Should I?	31	35.63%
Voters: 87. You may not vote on this poll

10-07-2010, 12:50 PM	#6434 (permalink)
Barnard17 My home? Discabled, Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 204	I have utmost sympathy. No harm was being done and the laws are unjust. Yet because of social stigma, potential felony charges and a criminal record, Duga's friend is facing probable jail time and a permanently effected career. Over having some pot in her possession which was for her own social use, and she wasn't driving under the influence. Simply saying "you know the law, it's your own fault" doesn't really cut it when the law is flawed and baseless. __________________ Vita brevis, Occasio praeceps

10-07-2010, 01:49 PM	#6438 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	I agree with both of you. If we had been blatantly on drugs or were obviously in possession of them, then yes...we deserve every consequence coming our way. We may not agree with some laws, but technically we should still be following them. The thing is, we were driving safely, weren't hurting anyone, and no more than a few yards from our home. We got pulled over because of her broken tail light. I have a strong feeling the car would have been searched regardless because that's just what cops do here. "I smell weed"..well, who is to prove otherwise? It's the go to probable cause. I do not agree with that one small bit. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

10-07-2010, 12:38 PM	#6431 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I admit that I don't have a lot of sympathy for those sorts of incidents. You guys know what you're doing, you know the risks, you've assessed them, and you've made your choice.

10-07-2010, 01:52 PM	#6439 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Okay, while I still retain my personal views, that's a reasonable way to look at things, and I can respect that.