Recent Injustices Brought Upon By an Unjust System...

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by angrybellsprout, Jun 19, 2008.

  1. angrybellsprout paultard since 2002 Registered Senior Member

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    1,251
    The past month or so has been pretty sad, and it just makes me doubt the western concepts of justice and fairness even more than before. This has really bothered me for a while now, but I have only told a few people so far. Now I think I'm ready to let everyone know what exactly has been going on with me recently.

    As most everyone knows, I'm only taking one course this semeseter. This class takes place on the Shoemaker High School campus on Thursday nights from 1800-2100.

    I had been sitting next to this girl in my class for a few weeks, and hadn't said a word to her. Though if you've ever had a class with me, I'm generally fairly quiet except for class discussion and a handfull of folks that I've gotten to know, then you can't get me to sush. Well after a few weeks the girl sitting next to me started to ask questions about class, how I knew so much about the subject and stuff like that. I carried on conversation into the parking lot, and after a few moments we went our separate ways, she mentioned how cold it was outside and I mentioned that I was late in picking up my friends in Austin so that I could stay at their place for Ikki-con.

    She got in her car and left, and I left right after her. The school is a bit down on Clear Creek Road, and so to get back to real civilization you have only one way to go. While driving I remembered that I needed to pick up my alcohol for the weekend, as I've had plenty of trouble finding the kinds of things that I like to drink in north Austin in the past. So first I attempt to run into the store right outside of Kuma Village at the intersection of Clear Creek and 190. They didn't have what I wanted, thus I had to drive into Fort Hood to go to the main store to pick my stuff up.

    I bought my MD 20/20 and drove down to see my friends in Austin. I enjoyed my weekend at Ikki-con, though my friends bailed on me at the last second. The weekend just seemed like things had gone too well.

    Well Thursday before class started, I was approached by our Dean of Student Affiars and asked to go with her to another room. I was a little confused, and asked her what this was about, and she said that she couldn't tell me untill we were in this other room. So we got into this other room, and two police officers came in right behind us.

    They asked me if I knew why I was in the room with them. When I told them no, they started to go on about where I was after class last week. They started to go on about how the girl that talked to me the week before had claimed that I followed her from Shoemaker all the way to her house in Belton, and that she supposedly had two witnesses to back up her claims.

    I was really shocked, and did not know what to say. I started to tell them about how we talked after class, though they made it out as if I was hiding in the hallway behind her and jumped at her in the parking lot... I then told them about my quest to get my MD 20/20, and my trip to my friend's house for the weekend. I told them that because I used my credit card to pay for my alcohol that would prove that I was a good 20 miles or so away from Belton at the time of the supposed crime.

    The police continued to question me about a description of my car and took my liscense and checked me for weapons. Though by the end of it I got the feeling that the police actually felt that I was most likely innocent. The thing was that the dean wasn't convinced that I wasn't some sort of dangerous person. The entire time they kept telling me to never talk to this girl again, or come near her, or whatever. I was a little confused as to why I'd even want to talk to her again, but the dean insisted that if I was caught trying to communicate with her ever again that I'd be expelled from the school.

    I just figured that a case of two 'witnesses' claiming that they saw me at 2130, which I'm not sure how you could give a description of anyone when it is that dark out, against my physical evidence proving that I was on Fort Hood making my alcohol run, was enough to get me thrown in jail or kicked out of school in some places in the west, thus I should feel lucky. Of course when I got back in class my belongings had been moved, and I haven't talked to her since.

    What kind of bothered me was the next day when I went to go get a copy of the recipt for when I bought my alcohol from the store. I got my recipt from the manager with no problem, but I was really bothered me was when I went to give the recipt to the dean. I went in and gave her a copy of the recipt proving my story that I was 20 miles away at the time that I was supposedly driving around Belton following this girl around, and her response was one of meh who cares. Of course, physical evidence isn't enough to prove your innocent when a woman has made an accusation against you, thus why should I have ever expected anything but getting told yet again that if I ever said a word to that girl that I'd be expelled from school?

    Then about two weeks later (not last Thursday but the one before) after class I stayed to talk to my professor, which is my standard deal in all the classes I've had with him because I find him really intereasting. Of course the girl had long left the classroom, and I went on my way to the parking lot. I saw the police in their car in the parking lot, as they are there every night after class, and went to ask them about the recipt that I told the dean to give them. They told me that they never recieved the recipt, despite me giving it to the dean nearly two weeks earlier.

    While talking to the police officers, I noticed something really suspicious. I saw the girl in the parking lot, though she had left a good 5 min, if not longer, before I left the room. On top of that, I saw her leaning into the window of the car (that happened to be suspiciously parked right next to mine), well suv, that she typically drives to class talking to someone, and about half way through my discussion with the police officers she walked over to a pick up truck (which was sucpiciously parked right across from mine) but didn't get it turned on.

    I thought that this was really weird, but I was tired and wanted to go home. As I started to walk towards my car, she turned on the pick up, but the truck didn't start to move until I had turned my car on. It seemed like she was waiting for me to leave so that she could leave right ahead of me, this seemed a little odd, but the police saw my actions and knew that I obviously had not been the one to plan out some 'coincidence' that would have me following her out of the parking lot. Also, soon as I got in my car, the suv came on, but didn't move until I had moved, right after the truck moved.

    I really had a bad feeling about this, and when I got to Clear Creek I hit the gas and got to 55 mph as fast as I could, passing the truck. While I was going down the road I just had a sudden urge to grab a 40 at the Kuma store, as they are a good $.75 cheaper there than at the store by my house. I didn't get thus urge until seconds before I was about to pass the store, so I just kinda cut into the path to the store with little warning.

    While I was waiting for a parking spot that I really wanted, I noticed that the suv had followed me into the parking lot and wouldn't get from behind me. I knew something bad was definatly about to happen, but what could I really do? I knew that I had a box cutter in the back seat somewhere, though I wouldn't want to have to justify using a box cutter on military property, but I had my steel toe boots on so if worse came to worse I have very powerful legs. I also felt safe with the fact that there was a man sitting on a bench near my car, and there were plenty of cameras to help me with my story.

    I regained my composure and got out of the car so that I could walk into the store and get my 40. After I took a few steps, a man got out of the suv and started going on about how he didn't get to properly introduce himself, and that he was the husband of the woman that I supposedly followed home three weeks ago. He kept telling me that if I came near his wife again that he'd beat me up. At first I simply told him that I had physical evidence proving that I was nowhere near Belton that night, thus he has me mistaken for someone else. Then he responded with how he saw my face, and remembered it. I thought that this was pretty telling, as I don't think you could give a good description of anyone's face at 2130 with it being that dark outside at night, and if he really remembered my face so well, then why did he have to wait in the parking lot to have his wife point me out to him?

    He continued to go on and on about how he was going to hurt me, but I remained calm and told him to get away from me. While he continued on, I started to walk towards the enterance of the store, but he started to attempt to block my way with his chest. I just simply walked around him, and he finally left me alone as soon as I made my way in the door. While inside I bought my 40, and by the time that I got back outside the campus police were talking to him.

    The next morning I attempted to contact the KISD police officers that stay around Shoemaker, but they don't answer their phone. I had called the deans office, and they told me to come in that afternoon because she was going to be at meetings all morning. I had a few things to do at the building, and swung by. I had bumped into the KISD police officers that I was looking for at the Tarleton building, and asked them about pressing charges, along with giving them a copy of the recipt that the dean was supposed to have given them two weeks earlier.

    The officers told me that since the crime took place on military property that they couldn't do anything about it, but that they would do whatever they could to aide my case with the Fort Hood Military Police. So my next stop was to go onto Fort Hood and file a police report. After a couple of house with the officers there, they told me that because of the fact that he told me that he'd only harm me if I came near his wife again that there wasn't much of anything that they could do for me under Texas law. They did tell me that if I happened to see him near me again that I should just call them, and that they would then arrest him.

    I didn't get done with the military police untill it was almost time for me to go talk to the dean. I went in and talked to her, and she said how sad she was that this happened. Then she told me that she finally was starting to believe that I might have not followed that girl home, as the KISD police had been telling her that I was no longer sitting near her in class and would go out of my way to not walk past her in the parking lot. Next she told me something that truely disgusted me. She told me that she was going to tell that girl the same thing that she had already told me, that if she made any further contact with me that she would be expelled. Then she told me that if I ever saw her husband on campus again to tell the KISD police and that he would be arrested for tresspassing, as he isn't a student.

    I was a little glad about the second thing, but even now I cannot get over the feeling of disgust I have. Why didn't she tell that girl these things when she first made her false claim against me? Further yet, she is now going to take a case that has this man on camera threatening me, and the KISD police officers as witnesses, and treat it exactly the same as a woman who makes a claim of a witness, when you obviously couldn't have seen anything, and me having physical evidence to further my innocense?

    I was just so disgusted that I went home, and couldn't stop thinking about it all day. That day and the next day all that I could think about was crying.

    I didn't go to class this week because the weather was pretty bad. Though now I am at least feeling a little bit better about the whole situation, and am now at least comfortable enough to post it here.

    Oh well, I guess we'll see how things go this Thursday at class. Only a few more weeks to go, and class will be all over with. Still, this whole series of events has really made my faith in the concept of fairness in the western world go down even further than it already was.


    Here are some quotes from the student code of conduct at Tarleton...


    2.3.7 Engaging in conduct that interferes with or disrupts any university teaching, research, administrative, disciplinary, public service, or other authorized activity or the peace and welfare of any person, whether on or off campus.

    2.3.12 Engaging in disruptive activity such as, but not limited to, disorderly conduct, which includes physical or verbal abuse and/or injury of another person; abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place; threats, obscene actions; non-consensual sexual act or contact and/or disrespect for the rights and privileges of others.

    2.3.24 Attempting, aiding, abetting, conspiring, hiring or being an accessory to any act prohibited by this code shall be considered to the same extent as completed violations.


    http://www.tarleton.edu/~judicial/conductcodes.html

    I wrote this back in March, and before I say what has happened since the point where I wrote this, I'll wait to see some input.
     
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  3. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    so take her to court for defimation
     
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  5. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    and get a restraining order taken out on the two of them

    Also you could report her to the police for harasment and the husband for assult
     
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  7. Prince_James Plutarch (Mickey's Dog) Registered Senior Member

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    You should have made it quite clear that you would sue that school if they tried to expell you.
     
  8. milkweed Valued Senior Member

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    Kinda overblown as I see it. But to get on with the actual events, the woman believed she was followed home by you. If it wasnt you, it was someone else (or possibly she is kinda weird and paranoid and no one was following her). One fault I do see is when you produced your receipt, the Dean of Student Affiars maybe should have alerted the woman to this, and posted it to her as maybe its someone else she should be alert for.

    There is also the husband making threats against you.
    That is a terroristic threat and can have a charge brought against the person. It is grounds for a restraining order (which has been suggested already).

    A part of this not addressed is What is this husband like? Did the woman make up this kind of issue to protect herself from an abusive husband? She talked with you after class which would have made her late. While thats not your fault, it is also something that cannot be proved without her saying it is occurring. And that is not the fault of the system.

    Until the husband showed up on campus, there was no cause against the woman. As the Dean of S.A. has been made aware of this, she is acting appropriately with the warning of possible expulsion, just like you were warned.

    By pressing forth with a restraining order against the husband, you do leave a paper trail which may not be needed, but whos to say this guy wont go threaten another or even beat up someone else who discusses a class with his wife.
     
  9. Challenger78 Valued Senior Member

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    See if you can sue the school for not taking disciplinary action against the other student, for laying false accusations.
    Hell, you could even take it as far as discrimination for refusing to believe you. (but I'm not an expert.)
    Better just stick to the restraining order.


    other than that, you have my sympathy, not that it means much.
     
  10. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    call your local police department and ask to speak to there victioms of crime liazon officer. I have had issues where i have needed to talk to them and even if there isnt something the police can do they do have access to alot of resorces outside the police which they can direct you to. They can at least advise you what steps you should take.

    As i said you could take a civil case for defimation
    you can take out a restraining order
    You could take a case against the husband for civil assult or press criminal charges for harasment and assult against him
    you can also apeal the university through there own displinry system (the student union maybe able to help you there because in australia at least they have an advocasy side)
     
  11. angrybellsprout paultard since 2002 Registered Senior Member

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    I think you missed this part.

     
  12. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    have you spoken to the legal advice line in your country?
    (sure there has to be one, and it should be free)
    See if they can advise you
     
  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    More questions than anything else, with no question marks ....

    Angrybellsprout

    One thing I would note is that, even among your American neighbors, Texas is often regarded as a strange place with bizarre customs and laws. This may or may not be fair. Unfortunately the myth tends to come up in fairly restricted fashion, such as when people were arguing about George Bush's tenure as governor; e.g., on the one hand, he claimed he did not have the authority to intervene in certain issues of crime and punishment, while to the other he claimed as evidence of his leadership his efforts in crime and punishment—in other words, his evidence of leadership was that he did the only thing he was allowed. Whether that was really the only thing he was allowed is a separate question that didn't get much attention. So most people who consider Texas a strange place with bizarre customs and laws are only operating on a narrow perspective borne of limited knowledge.

    This raises the question of how the law or custom is unjust.

    If there is no law, for instance, about false accusation, that's a problem. If the law is one-sided, that's a problem. If school officials are just being stupid, that's a problem.

    Identifying the source of the imbalance becomes key. Once that is done, the context of how it came about needs to be understood. Without these elements, achieving a functional solution becomes more difficult.

    The situation certainly sounds like it sucks, but there are enough unknown factors that it's hard to offer any useful input.
     

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