Got money for a weave, cell phone, big ass tv, and x boxes for each of her 15 kids I’ll wager.
St. Louis sounds like a mess.
I stopped reading right there. These fines were for something that I would call "irresponsibility violations." This creature has no business ever getting behind the wheel of a car again.
404 error
Sympathy not found
I told my daughter’s ex-boyfriend one time “Poor people can’t do stupid shit.”
He let his car insurance lapse, so the state pulled his tag and the fees and penalties started adding up.
One of the reasons he’s an ex.
Poor people tend to make bad decisions. That, in large part, is why they’re poor. An earlier posting today was to an article by Ann Coulter. She wrote on racism. A study attempting to prove New Jersey Highway Patrol was targeting black speeders over white speeders instead proved that blacks sped faster and more frequently than whites. Doing things that are against the law can incur great costs and penalties. I can understand a millionaire speeding on a road he deems safe for the speed because the ticket cost is irrelevant. (A doctor I know told me, “I could pay three of these tickets a day and wouldn’t notice the money.) But, the point is, according to the study, the rich guy isn’t as likely to speed as the poor person. He’s probably less likely to smoke or be obese as well. Walk through a Wal-Mart (average income of a Wal-Mart shopper is only $25k.) You can see poor decisions on every isle ranging from facial tattoos to obesity to an ankle monitor.
My mother used to say, “Poverty is an attitude problem.”
“A couple of those fines were for speeding, one was for failure to wear her seatbelt and most of the rest were for what defense attorneys in the St. Louis area have come to call “poverty violations” — driving with a suspended license, expired plates, expired registration and a failure to provide proof of insurance.”
So, society is supposed to look the other way while people drive unlicensed, unregistered, uninsured vehicles? Why should members of certain communities be exempt from being responsible members of society?
Oh, right . . . poverty, race . . . I get it. Well, clearly Obama phones are not enough. We must have Obama cars and Obama insurance.
She knows she has a “heavy foot,” but she just can’t help herself! One can’t keep getting speeding tickets, ignore paying them or appearing in court to plead for leniency, and expect to go on doing the same without a confrontation with police at some point.
She’s worried about her children? Her own choices set up the chain of events that resulted in her being unexpectedly separated from those children. The article is written to show how cruel and uncaring the police were, but she brought it on herself.
The Florissant officer first took Bolden to the jail in that town, where Bolden posted a couple hundred dollars bond and was released at around midnight. She was next taken to Hazelwood and held at the jail there until she could post a second bond. That was another couple hundred dollars...
So where did she get the 400 for the bonds?
So we should have two sets of laws right? One set for middle or upper class people, another set for poor whites and minorities. The latter should get winked at if they drive without insurance or valid licenses/registrations, eh?
I am really sick of this mind set. I bet if someone did a budget analysis on this woman, they would find she is spending lots of $$ on stupid stuff. If you can afford a car, you can almost always find a way to afford the stuff to keep it legal.
It should be one set of laws for everyone.
She wasn’t arrested for her traffic tickets, she was arrested on multiple bench warrants for failure to appear in court, just like anyone in the US would be.
We hear this same BS from illegal aliens who refuse to follow the laws in this country.
Without respect for law, there is nothing but chaos.
The article promotes lawlessness for the poor - definitely not a good idea.
She failed to appear in Court citing lack of money. Is that supposed to be an excuse?
If she had appeared the judge would have probably reduced the fines or dismissed some of them. She would have learned to be more careful when she drives from the judges admonishment. She definitely would have been better off than where she is today.
I feel for her position in life - a series of bad decisions compounded probably by circumstances. But fooling with the courts is a very bad decision.
First of all she should stop speeding and should wear a seatbelt. Budgeting her money would solve the expired license and insurance issue. If you are given a court date you show up! If you don’t have the money to pay fines the court usually will make payment arrangements with you.
This woman is a victim of her own choices. No sympathy from me except for the kids because they have such an irresponsible mother.
My first thought was in agreement with most of the posts here, bad judgements led to this.
But as I read more, I thought about growing up in East Texas, the Sheriffs in different small towns made money from ticketing the people from other areas because they would probably not show up to the courthouse on their court date.
I am not as big a supporter of police as I used to be, and most of this seems to be collusion between the police, the lawyers and the judges.
In addition, all these extra laws were made by lawyers, voted on by representatives (other lawyers), and forced on the populace, usually without their knowledge. I blame the current state of laws in our country, too many laws, all designed to make people into criminals so that they can be controlled. The people who live in these areas need to band together and get most of these laws off the books.
Just like the Tea Party wants to do.
Remember when the racist phrase “Social Justice” started and all of the media and academic circles embraced and ran with it?
Remember when the racist phrase “White Privilege” started and all of the media and academic circles embraced and ran with it?
Wait for this beauty to sprout and grow into a redwood. “Poverty Violations”. I wonder if someone from old ACORN has trademarked this gem?
First: This whole article is a real gem. Seldom have I seen such a good example of fallacious Liberal thinking. It boggles the mind that some people actually attempt to defend their position using such defective logic!
Practically every sentence provoked my gag reflect. I therefore feel smarter now just for having read it!
Second: She was fined for driving with a suspended license - I wonder why her license was suspended. Also, she had failed to wear a safety belt - I wonder if she was equally negligent when it came to buckling up her children.
I find the expression "poverty violations" especially delicious. No doubt, it will soon come to be applied also to shoplifting and looting.
Regards,
This piece by Radley Balko was one of the best investigative articles I have read in a long time. You don’t have to agree with it but you should definitely read it. It is long but it’s worth it.