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I don't know if anyone will actually read this or not, but that isn't really the point. I really just want to to tell a story and get it off my mind for a bit. Warning in advance that this is a bit of a read, but I certainly appreciate anyone who actually powers through it. I guess I'll start with a little background about myself. I'm a 21 yr old junior at the University of Delaware, majoring in Criminal Justice and Sociology. I'm married (2 years on the 29), my wife is 22, I wont go too much into that as it could warrant it's own post. Being young and marrying purely for love is a strange concept to most here in the States. My ultimate goal is to enter law enforcement, maybe teach it some day. My wife and I are completely independent, as in we are our own sole financial supporters and have been since she entered college a year before me. I have been financially independent since I was about 16, again another story that could get its own post. We're both hard workers and don't ask for handouts from anyone, we don't have much but what we do is ours, anything we have we worked for and I have to say i'm proud of where my life has ended up. The point of all this is to just give you an idea of who I am. I am a simple kind of guy, I work hard, I don't go out and party. I love nothing more than coming home to my wife and having a beer while enjoying some Starcraft.
While here at the University I have had a multitude of jobs in the effort to keep the lights on and food in the fridge. I've worked at just about every restaurant here in Newark and multiple research assistant positions. At one point I was working three jobs and taking 17 credits, trust me that gets old quick. I can't complain though because I am lucky to be where I am. Eventually I got a much better job working for Parking Services with the University as a cashier, great pay and much better work environment. (if I never work in another kitchen again it'll be too soon). In September I started doing Enforcement for Parking Services. Essentially a meter maid. It certainly doesn't make me popular with anyone but the pay is even better than cashier. I certainly don't relish being "that guy", I never go out looking to ruin someones day or evening with a ticket. It's just a job and and that's how I treat it. Over time I've dealt with a lot of very unhappy people.
Some are worse than others, each one is its own event. The majority of people are very understanding though, students and young people generally understand and realize they got busted. It isn't personal and they understand that. Parents and professors however are much more likely to get belligerent, and they more often than not like to make it personal. Having a thick skin is requirement number one when you do what I do. I have never had an insult thrown at me that really stuck and certainly no one has ever put their hands on me. Until last night.
Suffice to say it is an ongoing investigation so I can't go into to much detail. The basic story is that I ticketed an entire lot for lacking permits. The majority of people were at a University sponsored event in a building about a block away. There is a parking garage directly next to the building, therefore no reason they had to park in that lot.(they would have to pay for it but that's just how it is here, there is no free parking) It's up to event organizers to request additional lots if they want them and I had no knowledge of any such requests or permissions. All of the tickets were completely valid. As the event let out people came to their cars to find tickets, many were very angry but the few who actually came and spoke to me were understanding and very civil.
I expressed my sympathies and directed them in how to appeal the tickets if they wished. A group of young men came up to me and were extra belligerent about the issue, at one point one of them asked to see my badge. I informed them , in hindsight stupidly, that I was not a police officer and I only worked for the University. They exchanged glances and I should have known then I was in trouble. There were about 7 of them. I am not a small guy (6'1 275) but numbers are numbers and there wasn't much I could do.
After a few more heated words the first punch was thrown and it was on. I blocked the first but three more quickly came from behind me. Luckily only those four joined in. I got my hands up and covered my face and ducked down to try and ride it out. Luckily they stayed on my head and shoulders and therefore couldn't do much.This occurred for about a minute or so before a police car came up and turned on its lights, as soon as the lights came on they scattered in different directions. I went to my knees for a second afterwards to gather myself and quickly stood up.
The officers were very concerned and wanted me to wait for an ambulance, I refused because I was actually fine. Lots of scrapes and bumps but nothing serious. I'm built like a dumpster, its not much to look at but it's tough as nails and does the job. The worst part was knowing that I needed to stay on my feet, and feeling one of them pushing at my hip and legs to try and get me to fall. I can say with a good deal of certainty that had I gone to the ground they would've stomped me (literally) and I would have been facing much more serious injuries. The main antagonist was caught a few minutes later and I positively ID'd him. An hour or so later I was done giving my statements being photographed and went home.
My wife is very concerned about my psyche at this point. She is afraid that I am going to become paranoid or worse. I can say in all honesty that I am not afraid to go back to work. The entire incident left me feeling more angry than anything else. Angry at their cowardice, attacking me when they had such overwhelming odds. Angry at their ignorance, I was just doing my job, their is an appeals process. Angry that my department offers no kind of safety for Enforcement officers. (Our radios are outdated and barely work, they also have no emergency button. We have no form of protection) Essentially I am just very angry.
Being beaten by multiple people at once is a very surreal experience to say the least. Ultimately this only pushes me further on my goal of law enforcement. It was in large part the officer who arrived so quickly that saved me from any serious harm. I thanked her profusely. Nothing is better than receiving help when you desperately need it. I credit my safety after the incident to her and all of the officers who came quickly. Their fast action allowed the apprehension of the one who initiated the incident within minutes. This has shown me the true value of police in our society. Until you are completely out of control of your own fate, you have no real understanding of dependence. My beliefs concerning the protection of others have been cemented by my ordeal. I plan on spending my life trying to offer the same help that was given to me. It's going to be interesting to see how this affects my perspective on life. I've been through some things before, and ultimately it all just adds to who I am. I'm grateful for where I am and I only hope I can help someone else and repay what was given to me.
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I was just doing my job
thats such a shit excuse. the assasin is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any better. the soldier is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any less wrong to kill others.
I also dislike the second sentence in your sig. Having the same rate for school for everybody is essential and it should be 0 USD for all as education should be equally available to all of us.
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On May 14 2012 11:48 WhuazGoodJaggah wrote:thats such a shit excuse. the assasin is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any better. the soldier is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any less wrong to kill others. I also dislike the second sentence in your sig. Having the same rate for school for everybody is essential and it should be 0 USD for all as education should be equally available to all of us.
Wow, quite the reply...
I've often wondered who has the worse job: a parking enforcer or a sports referee. I think it'd be the parking attendant, because they don't ever get respect or praise from the people that they interact with. (to be fair officials rarely do either, but at least they get to rub shoulders with famous athlete  )
This sounds like a scary but interesting experience, hopefully you keep working towards your goals.
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On May 14 2012 11:48 WhuazGoodJaggah wrote:thats such a shit excuse. the assasin is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any better. the soldier is just doing his job too, doesn't make it any less wrong to kill others. I also dislike the second sentence in your sig. Having the same rate for school for everybody is essential and it should be 0 USD for all as education should be equally available to all of us.
While I appreciate your reading it I think your way off base here. Comparing enforcing parking rules to killing people is ludicrous. At no point do I endanger anyone, threaten their livelihood, or any such action as that comparison implies. As I said the tickets I wrote that night and was beaten for were perfectly valid tickets. I enforce rules that are publicly available for all to know. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse. There was no reason not to write those tickets. You seem to share the mentality that parking officials are all sadistic assholes out to get you. While there are plenty of those, there are far more of us who are just enforcing the rules. Would you say that the cafeteria worker is wrong for serving food the kids don't like? Not everything is an opportunity for a moral crusade.
Secondly, based on what your saying you would then agree with my sig. It says that the fact that smart poor kids go to college at the same rate as rich dumb kids is a tragedy. Which means that what gets you into college more often is money and not ability. I agree entirely that education should be available for all, and when it comes to getting into higher learning institutions the only qualifications should be ability, not how big your wallet is. So I don't really know what you're arguing there.
Again I thank you for your attention. But you seem like someone who just likes to take the cool stance, i.e parking officers are dicks and tickets are wrong. I would be interested to know why you disagree with parking rules.
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Oh, I do not disagree with parking tickets at all. All I said is that I deeply hate the line: "I was just doing my Job". That line serves as an absolution for not using your own brain. Ofc there is a huuuge difference between an assasin using that line and you. The core point, which is pushing the guilt part away from yourself, remains the same in both cases though.
Police officers (ab)use this line especially often, because they know how much grey space there is and that infact they are NOT just doing their job. As soon as a police officer has to enforce the law on someone he is close to or he likes he is suddenly not "just doing his job" anymore. I have encountered this numerous times. I have police officers as friends, so I have been on both sides of this "just doing my job".
A short line to the "rules" and that there is no excuse not to follow them. You are well aware that a shitton of rights we enjoy today come directly from ignoring rules. The kings back in the day our ancestors overthrew could sing a nice song about that.
I know that the line in your sig is meant well, but it is used bad. It suggests that stupid rich kids may go to college for more money than smart poor kids, but why do stupid poor kids not have the same right? You see where your line fails?
For me it's important that people do not hide behind their jobs ar rules. In the end you are a human beeing with a brain, and if you really join law enforcement, please use it instead of hiding behind the law.
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Is your "enter" button broken?
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+ Show Spoiler +On May 14 2012 23:54 WhuazGoodJaggah wrote:
Oh, I do not disagree with parking tickets at all. All I said is that I deeply hate the line: "I was just doing my Job". That line serves as an absolution for not using your own brain. Ofc there is a huuuge difference between an assasin using that line and you. The core point, which is pushing the guilt part away from yourself, remains the same in both cases though.
Police officers (ab)use this line especially often, because they know how much grey space there is and that infact they are NOT just doing their job. As soon as a police officer has to enforce the law on someone he is close to or he likes he is suddenly not "just doing his job" anymore. I have encountered this numerous times. I have police officers as friends, so I have been on both sides of this "just doing my job".
A short line to the "rules" and that there is no excuse not to follow them. You are well aware that a shitton of rights we enjoy today come directly from ignoring rules. The kings back in the day our ancestors overthrew could sing a nice song about that.
I know that the line in your sig is meant well, but it is used bad. It suggests that stupid rich kids may go to college for more money than smart poor kids, but why do stupid poor kids not have the same right? You see where your line fails?
For me it's important that people do not hide behind their jobs ar rules. In the end you are a human beeing with a brain, and if you really join law enforcement, please use it instead of hiding behind the law.
Ah, I can understand and completely agree with the sentiment of disliking the line. It can be used as a cheap way out of responsibility. This is not a case of a controversial issue though. Would you say that a fast food employee is wrong for charging what corporate tells them to for food? Again, not everything is a moral issue. I completely agree that the law is not black and white, as a fan of sociology understanding the shades of grey is very important to me. That being said, some things are black and white. Parking rules for instance.
Comparing parking rules to rights founded through civil disobedience seems like a big stretch as well. I would say we probably agree with each other on a lot of these kinds of issues. I think the situation is comparable to the fast food example I gave. Do you as a customer have a right to demand to pay what you want for a food or service and then assault someone if you don't get your way? Of course not. The issue of where you are allowed to park on privately owned property is not one with many mitigating factors.
I plan on trying to be a "thinking officer", understanding the minutiae of the way things really work and enforcing laws accordingly. This incident was not a case of hiding behind the law.
As for the sig, I can see your interpretation, it's meant more to just say that money plays too large a role in education. I think we can chalk it up to different people and interpretations.
To the guy asking about my "enter" button. I understand the formatting is a bit terrible, I have never posted anything this large and it was a very stream of consciousness style of writing it. My apologies.
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EPT
