I Took My Shoes Off For THIS?

A couple of weeks ago on a beautiful Thursday morning, I headed off to the courthouse.

No, I hadn’t been arrested for streaking (again). Kidding, Mom! 

I was going to court to watch the Dude who threatened my kid(s) give his plea of guilty or innocent.

Of course, it would have helped if I had gone to the RIGHT courthouse.

In Halifax, there are multiple court houses and of course I went to the wrong one.  Thankfully, once I finally got to the RIGHT one, they were delayed in starting so I hadn’t missed anything.

I did what I said I was going to do.  I sat front row centre, and who should sit down next to me?  Dude and the people with him.  I have no idea if he realized who I was.


Sitting in a that particular courtroom, was NOTHING like you see on TV.

Everyone who is there to give a plea goes in all at the same time.  There are multiple lawyers all sitting around the same table, representing one or more of the defendants, and the defense attorneys refer to the prosecution as … ‘my friend’. 

Yeah.  I thought THAT was kind of bizarre.  Apparently it’s to keep the mood ‘cordial’ and non-threatening in the courtroom.

Leave it to the Canadians to be THAT polite.

I don't understand why they don't just call them, 'The Defense', and 'The Prosecution', because that's what they ARE ... but that's not what today's rant is really about.


So, Dude’s name is called, and within one minute it was over.

The Defense apparently had not had a previous discussion with The Prosecution so the statement was made that the defense needed more time.

Result?  Plea postponed until the next week.  On to the next case.

Seriously?

And since that was it, I walked out of the courtroom behind him, and went to work.


So, last week I take more time off work, and go back to the courthouse (the RIGHT courthouse) on another beautiful Thursday morning.

This time, as I’m going through security, after I hand over my purse they ask me to take off my shoes.

Really?  My shoes?

Apparently heels can set off the metal detectors, and they seemed to think my shiny strappy silver heels were the perfect candidate to do so.

 

Damn.  Wasn’t expecting to have to take my shoes off.  Good thing I had a shower that morning!

So I strip off the heels, go through security barefoot, get the shoes back on and get upstairs to the courtroom just in time.

When I hit the top of the stairs, there’s Dude, and the people with him, looking right at me.

Guess they know who I am now.

I entered the courtroom and took my spot in the front row.

The first few people go up and then Dude's name is called.

The Defense tells the court that 'a file' was sent to The Prosecution that morning that they hadn't received yet, so The Defense would like a bit more time so 'their friend' has an opportunity to review the file.

Dude is sent to the back of the line.

Finally after recess, Dude's name is called again.

Apparently The Defense and Prosecution need more time ... for more discussion ... and want to postpone the plea ... again.

Annnnnd that was it.  Postponed for another week.  On to the next case.

Seriously?

Seriously?!?!??!  It' s been two months since charges were laid, and you people can't get your shit together to read a file and have a 'conversation' in that time?

Really?

I took my shoes off for THIS?

Twice in two weeks, people were paid hundreds/thousands of dollars ... for absolutely nothing.

Everyone's time ... wasted.

DUDE!  The messages were traced back to you.  OWN IT!

I won't be going to court tomorrow.

I've already taken time off work twice, for nothing.  Certainly not for justice.

No, I know they know I'm paying attention and I would rather take the time off work when it REALLY matters, like if my kid has to be called in as a witness.

That's when it's important for me to be there.

Nope, I'll just wait for the letter from Victim Services to tell me what happened.

And next time ... I'm wearing sneakers!

K. 

***Please ignore this line ... simply a tracking code Featured on MovingBabies**

You Threatened The WRONG Family, Dude.

I generally consider myself a happy-go-lucky kind of person. 

Sure, I’ll bitch about the things that need bitching, (and sometimes about the things that don’t), but overall, I think I’m generally a happy, laid-back kind of chick.

However, waking up to death threats, in the form of Facebook messages sent to my kid, kind of starts my day off on the wrong foot and takes the happy out of this chick, REAL QUICK.

When a message starts with ‘WARNING’ … that’s never a good thing.

“I wouldn’t mind knocking you out with a can of gas, and a lit match”

“And don’t even get me started on your family.  You really want them hurt … “, then proceeded to name us.

“Nightmare on Arnold Drive if you don’t smarten up”.  I believe that was intended as a threat to burn down our house, considering the sender was talking about setting my kid’s car on fire just before that.

NONE of this was/is acceptable, but what REALLY pushed me over that edge? 

What REALLY made me lose my shit?

The image this person sent, of my other son, beheaded by an ISIS Terrorist.

WHAT.  THE. FUCK?!?!?!?!

Who does that?

You just picked the WRONG family to threaten, Dude!

No more happy go lucky Mama. 

Shit just got real, and now Mama’s PISSED!

Annnnd that’s how my Thursday started.

Day 6 with the Cold from Hell, and I wake up to THAT.

Before I’d even opened my eyes I heard the footsteps and, ‘MOM!’ and the next thing I knew my younger son was sitting on my bed, showing me a Facebook message - a threat - he had received during the night.

The person who sent it, accused my boy of ‘bullying girls’.

My kids aren’t perfect, by any means, and I’ll be the first one to throw them under the bus when they DO something wrong, but if anything, that kid stands up FOR the kids at his school that he sees being bullied!

My boys have been raised by a single mom who has drilled it into their heads that it is NEVER acceptable to abuse/disrespect a woman/girl, in ANY way!

Getting cocky or mouthy with a guy?  Sure, I could see my kid doing that.

Talking back to an adult.  Mmmmm hmmmm. If he thinks he's in the right. 

Driving his car too fast?  Yup.

Doing other things he probably shouldn’t do?  

Absolutely, he’s 17.

But being mean to a girl?  I’ll want written/verbal/visual proof of THAT before I’ll believe it.

I’m not simply trying to stick my head in the sand and be all ‘not my kid’ about this … I REALLY don’t think he did anything intentionally mean to a girl, and I certainly don’t think he did anything that warranted death threats to himself or his family. Or his car!

So … we did two things.

First, I had a few sips of my morning coffee and a smoke on the deck to wake up and wrap my head around what I’d just read.

Then, before he went to school, my son and I called the police together and filed a report and sent them the screenshots from the message(s).

I also contacted Anonymous.

 Pic taken from HERE.

Why did I bring THEM into this?

Simple.  The person who sent the threat, did so pretending to be part of the Anon community, and was representing them.

What this person didn’t realize, is that I actually KNOW a member of Anonymous, someone I consider a friend, and I reached out to him.

I didn’t want him to DO anything, but I simply wanted to see if this really HAD come from someone in the Anon community.

Within minutes I had my answer.

It hadn’t.

Not that I really thought it had, but I needed to know for sure.

I have to say, the Halifax Police were absolutely fantastic!

They got on it right away, and had their tech unit digging for whatever could tell them WHO had sent the message(s) and had the page shut down.

Within a very short period of time, they had a name and address.

By the end of the day, questions had been asked, statements had been given, and the person had been arrested, with three charges against them. 

 - Threat of death (against my kid)

 - Threat of bodily harm (against my kid and family)
 - Threat of destruction of property (setting fire to the boy’s car and our house).

Oh but it didn’t end there …

Later that evening, my son called from work to tell me that a second person involved had started posting on Snapchat, offering money to ‘come smash some cars’.

It didn’t take a mathematician to put together 2 and 2. 

This 2^nd person was talking about OUR cars.

This 2^nd person was upset that their friend had been arrested for the email threats.

They wanted to retaliate.

The police paid THEM a visit that night, too.

Did I mention … You just picked the WRONG family to threaten, Dude!

At this point, I have to say that we are still missing a very important piece of information, which is … WHY this happened. 

We don’t know.

Prior to this incident, my son didn’t even know this person existed.

The one connection to the person who sent the threats, is the 2^nd person who was talking about ‘smashing cars’.

This second person is known to both my son … and the person who sent the threats. 

But it still doesn’t explain the ‘why’.

I’m hoping that comes out in court.

And that’s where we are now. Waiting for the court date.

Yes, this person was arrested, and then released on ‘conditions’.

 - They are not allowed to contact my son.

 - They are not allowed to come to our house.

 - They are not allowed to damage the boy’s car.

Needless to say, the first night after this happened, I didn’t get much sleep.

I left the kitchen window open, so I’d be able to hear anyone in the driveway/yard, and I must have heard every single car that went down the street during the night.

But, to the person who sent the threats … I lost ONE night to you, and one night only.

No more.

You will not win.

You will not have me living in fear of what you ‘might’ do.

You don’t have that power.

I won’t let you.

I have nothing but admiration and respect and gratitude for how the police handled this situation.

They reacted immediately, they took it seriously, and with the cooperation of Facebook and internet service providers, were able to identify this person within hours.

Not days.  Not weeks.  Hours.

The police said ‘everyone’ worked quickly, due to the nature of the threat.

So to all of them, I have to say a huge, THANK YOU!

Now … to this person.

The Dude who threatened my kids, and myself.

I have something to say to you, too.

It has come to my attention that you are calling my son a ‘Rat’.

This also applies to the 2^nd person involved in this incident.  You are publicly calling  shaming my son as a ‘Rat’ for informing the police of a personal threat he received.

KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF!!!!

Let me make myself very clear … we had NO IDEA who either of you were when we called the police.

All we knew was that a threat had been received from an ANONYMOUS  Facebook account.

Anonymous.  Not you.  Not your personal Facebook account. 

You used Anonymous.

You HID behind Anonymous.

How can you ‘rat out’ someone who is Anonymous?

You can’t.

You’re pissed off because you did something stupid, and illegal and got caught, through NO FAULT of ours.

You brought this on yourself, Dude.

Don’t threaten people, and they won’t call the police.

Period.

So, just to make sure we’re crystal clear on this whole ‘rat’ thing … again, I say … KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF!!!!

You threatened my kids.

You threatened me.

You threatened our property.

And where did it get you?

Arrested.

 

You threatened the WRONG family, Dude.

This Mama don’t play.

I’ll see you in court. And you’ll see me, I’m sure. 

I’ll be the one sitting in the front row.

Just me, and Ms. Justice.

K.

Dear Mr. Politician ...

Dear Mr. Politician,

We’re having an election next week, although I’m sure you’re well aware of that, considering you’re running in it.

There are three major political parties in Nova Scotia that we can vote for in this election.

Liberal.  PC.  Or NDP.

Yes, I know we also have the Green Party. Unfortunately, they could have the BEST candidate, but they’re never given serious consideration by the voters.

So we’re left with the main three.

Despite the fact I think it's time and a smart move to make marijuana legal, there isn’t much else the Liberals are offering that would entice me to vote for them.

And the way Stephen McNeil has butchered the film industry, and pissed off the teachers and health care workers in this province, the writing is on the wall … it’s time for him to go.

So that leaves us looking for a new leader.

Along with the new leader comes the party.

Liberal.  PC.  NDP.

Dear Mr. Politician, you made it very easy for me to choose my candidate this year.

The Liberals don’t have a shot at my vote.

But you?  You did.

I would have happily opened my door and listened to your campaign pitch.

But you didn’t give me that opportunity.

Dear Mr. Politician, a few weeks ago, I saw you walking down my street with another man.

I’ll be honest, at first I thought you were with the religious organization that tends to knock on people’s doors, looking to save and convert souls, but you were not.

I watched you walk out of my neighbours yard, and walk straight past my house, and you went to my OTHER neighbor.

At the time, I was confused.  Why were these men going door to door?  Visiting the neighbours on either side of me?

On Monday, when I got to work and discussed the strange sight with a co-worker, I found out that it was you, Mr. Politician.  You had been the man walking down my street with your campaign person, speaking to ‘the people’.

Was I disappointed that you didn’t stop in and speak to me?

At first?  Yes.

Then?  I was pissed off.

Because you see, Mr. Politician, although I didn’t know who YOU were, I did take note of your campaign person with you, and saw that it was my landlord.

My landlord and I don’t like each other. At all.

So I can only assume, Mr. Politician, since you didn’t give me any other option, that the reason you did NOT stop and knock on MY door, even though you went to the houses on either side of me, is because of something my landlord said to you.

I don’t know this for a fact.

I can only assume, because you didn’t knock on my door.  You didn’t stop in. 

You gave me no other option than to assume you didn’t want to speak with me because my landlord doesn’t like me.

It couldn’t be that you didn’t stop in because there was nobody home.

There were two cars in the driveway.

It couldn’t be that you thought there was nobody living there eligible to vote, because really, you generally have to be an adult of voting age to own/rent a home.

So again, I can only assume, Mr. Politician, since you didn’t give me any other option, that the reason you did NOT stop and knock on MY door, even though you went to the houses on either side of me, is because of something my landlord said to you (yes, I know I just said that twice, I'm making a point!).

And to that, I have to ask … really?  REALLY?!?!?!?

Dear Mr. Politician, remember this?

You had TWO eligible voters living in a house you just casually walked by.

You had two people, in two different demographics, who could have jumped on your bandwagon, and rallied the troops, and ‘spread the word’ about what a great candidate you were, and what an asset you’d be to our community.

But you didn’t give us that opportunity, did you?

Whatever my landlord said to you, made your decision for you, and that, in turn, Mr. Politician, has made MY decision for me.

Perhaps my landlord was afraid I would call him out in front of you for not being someone who actually does what he says he will do. {I wouldn't have, because our personal issues have nothing to do with the election.}

Perhaps my landlord was afraid I would tell you about having to go 5 months without dependable water. {I wouldn't have, because our personal issues have nothing to do with the election.}

Perhaps my landlord just said I was a royal Bitch, and wouldn’t vote for you simply because HE was walking alongside of you.

Who knows why, Mr. Politician?  I don’t.  Because you didn’t give me that opportunity.  Did you?

And now?  There is ONE party left that will get my vote.

It won’t be the ones who have screwed the film industry or govt. workers.

It won’t even necessarily be the ones who may be the better party to vote for.

The candidate who will get my vote, will be the one who has his own mind, and is willing to meet everyone.  Not just those he is steered towards, for one reason or another.

Dear Mr. Politician, it may have only been two votes to you.

But it spoke volumes to me.

I really did want to hear your views. You may be a great person, and a fantastic candidate to represent our area, but I’ll never know that, will I?  Because you didn't gave me the opportunity to find out. 

You walked on by.

Dear Mr. Politician, someone will get my vote next week, but it won’t be you.

I want a representative who wants to hear from everyone.  Not someone who is going to pick and choose who they want to represent. 

I don't want someone who can be THAT easily swayed NOT to take everyone into consideration.

I’d rather put that check mark next to ‘Other’, or even the deceased Tuxedo Stan, rather than next to someone who decided to exclude some of his constituents that day, for whatever reason.

Go Green!

Kidding.  Even *I* wouldn’t go that far!

Who will I vote for?

The guy who took the time and stopped by my house today.  The one who left his pamphlet with a handwritten, 'Sorry we missed you', in the door because I wasn't home.

At least HE tried.

HE will get my vote.

Dear Mr. Politician, next time ... please think for yourself.


Get out and vote, people.  If you don’t, don’t bitch about how they’re running/ruining your country!

K.