Something is really screwed up about Tennessee (a personal story, long)

[eilen]

I realize Rachel is having a blast talking about the moronic Tennessee legislature and their stupid unconstitutional laws. It is as if Idiotopia has been enforced with the idiot Republicans dreaming up mean stupid idiotic laws one day after another. Unfortunately my brother and sister live there. They are NY transplants.

My brother lives in a city neighborhood that is not one of the hip or hot neighborhoods. When he first bought a house there a little boy lived behind them about the same age as my nephew. He lived there with his mother (who was a single mother) along with other family members. His uncle and cousins had a penchant for trouble and my brother's yard was burgled more than once. However, he did not hold it agains the little boy who would come over and practically live at my brother's house. As with many in poverty this family has moved quite often but usually manage to drop the boy off for days at a time. The cousins have been in and out of jail as well.

Not long ago, very late at night the boy's cousin came home followed soon by the police. They were in pursuit as there were reports of cars being burgled and he was one of the people who matched the description and was in the vicinity. The noise woke the boy up. The boy is now a young man and stands about 6 ft tall and is overweight. The police decided that he must be the companion to the cousin who was breaking into cars even though the description was a short overweight male. He is 15 years old and innocent of these actions -- in fact, until the police entered his home, he had been asleep. They arrested him and the public defender basically told his mother that he should plead guilty, he would get no time and as he was under 16, no records would be kept. Remember, he did nothing wrong but his family is very poor and cannot afford a defense attorney. There is no proof-- circumstantial or evidentiary that he was involved. He apparently cannot afford to prove himself innocent. So there ya go, this is what passes for Justice in TN.

So he is at my brother's house visiting my nephew (16) and they decide to stay the night at a friend's down the street. My brother has lived in that neighborhood for over 12 years so he is pretty comfortable in the kids staying down the street. They were up late playing video games (nephew brought PS3 there). Of course, staying up late and eyes being glued to a screen... his eyes dried out and one of his contact lenses popped out. He freaked out because they were new and he did not have his case and solution for them (teenage boys are not the best planners and packers). So he said he had to go home and get his case and soak his lens. He got his stuff and his friend had a backpack with his clothes in it and they set off for home. It was about 3 am. As they were walking home they are pulled over by police. There are 4 police officers now questioning these boys who they are, where they are going. They also searched them. Apparently there is a curfew in Nashville in which teenagers are not allowed to walk in public at night. By the virtue of being under 18 and outside in public before 5 am the police had probable cause to detain, question (without parents present) and search? I think that is unconstitutional.

They even tried to keep my nephew's iPod until he proved to them it was his (they were claiming he must have stolen it). Un believable. So they brought the boys home and gave them citations. My nephews reads one way and his friends reads another. His friend's citation mentions he had been convicted of a prior and that the boys were wearing all black, wearing backpacks (why is this suspicious?), it sounds sinister in the manner it was written.

I am alarmed at this. I don't know why people think this kind of thing is okay. My nephew has not been doing well at all at school and they have little interest in helping him. His friend has changed schools fairly frequently and is not very bright-- just has not had an environment that demanded it (his mother never finished high school and his cousins are all dropouts). I am sending for my nephew, my brother has agreed to give me guardianship. I plan to enroll him in school here and perhaps he will thrive in the alternative trade school track-- at any rate our household is prepared to keep him accountable for his studies and give him support. He will be able to apply for a part time job, drive and enjoy freedom of association. I fear his friend will be another good kid falling through the cracks without my nephew on the other hand I don't want my nephew to be dragged through the cracks with him. My brother will likely still welcome his friend in his house as he has watched him grow up but he is also planning to remarry and is not home that much. I don't know how his new wife will feel about it.

Anyway, I was just outraged. I can't wait until my nephew comes and I know he is safe from the police state of Nashville TN. I can only imagine how badly things could have gone had the police decided that they were breaking in houses or something.

[dembotoz]

1. not just Tenn. problem is that he is not rich.