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Hey, we're back....already???? Oh yeah, you know it...
So here, I would have to say that this is not only one of my favorite arguments; that I had with the director of the so-called "Paralegal Courses" I took at our local community college; this also ranks as probably my favorite thing in my case with DHS. I am being facetious, no doubt...you know me SO well!! But, as sarcastic as I may be currently...it will most certainly BE my favorite thing about this case...because it is with this subject, not alone, but in a slight majority of a few reasons I will be using TO WIN THIS CASE.
Let's begin with the "Reasonable Person Theory". Now, according to my teacher, again, the director of my classes, whose teaching style drove me BONKERS...but whom I loved to intelligently "debate" against...mostly because her reasonings, as well as her answers to my questions; usually included some form of the ol' American idiom: "That's just the way it is!" I firmly despise anything that even looks like it means this, simply because NOTHING is "Just the way it is"....in no way, shape or form. "That's just the way it is", and "It is what it is", as you well know, is SHEEP talk.
In our law, the "Reasonable Person" is a time-honored ditty that was founded oh....around 1837. In our law, America's REAL law in my opinion...COMMON law, we call it; the "Reasonable Person" theory isn't a theory, but a standard...meaning, the phrase itself always means the same thing, and doesn't change, even though the circumstances of 10 similar cases might vary, for...various reasons. It doesn't really refer to anyone in particular, it is a fictional person that is supposed to represent "Joe Average", if you will...but at the same time doesn't either (??) "What would Joe do, if he were in this pickle?" Get it? Good, because you know how I really feel about our system of law anyway, and I really and TRULY despise this.
So, I'm talkin' to my law "teacher"...and she starts talking about the "reasonable person" standard again, and how it applies (a little differently too) in contract law. Now I've heard her babble about this before, when she taught the ridiculously ludicrous subject of "Introduction to Law"...and I say ludicrous, because her style of teaching, mixed with the AWFUL text book she chose to use for the class, were both about as helpful as an umbrella is on a sunny day. NOT helpful at all. Just another pain in the arse, where carrying it around is concerned. So, remembering the thoughts that had entered my mind and stuck there like glue the last time she talked about it, I brought up this:
Who exactly is it, that, during the course of any case, decides who the reasonable person is? Her answer to that was "Nobody, because the reasonable person, as far as actual people are concerned, doesn't really exist."....and I said "Oh..." Then, after a bit of uncomfortable silence, I just had to ask this: "OK, so if the reasonable person doesn't really exist, than why are we having a debate about him/her then?" She didn't really care for that one.
Needless to say, this stupid portion of the argument (legal debate, she would have said), went on for quite a while. I don't know if you're familiar with analytical people, but we're the people you hated in school with a passion every time their hand went up...or, you may have been in love with this person too, because this is the kind of person who has to understand every logical nuance of something before he can move on...because, if you DO move on, then he'll never get that...as well as won't get anytihng else he learns subsequently, because his mind has to be able to get past that first thing he learned or he won't learn anything else until he understands it...so, if you're a studious learner, you hated this guy, because he'd hold you up at all times, sometimes even detrimentally to the expense of the whole class, depending on what sort of person your teacher is. If they were really tolerant, you'd never get more than half-way through your books. You'd be stuck at half-way, and the teacher would almost HAVE to pass you, because it wasn't in his power to shut this guy up. Now, you might have loved him too, mainly because this same guy, when his hand went up, would go round and round with the instructor, trying to figure it all out, and, because it was loads of fun watching this person keep the professor hopping with question after question about the same damn thing, before you knew it, the class was OVER, and it was time to go home!!...or to break, or whatever. And yeah, as to one of those analytical people? I was one of 'em. Hence, the hatred of "That's just the way it is!!" "Them's SHEEP words, Clem!"; BOOM, POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER!!"
So anyway, back to this....this....TEACHER...or whatever the Hell she was claiming to be that day...she goes and freaks out on me (after a while of this) when I come at her with this:
OK, so what you're trying to tell me is this, then...Let's say we get an immigrant from Turkey over here...we'll just call him Abdul, for intermediary identification purposes. Now, in Abdul's country, if you steal something, you get your hand cut off...unless you were determined to absolutely need that something...you know, like a loaf of bread to feed his family, whatever. Now, here in the states, what happens here when you steal something (which is probably why theft is so big here in our country), we usually, depending on the amount of the item stolen, call it a "5th Degree Theft", or to call it by its common law name, "shoplifting"....usually with a standard value range of around 0-200 dollars in value, and only requires, upon your first offense, an overnight stay in the local county jail, and a fine that will probably equal around 4x the value of what you stole. The reasonable person, then, as defined by our "common law", wouldn't steal at all...so you deserve to have the book thrown at you. Nine times out of ten, however, this is pretty much kiss my ass behavior, and a lot of shop owners will, against all reasonableness, let that theft go without calling the police, especially if the item was $5 or less. Now, get up around $100, and this is something we need to look at a 2nd time. Now you're not NEARLY as reasonable...Anyway, to Abdul, this is TOTALLY unreasonable, and, where he comes from, the reasonable person, after Abdul stole his $4 loaf of bread to feed his family, would have said "Fly, be Free!!", and that would have been the end of it. "My NEW reasonable person...who is actually not reasonable to me anymore, says I have to pay $16 for my loaf of bread, spend a night in jail for my first offense, and go ten years without a job that comes anywhere near a job that you'll be able to steal on....Turkey, HERE I COME...BACK!!"
So now, we get back to Abdul. He steals something he REALLY DESPERATELY needs for his family...let's just say it's a lawn-mower, priced at $150. Oh come on already, he did pick the cheapest one, didn't he?? Isn't that reasonable, at the very least?...anyway, so Abdul, kinda sorta new to this country, gets off with a fine and time served...I mean, it is his first offense, and he is from Turkey...
Here's where I had my problem with this theory though...let's just say Abdul, in his home country, is allowed to murder someone, if the argument gets to a screaming volume level, and screaming, at least by the person opposite your argument, is offensive. So the non-screamer is now allowed to kill the offending screamer, and he can therefore get away with it, because screamers are generally idiots, and the law of Turkey smiles every time you knock off one of those guys.
Then let's say he's killed himself 2 or 3 screamers over in Turkey...he then goes to America on vacation. He hears a scream coming from the woods..(Prey!!). He runs after his screamer, and then kills him. The police, of course, are close up behind.
Now, let's say we go with a judge's chief saying...."Ignorance of the law is NO EXCUSE!!"...."Yeah, but isn't it different when Abdul kills off someone, regardless of why?" Damn Straight. Because, you see, Abdul is now an American, and is about to meet someone for the first time. The fictional "reasonable person". The only problem now, is this: See, Abdul's reasonable person, the person he knew in Turkey, the one that used to hate screamers, has changed nationalities. Now, Abdul's reasonable person's name is Archie. Archie says Abdul must DIE!!
Here's the other problem I have with that theory. Abdul DOESN'T kill anyone here, but kills himself a screamer in his own land...only now, the reasonable person isn't named Abdul anymore, his name is Achmed, and Achmed only kills mockingbirds...and to kill anything else, means Abdul must DIE!
Even more reason to hate it is the thing that drives me the craziest, and that I just can 't wrap my mind around. Who IS the reasonable person, who decides what that reasonable person does, says, hears, thinks, etc. I mean, the CONCEPT of the person never changes...only the circumstances as they apply to each thing...but if the reasonable person doesn't think spinach and liver is legal, and Frank absolutely loves the stuff, well....whaddya do then?? The whole basis of that theory is, quite simply, this..."what would the reasonable person do under the same circumstances?", right? But if the reasonable person would jump off a bridge in those circumstances, do we have to do the same thing in order to not end up in jail??? I just don't understand it.
What I'm saying, I suppose, is that the reasonable person, protected from all harm from us simply by being fictional (however, NOT so fictional, if you're the one that's guilty/going to jail...not so fictional now, EH CHRISTOPHER???)...is not ever going to be you. You know who the reasonable person is, though no one will say it. The fact-trier...the guy who is currently in charge of your destiny...and if he's on the take? Or biased? You're SCREWED...yes, the new "reasonable person" in YOUR life...is the JUDGE!!....oh, happy day. THIS is the person who truly decides who that reasonable person is, and then decides if you measure up to that figment, and what'll happen to you if you come up short. You can almost look at it this way...what would the reasonable crowd do to this newly-found reasonable criminal?? (somehow, I can hear the queen saying OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!)
Now, let's get back to the very thing that's driving YOU the craziest...what the Hell does all this have to do with DHS???
There's where we're at. I KNEW I'd find myself...
Sooo...we're gonna jump right over that bridge, and plant ourselves on the other side, over on the "Reasonable Efforts" side of things. (arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!....you see now why I think the law needs a serious revamp? Should have been pretty obvious by NOW!), and the reason that we're bypassing the reasonable person (for now) and the reason I hate the theory ULTIMATELY will be very obvious in a few minutes after that. REALLY, I PROMISE!!
So, you've been through the Removal Hearing...Part one of our court hearings, remember? The one you probably don't remember because they had it 7-10 business days after your child was stolen, and you hadn't even processed that fact as yet? Well, if you WEREN'T still reeling from the punches, would have felt a "PING", and you would have slowly started to realize a feeling... that your life....the way it used to be, anyway...was now no longer your own, and things started to get dark, and gnarly....you don't know why really, but everything is just so....CRAPPY!! You...you feel just like you felt, right after you got married, and your husband's mother needed to come and stay with you for a few weeks while her house was being painted....AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!
And it hits you. Your life, as it was, is now no longer your own, for REAL. Now? You belong to DHS, and there's nothing you can do about it. Now, you live, breath, s***, eat, have sex with....you get the picture. These people have now moved into your home, and aren't planning to leave for 6 whole months...until the permanency hearing. And the first thing they want from you, is PAPERWORK....and tons of it. "Sign here, initial there, fill this out completely, turn this in before your next hearing, file this, here's a copy of that...and this one is that..."...and you wonder how you ever lived without all this before...
As I mentioned back in part (A) of this part, this is to keep you trippin' until the hearing for removal, and when it comes, that hard hitting D.A., whose sole purpose it is to make you look horrible? She's on it like flies on **** already, and has already accused you of not seeing some paper you supposedly didn't remember, didn't remember reading, signing...ANYTHING...but supposedly? "It was the most IMPORTANT PAPER IN YOUR LIFE....AND YOU DON'T REMEMBER SEEING IT OR SIGNING IT??? HUH? what's WRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOONG WITH YOUUUUUUUUU?????"
And now you know....such is the game at its inception, and at its most cunning. You really MUST remember, these folks have been doing this FOREVER...and you're a removal virgin. And, from here, to expert is...well, it's Hell, back, beyond and sideways, because you are now dealing with the "take your children specialists!!..." And that's why you're headed for TPA...and for no other reason...unless you're either a really good hoop-jumper or a breed of sheep they like. Then there MIGHT be hope, a chance you might see your babies' little smiles again...hold them to you like they're actually yours again...someday...maybe...
Next, and the star of our show, is the in between stuff...family team meetings, visitations with F.S.R.P...or whoever your state's version of the outfit that handles your children's visitations, is. Ours, as you know, is Children and Families of Iowa, and your Visit Slinger is an F.S.R.P. worker...and another snake in the grass that you CANNOT and SHOULD NOT EVER TRUST!! Now where was I...oh yeah, FTM's, Visits, Confirmation of those visits, free transportation assistance for 3 months (or 3 months worth of bus passes), your drug assessment (if drugs were alleged), your mental evaluation (if they think you're mental...which, from what I understand, they always do, whether you believe you are...or whether you ACTUALLY are or not), oh, and what did I just get in the mail honey?......SCREECH!!!!!! "oh...the removal social worker's assessment my lawyer finally got in the mail, that I haven't seen anything of yet...wonderful...oh, and something else too? What's that? Did you say the Asian Petition? What? The China Petition?...OH....the CINA PETITION...oh yeah.."
And here it is, the Adjudication Hearing is now upon you...and you get through that, and you hear this strange foreign-sounding phrase...You've heard the words before, just not the two together...in that way, they sound very familiar too..."Reasonable efforts..."...."reasonable efforts, reasonable efforts...REASONABLE PERSON....ARRRRRGGGGGGHHH!!!...Yes, it is has been found, whether you were aware of it or not, that reasonable efforts (remember, I said you'd come to hate this one?) were offered to you in order to help you "reunify your family".....what? Really? I'm sorry...could you repeat/explain that, because all I've seen is chaos and confusion...thanks!!
Now, here's the fun stuff you are gonna strangle someone over...all those hoops you've been hoppin' through? The mental Eval, the drug assessments (which, by now, have turned into drug TREATMENT, more than likely...ok, DEFINITELY THEN...), the family team meetings? These are now called "reasonable efforts, made, to you, and for you...from us, the loving folks of court central and DHS, to help you in your quest to reunify your family...just like OUR quest for you!!"......BULLS***!!! Do NOT fall for this crap y'all!!
This is the beginning of a very sick and twisted friendship between you and the courts, as well as DHS, because now, you have become the victim of the system...just like your baby...except your baby is probably having a good time and an awful lot of fun with his/her new parents...something you won't be having again until this is over...if it's EVER over...and hopefully will once again include your child...whose life, that you're SUPPOSED to be enjoying life with, is enjoying that life with people he/she doesn't know very well...YET...If she's a newborn? Plan on missing all of those experiences every mother looks forward to...her first steps, her first smile, her first laugh...THEY'RE NOW SOMEONE ELSES WONDERFUL FIRSTS...and you just missed EVERYTHING. Oh...oh thank you, DHS, for saving my life, by showing me the evil of my ways, and giving me oh so many "reasonable efforts" in which to make us whole again..."
You see, America, if you've been a bad girl or boy, these probably are reasonable to you...they should be things you should be doing...if you really and truly love your children...but to those of you who have done NOTHING wrong? Who just...are? Are, yet accused of things you would never even consider, but because they are DHS, and you aren't? Well, you're guilty of all they accuse you of, and you're just WRONG. How REASONABLE is that??
Worse yet? If you're right (WRONG), and you're mad about them telling you you're wrong? You just...can't...do that. You can't fight city hall. You have to do what they say, and just get them out of your life..you MUST jump through THE HOOPS!!!...IF YOU LOVE YOUR CHILDREN, DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO AND GET IT OVER!!
This is the lie they feed you...and I don't just mean DHS...I mean EVERYBODY...your friends...your relatives...your attorneys...EVERYBODY...because all those people that aren't DHS/court related, they're on your side...but they're sheep, more than likely...trained...brain-washed. I suppose, if you wanna go along with all of that, that's you. I will tell you this though, one...more...time. You MAY/MIGHT get your kids back if you play ball, guilty...or innocent.
Here's the thing though...this madness? Reasonable people and reasonable efforts made? THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!! This isn't the way to fix you and your child's problems...this most CERTAINLY isn't the way we used to fix our OWN problems...No, this is, quite simply, a governmental intervention, meant to eventually brainwash you into sheep-typical behavior, to slap you in the face in order to remind you that you WILL OBEY, or...you won't get your kids...or our reasonable efforts...you'll....just...be...terminated. And yet, what you really DON'T realize as yet, is that they WANT you to terminate...because, they have other sheep...other good sheep that obey...and THEY'LL get your children, if you don't act right...they can afford them...YOU CAN'T...they can take care of them...YOU CAN'T...understand?? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT FOR ETERNITY AMERICA????
I guess what I'm saying is this...I have dubbed myself your champion. I plan to take the dragon down...just about any way I have to. Once again, I do this...not just for me, but for you as well, and for YOUR children. Remember, it never hits home how bad things truly are with this sort of thing...unless it happens to you...and there is nothing more destructive to your psyche, or your soul...then when you cry wolf..and all of a sudden, if you don't conform, like your side is telling you to? It's funny how short the conversations about your problem get...how, as you start talking about how they're doing you TODAY all of a sudden? Your mother has to run to the store for sommore prune juice...your dad has to sweep the garage...your best friend has to go pick up HER children from the playground.
If you're a fighter in this, it's a damn lonely fight at times...but please, if you will? Stick with me. 'Cause what I'm doing RIGHT NOW is fighting for us ALL. Whether you think so or not, depends on how you feel AFTER you're released from your Matrix bed, and you are, once again, part of America. The America I intend to get back for you. See you for part IV, the endgame, coming soon...:D
