I apparenty owe $550 to the city of Denver for unpaid parking tickets. My truck has, subsequently, been booted for the first time in my life.
I find this hilarious, coming from the midwest, where parking tickets don't really exist, and when they do, they're usually $20 or something dumb....not 50 which goes to 100 after a certain date.
Anyways, there's no fucking way i'm paying these tickets, or paying the 650 to remove the boot. I spent last night researching methods to remove the boot, of which there are many, and how I am going to spend the rest of my day figuring it out.
It's kind of rough because my bike tire (of course) is currently flat, and my pump is (mysteriously) missing, so I'm on foot today, but I am viewing this as quite the adventure as I no longer have any respect for the government nor any care about being arrested/fined further.
I simply don't have any money, and beyond my books, clothing, and computer/musical equipment, I simply don't have any assets. I am fortunate in this aspect in that I have been removing things (selling or giving away) from my life to live a more minimalist lifestyle, so I can begin tackling my student loan and credit card debt.
I plan on paying my debts to society back, but I'm done playing by the rules. $650 for thieving my car is asinine, that's a good portion of what I actually
still owe on my truck, which I'm probably going to get rid of after this. Denver is very bicycle friendly, and I am going to just do public transportation for a while. This is just too dumb to be fucking with right now.
This website is helping a lot:
Info: Beating the Boot
I've deflated the tire, right now I'm going to try and attack the pins with the tools that I do have (option "The jaw-to-frame pins") to see if that works.
If that doesn't work, I'm going to go to a local tool store and purchase a cutting tool. I already have an electric drill, but not sure if it's powerful enough to cut through the steel. I also may hit up some friends or some neighbors to see if they have an appropriate cutting tool.
Worse comes to worse, i'm just going to buy an acetylene torch, fire the fucker up and go to town, then dumping the boot in a local garbage can.
Obviously I"m aware of consequences, but what's the worst they can do? Fine me more? Probably the most hilarious thing about our current capitalist/government system is that, if you don't have the money, and haven't done anything REALLY illegal, there's nothing the government can do to you --- at least in America.
And that's the beauty of freedom, ladies and gentlemen. I will keep you all updated as I go through this process -- this boot is coming off TODAY, i literally have nothing else to do.
P.S. I am constantly reminded of the irony of my education and desires in Criminal Justice, only to remember that
I've suffered more at the hands of the police/law enforcement officials than I ever have at the hands of so called "criminals".
I always thought my criminal justice degree was bullshit and worthless, but am beginning to see how it can be applied in a much different angle than I ever thought, and that is: social justice.
Update soon