Return to Shasta?

November 6th 2023

It has been a year since my detainment and charges for allegedly sleeping in Anderson, California. I called the DA today, the 6th, to check if they had decided to file charges. They said, indeed they had. I now have a few choices.
1) I hire a lawyer, the lawyer represents me and most likely easily directs the courts to a not guilty decision. What a waste of money that would be.

2) I return to Shasta County just so I can plead not guilty in person and then wait (I'm quite sure I wouldn't wait quietly), but I would wait in protest for an unknown amount of time for a trial date to be set. Then I would most likely easily direct the courts to a not guilty decision. What a waste of time that would be.
Both of these choices are weak decisions without principled action. So, that leaves me with;

3) I return to Shasta County and loudly refuse to plead to such ludicrous charges. I return to my living homeless in protest plan and actively demonstrate outside the courthouse against this illegitimate law. I must be willing to go to jail. I must recognize the risk of physical harm. I am willing to do that. This was my original plan if the DA decided to press charges. I do want to actively fight this. 

4) I simply refuse to engage with the system and attempt as best I can to build awareness of the inhumanity of a law prohibiting a person from sleeping. I should remember the suffering of the homeless and know that I do not need to share their suffering in order to be compassionate and put in effort to help their situation.

I discuss all this over with my wife. My wife remembers hearing me being violently detained by the Anderson PD on November 5th, 2022. She remembers hearing the subtle threats while recording the phone call. She told me she supports my attitude to fight but getting hurt or worse wouldn't do anyone much good, at least not enough good to make it worthwhile. And while I gave all this some thought a line from Catcher in the Rye came to mind; a quote by Wilhelm Stekel, "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that wants to live humbly for one". I must be maturing. I will be sending the following notice to Shasta County:

To: Honorable Stephanie A. Bridgett or whomever will be handling the case;

I am, by declaration of this statement, serving the Shasta Courts, the State of California, and the Nation of the United States of America with notice that I am disinclined to acquiesce to the request, nay, the demand to appear and plead on charges of some intended Zzzz’s catching.

That means I will not be setting an arraignment court date for the charged crime of sleeping. Sleeping. I will not involve myself in this matter because such an act is not a crime. I will never appear for any charges of alleged breathing either, if such are dreamed up and I happen to be caught out of breath. 

These charges are ridiculous, but worse than that they are malicious. The malice was only directed upon me accidentally, but now that I have been treated as someone who doesn’t deserve to sleep in Anderson, California, I must say the City itself should be ashamed. And the county ashamed to claim such a city, and the state such a county, and so on and so forth until this entire Nation takes a damn good look in the mirror. You call yourself an American? Then act like it.

Sleeping.

I am not pretending that homelessness isn’t a problem. It is and it needs to be addressed. I am also not pretending that a warrant being served against my persons is anything but severely detrimental to my life in terms of public and personal perceptions, inability to gain certain employment in the future, and in challenges to the pride in my own self-worth. I am not a criminal. 

I have been pretending that I can somehow fight this matter in court without it adversely affecting or even harming my life in a more extreme manner than it already is. I am making a final request that the charges be dropped by the District Attorney office, reasoning provided.

I am additionally requesting that The City of Anderson Ordinance 8.25.010 be reviewed by the DA concerning it's legality and potential harm to residents and citizens. An injunction against this ordinance should be imposed by the DA.

Reasoning concerning first request; Even if this law was legitimate, which it is not, as shown in the attachment from my original email, I was on the phone with my wife at 7:42 pm for 3 hours and 2 minutes. That means I finished the call at 10:45. Officer Knight time stamped the infraction at 22:03. Unless the prosecution is alleging I was sleep talking, this charge has no merit.

Concerning the injunction request; I originally wrote that I wasn't a vagrant, or a transient degenerate, or an unproductive citizen in any regard. I am ashamed that I placed an "us vs. them" mentality on the homeless. In the year since this citation I have educated myself on homeless matters. It is not "us vs. them". It is "us vs. possibly us given different circumstances". I understand Shasta County has addiction and homelessness issues, but to intentionally design laws to harm a group of citizens, to intentionally cause suffering in citizens who are already suffering is... it stands against what it means to be American. I understand there are problems, but we do not find solutions with ordinances like these. 

I now petition the DA to use it's power and influence to correct the mistakes of the officials within it's jurisdiction and pursue an injunction against this ordinance in Anderson. Such an injunction is in the best interests of every person who finds themselves in Anderson, not just the unhoused. After I was served my citation Officer Knight advised me to drive an additional 30 minutes to find a rest area. I was extremely tired at the time. This was not safe for myself or for other motorists. This ordinance can and will cause automotive injury or possibly even death to residents or motorists passing through. 

Lastly, I hope there are enough caring citizens left in this nation, you reading this statement included, to petition this government for a redress of grievances. This is especially applicable if you are already have a government position. We must apply peaceful political pressure in order to correct these types of erroneous judgements by our elected representatives. Every citizen in this country has a duty of action, however small it may be, of involvement (digital rally is the new assembly) and a duty to make their beliefs and their voice heard. This is true of many many issues greater than this one, it just so happens I have been swept up in this one. Please, choose your own rally, choose your own cause, and make it an action that is on the side of justice and fairness, and kindness ffs. If you want to join this small battle please do, if not, take a stand somewhere, make a petition... make this country great.

Thank you for your consideration, I await your action.

And with that, I will almost assuredly have a warrant issued for my arrest.
I only needed to catch some Zzzzz's. I am not a criminal.