I'm paraphrasing this question from a conversation I had with Mr. Shepherd
during which he repeatedly accused me of «playing the system» in
order to avoid having to make prison imposed FRP («Financial
Responsibility Program») payments. I tried several times to answer
his question (and accusations) as we spoke, but he did not seem
willing to hear anything I was saying (mostly, I supposed, because it
wasn't what he wanted to hear). So, here is the answer for
posterity's sake, and maybe for Mr. Shepherd too, if he ever decides
to listen.
The
answer is quite simple really. I'm not refusing to pay my court
ordered fines and restitution at all. I'm only trying to avoid paying
them with someone else's money. Let me explain...
If
someone gives you a gift, you wouldn't sell it and use the money to
pay a parking ticket would you? Even if the gift were cash (in a
birthday card for example) you are still ethically obligated to use
that money for something you'll enjoy, not to pay a library fine.
Of
course, if you had a parking ticket or library fine that needed to be
paid, and the gift was the only means you had for doing so, then ---
with apologies, of course --- you'd have no choice but to hurt your
friend's feelings and use the gift to take care of your obligation.
It would be better though, if you sacrificed something other than
your friend's feeling if you could, by using your grocery money, or
gas money, if possible. Or, better yet, if you could put off paying
the ticket/fine until another day, that would make the most sense;
wouldn't it?
Well,
that's all I'm trying to do. The FRP policy states that I am «exempt»
if the amount of money I receive in a six month period is below a
certain amount. So, I ask my friends not to send gifts in excess of
that amount (which is what Mr. Shepherd calls «playing the system»)
so I won't have to use their money to pay my fines. It is a sacrifice
on my part because my friends (and family) are more than willing to
send enough money to cover the FRP payments and let me have more money
for myself. But, I refuse to use their gifts to pay my obligations;
and that's ALL I'm refusing. I'm not refusing to pay my fines at all.
I'm just putting them off until I can pay them with my own money;
which may well be forever. But, considering that I owe nearly a
quarter-million dollars, I don't think the $25/month that Mr.
Shepherd wants me to pay is going to make a bit of difference anyway.
(And let's just ignore the minor fact that none of the $25 payments I
was forced to pay in the last couple of years has ever been deducted
from what I owe! The money simply disappears into the B.O.P. coffers,
never to be seen or heard from again. And if I ask Mr. Shepherd where
the money goes or what it is used for --- which I have, several times
--- he claims not to know, and frequently insists it doesn't
matter...only the «obligation» matters.)
