Sometimes it takes personal injustice to bring into focus the ill treatment and wrongful punishment that the average American citizen does, and can face. I’ve recently fell victim to such injustice, and I for one am willing to conceive that everyone who claims to be innocent of a crime, may just be telling the truth. Rather by a hindrance of laws that contradict one another; as in my case; or a lack of professional courage and conviction on the part of those in a position to render justice to those wrongly punished (a by-product of my situation), the results are the same.

When the only side that’s allowed a voice and representation is the big guns or the wealthy, where do we turn? How do we demand of a China human rights for it’s citizens, that we as a country, don’t allow to our own? Punishment is for the guilty. Punishment must be preserved for a crime or a wrong that is committed, and not for the convenience of moving on because a insignificant nobody was the victim of wrongful punishment, based on; not doing a wrong; but rather two laws contradict one another in the instance. Allow me to give you the untold account.

I’m a veteran that’s homeless and jobless. I get by on whatever my family can afford to give me; which isn’t much; as I come from poor people. And I’ve never made friends outside the army. Due to my age, most companies won’t hire me; even though I have the skills and ability to do the work. I’m out of trucking; not for doing anything wrong or illegal; but due to the way DOT Rules are structured, and the unethical tactics of certain people within the Anderson Trucking Services organization. Until I can get some work and get a lawyer to handle a lawsuit for me, I’m assumed guilty until proved innocent. I’m attempting to get my Congressman to intercede, on my behave. As it stands; I’m in my fourth month of unemployment; as no company will hire me. Why? My DAC Report; by which all commercial drivers are judged; indicates that I refused to take a drug test. It’s a lie; but I wasn’t given a voice to protest nor an interview with the Department Of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Agency; although they claimed to have investigated. Seemed pretty one sided, if they did.

The VA refused to help because I have less than 30% disability

As I’ve ruined my own credit, trying to keep my trucking business afloat over the past five years, and was actually three weeks from turning the corner when I got railed road-ed out of the trucking industry; starting over is even harder than would be normal. Call it my punishment for working with unscrupulous people within the trucking industry. I don’t begrudge that punishment. I earned it. So are the fortunes of war. By the way; I’m not looking for pity; just stating the facts as they exist.

I’ve filled out over two hundred job applications since January, sent correspondence to many lawyers; including pro bonos; senators, congressman, DOT, FMCSA, the VA, NAACA, local and national news media; written the State Department, Justice Department, the White House, and the Workers Association. You know what I’ve discovered? Unless your situation can sell newspapers or garner ratings; the media doesn’t give a darn for you [ but I already knew that; but gave it a shot anyway].

Even though the people who railroaded me and ruined my career in trucking lied to the FMCSA and it can be proved that they did; no one in the government wants to get involved for the sake of a penniless nobody; even though I am a war veteran. Even the FMCSA refused to investigate the logbook violations, when they did their investigation; although I clearly pointed it out to them in my first correspondence with them. That in itself should’ve been justification for them to have the lie of Refusing to take a drug test removed from my DAC Report, so I could get back to work and hire some lawyers to sue for loss of wages; among other things. Surprise, surprise; they never even looked into it. From the letter I receive from Mr. Daniel P Drexler- Division Administrator, for the St. Paul, Mn branch of the FMCSA- U.S. Department of Transportation; it appears the focus was on the DOT rule for missed drug test. There was absolutely no mention of the Hours of service rules, which deal with logbook issues. I promptly wrote back to Mr. Drexler, explaining this omission from the investigation an the lie of me being giving directions to the clinic, by a member of Anderson Trucking Service; which he said was told him by this company’s Safety Director. I’m still awaiting Mr. Drexler’s response. No one needs to lie if they were in the right and if they didn’t wrongfully punish an individual, by terminating his contract and ruining his ability to work in his chosen profession. No indeed. Someone has a lot to answer for.

I’m still scratching my head over why the pro bono lawyers refuse to answer my inquiries. I’m innocent and I can prove I am. The big money company lied to a Federal Agency during their half-hearted investigation. Which consisted of nothing more than a phone call to the company in question; if the content of their letter is an indication. My side of the story was never investigated, I was never interviewed or given a fair chance to be exonerated, by the U.S. Department of Transportation or by the Safety Department of Anderson Trucking Service. With a 15 year history of clean safe service as a member of the trucking industry; you’d think the least you’d get was a fair chance to have your side heard. Don’t you think?

I’ve lived a clean, law abiding life for 43 years. Worked hard, helped others, stayed honest. I’ve got no criminal record, no history of trouble with the law ; and THIS is my reward? I served this country with honor and distinction; a total of more than 14 years. Was darn proud to where the uniform. I look back on my body of work; and ask myself; ” What the heck went wrong?”. My land of opportunity has become a death sentence.

If you don’t have big money or name recognition; or you’re not an interesting story for the media; it doesn’t matter that you’re right or innocent. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or not. It doesn’t matter that you’re an American citizen. You’re a body; in a sea of millions of nobodies in this country.

Ironically; millions of tax dollars are spent each year to settle refugees into the United States. Financial, legal and material assistance in the form of loans, grants and welfare supplements. I read an article in the papers last year about how this was going on. I’m not asking for money or a government hand out. All I ask these government agencies to do; especially the FMCSA and DOT is to give me a fair and impartial investigation into my wrongful termination. Esponge the lies from my DAC Report, forward me a copy of the finished investigation. That’s all I asked them for. Then I can return to work and finance my own legal defense and sue the pants off the people who’ve caused me so much financial, economical and emotional hardship. I’ve lost over $10,000 worth of equipment, personal items [some can't be replaced], as well as $3200 of end of contract money I was due to collect. I’m not going to allow big business to stomp on me and get away with it. I deserve justice; and if it takes the rest of my life to get it; justice will be served.

I’m willing to on out on a limb and say; I’m not the only citizen to be subjected to this gross injustice of character. Punishment for the sake of convenience is a growing problem in this country. And not just in the criminal system, which most people think of when you mention this subject. If a man or woman is to be a productive member of society, this kind of injustice must have an outlet for a possibility of justice.

I think back to John Allen Muhammad, Theodore Kaczynski, Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Each man guilty of his crime. Punished for his misdeeds. We can all agree on that, I think. Can we all agree on what pushed these men to take the actions they took? Is it really what was written about these men? Three of these four men where military veterans. Does that give you any idea to what happens to the mental rationalization when these type of people feel punished for something they didn’t do, and decides to strike back in the only way the government trained them too? A scary though, isn’t it? Especially considering the hundreds of thousands of combat veterans running free in our society today. We; as a nation; need to pay attention to how we deal with the ordinary person and not decide too quickly that that poor insignificant Joe Nobody of today, may not become the next Terry Nichols, Timothy McVeigh, or John Allen Muhammad of tomorrow. There’s and old saying that goes like this, ” You can take the soldier out the military; but you can take the military out the soldier”. It’s always been said that we have the best trained military in the world. As McVeigh, Nichols and Allen Muhammad so ghoulishly demonstrated; that training doesn’t terminate as a result of leaving military service.

It’s a burden of responsibility to harness the aggressional desirer, to strike out, when you are the victim of unfair punishment. It’s time to put the posturing and politics aside and give fair and impartial effort to all of America’s citizens. After nearly 16 years of being out the military, I’m still having difficulty adjusting to the back stabbing, butt-kissing, innocent victims being ignored mentality, that is the American civilian society. Patience is a good thing. But we all have our limits.

For all you people in public office, and all you people who are paid to see that justice is evenly applied to ALL our citizens; I say you’re as responsible for those men’s acts as they are themselves. The wrongful punishment of law abiding citizens is still going on to this very day; and when made aware of it; you do nothing to make it right. You do nothing to ensure that the punishment of innocent people doesn’t have the same breeding grounds to manifest itself again. You do nothing to those accountable for dealing with these issues, who are glossing them over. If they’re not going to do their jobs responsibly; they should be demoted and relegated to duties of lesser responsibility until they prove they can and will do the job.

How many more innocent victims will we have, before another one goes off the deep end and does something for which more innocents are made to pay for with their lives, for the lack of humanity we manifest in American society today? It shouldn’t require deep pockets or fame to get a wrong corrected. In the eyes of our creator; we’re all somebody; regardless of religion,creed, color, or financial status. That’s what America needs to get to; in order to be a true World leader. I can’t say get back to, because America has always had a history of disenfranchising it’s poor, in the arena of fair and impartial justice.

Can anybody say Sean Bell?