Messing with the law, and paying a ‘heavy’ fine

Mar 11, 2018 Countryman, Features / Columnists

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By Dennis Nichols

Here’s another in a growing list of distractive stories to turn our minds away from the messy, stressy annoyances of daily life in Guyana.
In every society people are governed by laws, some of which may be never, or infrequently, enforced for a number of reasons. One could be that certain regulations are disregarded as a matter of course, even by those who craft them, and the violation may be of such minor impact that the authorities turn a blind eye to them.
But some may not, and the consequences for the violator can be bothersome, mystifying, amusing, or a combination of any of these. Even though the setting for this sketch is not local, you may still be able to relate to it.
Have you ever felt pissed off by a public official flaunting his/her authority over some minor infraction? I have, and I know it can sometimes be humiliating. Anger brews, but you just have to grit your teeth and live to fight the pettiness another day.
An example may be the experience so many drivers have had of being pulled over by a police traffic officer for some insignificant violation which the majority of ranks wouldn’t bother with. In Guyana, it could be an officer going strictly by the books, or one standing on the road in the scorching heat, thirsty, and figuring that you may have ‘something’ to quench one rather peculiar kind of thirst. Know what I mean? In any case you feel violated, but what can you do? It’s the law. But the law sometimes suffers from its own implementation.
But that was Guyana. In the United States, as so many unfortunate drivers have discovered, it could be a whole different ball game – sometimes a life and death encounter. But about a year ago, a gentleman from Texas snidely turned the tables on what he saw as legal overreach after he was stopped for what he considered a minor traffic violation – doing 39 mph in a 30 mph zone.
Feeling unjustly targeted, he took the case to jury trial, lost, and was saddled with a fine of $212. Feeling disgruntled, he decided to pay, but how? That’s the funny part of the story, especially for the anti-establishment crowd; less so for the shocked municipal clerk to whom the fine was paid. Here’s what happened, and I’m sharing just for the heck of it.
Brett Sanders was an IT professional, and as one newspaper put it, he didn’t get mad – he got even – to the penny. He decided to pay, and to videotape the process in great detail. So he went home and got two buckets which he spray-painted in black. He then neatly printed on one the words ‘Extortion Money’ and on the other ‘Policing For Profit’. Then Sanders really went to work. He took out dozens of boxes containing wrapped bundles of pennies (What we would have called cents back in the day) Then he took a hammer and smashed them, separating the coins from the wrapping, after which he filled the buckets with the more than 20,000 of them.
In the online video he appears to be a big, strong guy, but he laboured to lug his ‘heavy’ fine, to his truck before heading to the municipal office to pay up. He wore a blue tee shirt with the words ‘Authority – You have none’ emblazoned in front.
As you watch the video you know by now what is going to happen, but it still comes as a shock to realise he is actually doing it. He leaves the buckets in his truck and walks into the building where he meets and speaks very civilly with a polite middle-aged clerk. The poor lady has no idea what’s in store for her.
Here’s the conversation. “Hello, here to pay a traffic ticket”. The clerk responds with “Okay, can I get your driver’s license please, and that’s $212”. “And you take exact change?” he enjoins. “Let me run up to the truck. I’ll be right back.” “Okay, I’m gonna be grabbing your file.” Sanders deceptively ends the conversation with a casual “Perfect!”
After collecting the ‘payment’ he plods back into the office, up to the counter, and tells the clerk “You’re in luck, I found exact change” before dumping the contents of each bucket on to the counter as the bewildered woman utters a protest made unintelligible by the clatter.(Are pennies valid for any amount payable? Seems so)
Half of the coins cascade to the floor. Abruptly, he turns and walks away with his last words no doubt ringing in the woman’s ears. “Just mail me the receipt; you know the address.” Then he continues on his way out, jauntily swinging the empty containers. As he drives away, the video momentarily blacks out, and then comes back in to an audio four hours later at Sanders’ home. Viewers are left to assume it took the authorities that long to count the coins and determine if the correct amount was paid. Then comes the clincher.
A slightly-garbled voice informs Mr. Sanders that (following the transaction) he has some change coming back to him, and wonders when he would like to pick it up, even giving a number to which he can return a call. He condescendingly tells them they can keep it. The video ends with a throwback shot of the coins on the counter and floor of the municipal office as workers wonder with a mixture of incredulity and humour what was going on.
But it was Brett Sanders who appears to have had the last laugh by making a 212-dollar fool of the police and municipal authorities. In the end though, as suggested by comments from online viewers, one cannot help but sympathize with the clerk who was simply doing her job. Then viewers ask the question – was he a hero, or a jerk?
Comments on the video are mixed. Some people hail him as someone who had the gumption to stand up for the right of citizens to protest unjust laws and their enforcement. Others are not so liberal or kind in their views. One comment was that he needs to grow up, making a mess for somebody to clean up while claiming he’s about responsibility. Another described Sanders as ‘a little toddler throwing tantrums.’ A third puts the whole thing succinctly. “Drives over the speed limit. Tries to beat the law in court. Surprisingly loses case. Ruins a lady’s day because he couldn’t deal with the fact he broke the law and lost.”
But Sanders, who described himself as a freedom fighter and defender of American’s first and second amendments says, “I just decided I would comply in the most disrespectful, most flamboyant way I could. It was peaceful resistance and compliance at the same time… This boils down to a morality issue for me. We shouldn’t just roll over and pay traffic tickets. I want to make a bigger point that laws are not always just.”
What do you think readers? Do Guyanese have the brazenness or nerve to thumb their noses at unjust laws with the mixture of creativity and contempt demonstrated by Mr. Sanders? I’m not sure, but a picture just flashed across my mind. It was a composite image of City Hall, those green sentinels still parked in downtown Georgetown, MAPM, and thirsty traffic ranks. There’s no law against that.

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