ACK! Knife confiscated!

I have to agree with the folks who are telling you not to write an op-ed piece about this. You are on the wrong side of the law here and your only hope is to basically plead for mercy from the authorities. Most of us don't agree with that situation, but that's reality.

Trying to start a public debate will call attention to the situation and make it much harder for the authorities to use discretion. It will also make you look unrepentent when you most need to look like you've learned your lesson.

Keep a low profile, do whatever they ask, and get on with your life. If you want to argue about knife laws there will be plenty of opportunities later.

--Bob Q
 
Wunderbar said:
WOW. I just posted a reply in the "For Sale" area to see if you were still selling it. Bummer.:(
Click to expand...

Oops. :o Kind of funny. I'll tell you what though, since it hasn't been confiscated, and I need the money, and nobody has actually charged me with anything, if you want it, and I can legally sell it to you, it's yours...

EDIT: I think getting rid of it would probably be the best course, and I did mention in my statement to the Director of Security that I have been trying to do sell it, and that the only reason I was carrying this particular knife at the time was because I didn't have any other, them having been sold to pay for tuition.

Also, I have decided at this time not to write my column about knives- I honestly do not rant in my columns, it would be a relatively fair piece, for an op/ed column, but you're right, I don't want to draw unwanted attention to myself until this has been permanently resolved. Thanks for cooling me down on that one, you guys, that might have been bad for me.

I am trying to be repentant and cooperative here, but the difficult thing here is that nothing has really happened yet. I honestly believe that I did nothing wrong, and that I was legally able to possess my automatic knife. I admitted and took responsibility for failing to do more thorough research on school policy about knives, and the Piranha's blade is only 3/16" of an inch over 3". I know ignorance isn't a legal excuse, but it is a mitigating factor. Basically what I'm saying is that I admit to a varying degree of culpability in some of the issues, but do not believe I am in violation of state law, which is the big issue- so I can only be so repentant, otherwise I admit guilt when that has not been decided yet.

I am being cooperative as much as I can, I have been scrupulously honest in everything that I have done regarding this so far, I thought I had gotten away with it when they returned it to my possession, but they called me and asked me if it was a switchblade, and I said yes and continued to cooperate, even though a simple no and a small lie about the knife's function would have gotten me away scot free. I understand and respect the law, and if I am in violation of it, then I intend to turn in all of my chips and seek clemency on this issue, which, given my record and the number of chips I hold, and past records of student infractions, may get me somewhere. If they find me legally in violation, I will continue to be honest and accept whatever Security decides to do.
 
What I don't undertand is why they don't just fire you and let that be the end of it. Why do they have to report it and press charges?
 
Well, it seems like that is going to be the end of it. Frankly, I would have preferred charges, I can afford to have a misdemeanor on my record, I can't afford to lose my job. Well, the job I had, at any rate.

I went in today to talk to Don Walski- he doesn't want to press charges, for which I am somewhat appreciative, but he has to refer the matter to the university vice president of student affairs, who may or may not do anything additional, including police referral.

Bringing the knife in was stupid on my behalf, I knew that it was in a legal gray area and that sheeple-dominated Minnesota would never see it as anything else but illegal. I was grating my teeth and trying to be polite, but the Security Director was spewing basically every sheeple argument I've ever heard. He refused to admit that I was a collector, classified me in the same group as all the two-bit thugs who would claim that their four Chinese POS knives at home qualify them as collectors, ranted about 'reasonable' people and knives... :barf: And worst of all, he refused to even admit any other possibility- he did have his mind made up in advance, and he wouldn't listen reasonably to any of my arguments.

It's too bad it happened like this, but now I'm going to be seriously hurting for cash for a while.

I want to write my article now. But I will save it until I figure out what the university is going to do, probably not until after Christmas, since I want to wait until the issue is completely resolved, and I promised my last article of this year to another subject already. I don't want to defend my specific case any more, I just want to talk about the idiocy of zero tolerance rules in general.
 
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