By Johnathan Masters
A threat is, according to
Merriam-Webster:
: a statement saying
you will be harmed if you do not do what someone wants you to do
: someone or something
that could cause trouble, harm, etc.
: the possibility that
something bad or harmful could happen
1: an expression of
intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage
2: one that threatens
3: an indication of
something impending <the sky held a threat of rain>
xxx
There are many things a good man in
this world needs to do. A real man makes his own keep. He takes care
of his own micro-economy. He takes care of his children. He takes
care of his wife. He loves and protects his wife and children. He
pays his bills, his taxes, and he votes.
The best thing I love about myself is
that I have a strong moral core. I'm a good person. My morals are
strong. It's the best thing about me. I believe in doing what is
right and fair and just. I believe in peace, love, democracy,
freedom, and justice. I believe in the Golden Rule, to do to those as
they would want do unto them.
The Big 4 Evils: Murder, Rape,
Stealing, and Violence. Which means, don't murder, don't rape, don't
steal, and don't hit. I do not care for tyranny, ignorance,
hypocrisy, and lying.
A real man should be a man of his own
word, and a man's word should be as good as a promise. If he cannot
stand by his word, then what good is he? What good is a liar? There
is no good in a liar, and a liar, is not a real man. A real man
stands by his word.
I believe in telling the truth. If we
do not tell the truth, how can we actually know what happened?
A liar is not a real man and a real man
is a man of his word.
While on the Ralph Nader's Presidential
Campaign, we had to get signatures just to put him on the ballot, and
that's where his resources mostly went towards. Some of the other
petitioners on the campaign would just badger folks until they caved
in. I didn't like that. That's harassment. That's just being a bully,
and preying on weak people. They would just harass other folks until
they would get their compliance. But that's not me.
I have social etiquette.
This is how the conversation usually
went. I would say to a person at the Post Office, or the courthouse
square, or a bus stop, or some other public place where people
congregated, “Hey, can you sign my petition in order to put an
independent candidate on the ballot?” If they said no, I would say,
“It's not saying that you would vote for him, but that Independent
candidate deserve to be on the ballot.” If they said no, I
persisted, and I would say, “Doesn't everybody deserve a chance?”
And don't they?
After 3 No's, I would walk away. Any
more to me would just be harassment. After the 3rd “no”,
I told them “Ok, thank you,” since I appreciated their time, and
I would walk away.
That was the balance I believed in. At
first, most folks would think I was asking them for money, or selling
them a time share, when they saw me approach them, but that isn't
what I was about. I was getting signatures for a petition, which is
protected under the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, and
I was doing a good dead. I didn't want any money, or to sell them
anything. Nobody should harass somebody until they cave into doing
what you want them to do. That's just being a bully. Or asking for a
fight. If they wanted to help out, they would. If they didn't, then
they wouldn't.
I just would give them the opportunity
to do what it is they wanted to do.
Xx
For my research class, I was required
to design an experimental study and I chose it on democracy in
education due to the low voter turnout rate over the November
Elections. Only 40% of the Kentuckians came out to vote, and 40%
isn't a majority. When Kentucky first passed her Constitution in
1792, even though a majority of those who had voted, voted in favor
of the Constitution, the case was made that those who didn't vote,
actually voted in the negative.
They lost that case, but the point is,
that in a democracy, for it to work, it requires a majority. This led
me to wonder about the level of democratic participation in our
schools, and if our schools were even teaching about our duties as
American citizens, such as our duty to vote.
Personally, I wasn't enthused about
voting this year, but I did it anyways, to do my duty as an American
citizen.
I had conducted 50
surveys/questionnaires, which were 5 different ones, with 10
questions a piece. http://young4ky.blogspot.com/2015/02/civics-surveys.html They were short constructed answers, and would
have only take 10 minutes to complete. I lifted the questions from
the test that immigrants have to take when they become American
citizens, and the logic was, if this is information that immigrants
need to know in order to become citizens, then it should also be what
Americans should know when they graduate from American government
schools. We should also understand democratic functions and
practices. Understanding the 3 branches of government isn't just a
multiple choice question on a test, but there's a reason for why we
have a separation of powers. We have checks and balances in order to
prevent tyranny.
If an immigrant doesn't get 6 of the 10
questions on this test right, then they fail to become US citizens.
American citizens should be able to do better on a test about
American society than immigrants do. This is our country. This is our
democracy. It shouldn't be a requirement for citizenship, but, still.
We should understand the laws that govern our society.
On Monday, December 15, 2014, I had an
action plan to get my survey finished for my research class. My
action plan was that I was going to talk to several schools, and
hopefully, find one to do the survey. If I couldn't find a school to
do the survey, then I would have gone to the University of
Louisville, and walked around, getting answers from the students
there. I drove 45 minutes to Cloverport, and I was in luck, because
Mr. Keith Haynes of Cloverport talked with me, and said that he could
get the 50 surveys finished with no problem. I was relieved and very
thankful, and even told him that he was a very humble man. We had
also discussed some other things. He said he had been Principal there
for 2 years, and that there existed a rivalry between Cloverport and
Breckinridge County Schools, and while admitting that the Vice
Principal was “the hammer” for the school, which enabled him to
be the nice one, that's not always the case. He also said that he
didn't know of any scrap metal yards, since I have some scrap metal
on my farm that I needed to get rid of. It was a pleasant
conversation for all intensive purposes, and he said to come at the
end of the day on Tuesday, the next day, and he would have the survey
finished and ready for me to pick up. He said school gets out at
2:45pm.
I suggested that he find a High School
Social Studies class to give it to, his best and brightest class.
I also went to the library to see if
they had any books about the pioneers of Kentucky. I checked out two
books about Native Americans, and then I left. I drove 45 minutes
back home, and I didn't ask anybody else, assuming that Mr. Keith
Haynes would be a Man of his Word.
Again, driving 45 minutes back to the
school, on Tuesday, I got to school early, at about 1:45pm. To show
my appreciation, I had bought some candy for the staff, since the
librarians, Lisa Smith, Mr. Keith Haynes, had all been so nice and
helpful. I got them some chocolate Hershey almond kisses, and a bag
of mini-Snickers. I know how to treat people, and while it was only a
small gesture, it was a gesture of goodwill, a way to give back. I
also returned the two books I had checked out. I sat and waited for
Mr. Keith Haynes in the waiting area. He popped out briefly for a
quick second—he burrowed out of his hole—but he never
acknowledged me, nor did he say hi, but he did see me. After making
the briefest eye contact with me, Mr. Keith Haynes turned his back,
and scurried back into his back office. I waited for another 10
minutes, just sitting there, making small talk with Lisa Smith, about
Christmas, and other small stuff. A father walked in and said that he
was going to check out his child to take them “fishing”, and Lisa
made the joke, “What... ice fishing?” He was kidding. He actually
needed to take them to the dentist. But it was wintertime. It was
December 15.
Since Mr. Keith Haynes didn't
acknowledge me, and left me there waiting, I suspected that there was
some issue with getting the survey implemented, and that for whatever
reason, he didn't get the surveys finished. Since I needed the survey
finished soon, and Mr. Keith Haynes said that he would do it, if he
told me bad news, I had resolved to try to ask him 2 more times
before I walked away, as I did when I was on the Nader campaign. I
wasn't going to harass him until he complied with me, nor threaten
him with violence to do what I wanted him to do, but I also wasn't
just going to leave immediately.
As I had suspected, Mr. Keith Haynes
had some bad news for me. He came out to me, I was sitting down, and
he was standing up, and he handed me back the green file folder that
had the 50 surveys in them, and said, “I'm sorry. I couldn't get
the surveys finished. None of the teachers wanted to do them.”
I said: “But you said that you would
do them.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry.”
“They would only take 10 minutes. I
could administer them right now. I could just ask the teachers
myself.”
“No... I can give you the teacher's
emails.”
“I mean, you said that you would do
it, and how could the teacher's tell you no? You're the Principal.”
[yelling] “You're being rude right now! You
need to leave, or there will be trouble!”
“: a statement saying
you will be harmed if you do not do what someone wants you to do
: someone or something
that could cause trouble, harm, etc.
: the possibility that
something bad or harmful could happen
1: an expression of
intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage
2: one that threatens
3: an indication of
something impending <the sky held a threat of rain>”
~Merriam Webster's
definition of “threat”
[I stand up and walk a few steps to the
door. I turn around.]
“Okay... but you can go ahead and
enjoy the chocolates I bought all of yall.”
[George Costanza-dobble ganger shrugs
his shoulders]
[I pull open the handle of the door,
and turn back one last time.]
“You know, if you wanted, we could
just go outside.”
[Keith Haynes stood there, looking at
dumb and confused]
“Yeah... that's what I thought. I
would've kicked your ass.”
Then I walked away. I walked down the
sidewalk, going to the parking lot, got into my truck, and left.
Keith Haynes stayed staring at me the whole time in the window of the
office, just mean-mugging me, dreaming up of ways to do me harm.
I put the truck into reverse, and as I
was leaving Cloverport Schools, I gave Keith Haynes a little wave
goodbye, and then left, never intending to ever return to that school
as long as that asshole still works there.
I don't respond well to folks who yell,
and threaten me, and that's the way I took it. What else could he
have meant by those words? “If you do not leave, there's going to
be trouble.” As in, he's a troublemaker? As in, he's going to put
his hands on me, and remove me by force, or that he would get the
police to put their hands on me? It was implied threat, but it was
also conditional. He said IF I didn't leave, there would trouble.
I wasn't happy about how he was yelling
at me, and threatening me. I was sitting down, and he's standing over
me, looming over me, yelling, being a jerk. He had lied to me, he
wasn't a man of his word, and now, he was threatening me. But since
the school was his domain, I complied with his demand, and I stood up
to leave. As I was leaving, I said, “I left some candy here that I
brought, so go ahead and enjoy that.” And he seemed to just shrug
his shoulders at that. He didn't care that I was showing my
appreciation at his initial decent promise of him getting the surveys
done for me, or that I was a good person. So while at the door, I
turned back around, and I gave him a proposition. I said, “You
know, if you really want to fight, we can just go outside?” … And
I waited for a response, to see if he wanted to fight, since it felt
as though he wanted to do me harm, and he just stood there all dumb
and confused, and he didn't say anything. I took that as him
rejecting my proposition. “Yeah, because I would have kicked your
fucking ass.” So I walked away. As I was walking away, he was just
standing at the window, staring at me, mean mugging me, probably
dreaming of ways to do me harm. It was uncomfortable. He kept staring
at me, and when I got into my truck, I noticed that he was still
staring at me, and as I pulled away, I gave him a little wave
goodbye. And that's probably what angered him the most. Me waving at
him. I complied with his demand, but I didn't do it in a way that
made him happy.
And that was it. I wouldn't have gone
back to Cloverport anyways, after the way he treated me, aftering
hollering and threatening me. I never said that I would do him harm.
I never said that I would come back to hurt him, or that he better
watch his back, or anything like that. I didn't threaten him. He said
to leave or there would be harm done, and so I left, and asked him if
he still wanted to do me some harm. He didn't, so I left it at that.
But he really did. He wanted to do me harm, and now, he wanted
revenge, and blood. He wasn't a man of his word, and I called out his
manhood, which, when I was sitting down, he was a real tough guy. A
thug. A bully.
The day before, Mr. Keith Haynes was
like a savior to me, an angel, and the next day, he turned into a
devil. Psychopaths are like that. They can be charming one moment, a
Mr. Hyde, and then the next day, there real selves comes out. They're
Jekyll.
xxx
So his threat was an implied and
conditional threat. If you do not leave, then there will be violence.
And I responded to that by doing what he wanted, I was leaving, but
if he really wanted violence, I'd defend myself, if need be.
The real reason he called the police
and my school, was because, after I questioned his lies and he
threatened me, if he wanted to fight, I was willing to do so, and
because I waved to him as I left. It was probably the wave that
really got to him. While he had lost his temper, I maintained my
composure. I didn't yell out my proposition. I just said, “IF he
wanted to fight, then I was down to do so.” And then I added some
flavor to it. I insulted him because he insulted me. Instead of being
honest.
Keith Haynes isn't a real man. A real
man honors his word, and since he doesn't stand by his word, he's not
a real man. So I exposed him already. That's what this is all about.
He knew that I had no plans to do anything to him after that Tuesday
afternoon, and that no threat was ever issued. He had threatened me,
and I complied with his conditional threat, but I didn't scurry away
like the women and children he scares into submission daily, and
because I waved at him when I left. He lost his composure, he lost
his temper, and had I not left when he started yelling at me, he
would have put his hands on me, or tried to get somebody to get their
hands on me.
He was willing to use violence and
threats to get what he wanted, like a bully, like an uncivilized
child, and since the school is his domain, I complied with his
threat, but instead of crying, and feeling less than a human, I kept
my dignity, and I invited him to come out to the streets with me,
which is public domain, and as an adult, two consenting folks can
engage in a boxing match, or a fight, if they so choose to do so. If
that's not the case, then how do boxing matches happen?
And if Mr. Keith Haynes ever wants to
do me harm, if he wants to still fight me, I'll be his huckleberry.
But if he does not consent, then nothing happens. That's not a
threat. It's a proposition. It's a question. Do you want to fight? He
brought the possibility of violence into the conversation.
Recently, in the paper I read that
Fiscal Court wouldn't adjourn until they got some audit they had been
asking for, for quite some time. And then they got it. They used
parliamentary procedure to get what they want. They were within the
bounds of the law. And so was I.
Mr. Keith Haynes is an adult, and since
he didn't come outside with me, no fight happened, and so I walked
straight to my vehicle, got in, and I left. I considered the matter
over. But clearly, belligerent Mr. Keith Haynes needed vengeance. He
had threatened me, and while getting me to leave the school, which
was what he initially wanted, now he wanted more. He still wanted to
hurt me. He wanted blood. So he called the police, and after
convincing some police officer of his lies, with no evidence
whatsoever, a warrant was issued, and then he called my school, to
attempt to ruin me, and me kicked out of my school.
Mr. Keith Haynes' reasons for not
getting the surveys finished doesn't make any sense. How is one not
able to get their subordinates to do a survey for them? I don't
believe that Mr. Keith Haynes even asked all of the teachers. He may
have asked 1 teacher, and then just gave up. Or not. Maybe he didn't
ask anybody at all. But he is the Principal. He could have just
ordered them to do it. It would have taken 10 minutes. Or perhaps, he
looked at the questions on the survey, and realized that his school
wasn't properly educating his students about American Society, and
didn't want to look bad for the lackluster education he was
providing, which is most likely the real reason.
The survey would have taken 10 minutes,
there were only 10 questions to answer, and then there were a few
quality questions on the back, such as what High School is this, do
you agree that Democracy is a virtue, and on a scale of 0 to 10, what
level of democratization of this school would say your school was. It
would have taken 10 minutes to finish.
Perhaps that last question was the
question he had the biggest problem with. On a scale of 0 to 10, what
level of democratization would you say, in your opinion, this school
has. Mr. Keith Haynes didn't want the students to all write down “0”
on their surveys, and to make the school look bad. And if he was
honest, and said that, that was the reason, then I would reassured
him, since he was doing me a favor, that I wouldn't have wrote the
name of the school down. For my research report, I would have wrote
“a school in Kentucky”. Because with a research survey, you don't
assume what the answers are going to be. The answers also could have
been really good, but we'll never know for sure.
He never asked the teachers. Mr. Keith
Haynes wasn't a man of his word. He said he was going to do
something, and then he didn't do it, and he didn't feel bad about it.
A liar is not a real man. A real man is a man of his word, and a
man's word should be as good as a promise.
I only gave him a proposition, whereas
he gave an expression of impending intent to inflict evil, injury,
and damage.
So when Mr. Keith Haynes accuses me of
being rude, that I had threatened him, that wasn't true. Really, it
was him being rude, and he was the one who lost his composure, he
lost his temper, and he was jawing at me, saying that he intended to
do me harm. He was the one being rude, and he was the one who
threatened to do me harm.
So I had heard that there was a warrant
against me from the University of Cumberlands, and they were the
first ones to tell me about it. I called Breckinridge County
courthouse and asked about the warrant, the lady on the phone, Anita,
said that she couldn't find anything on me. So I put it out of mind.
Now I see the charges is “Abuse of a
Teacher”... well, first off, he's not a teacher. He's a Principal,
which gives him more authority, but the charge doesn't line up with
reality. I know abuse. I understand abuse. Coming from a home of
abuse, I detest abuse, and would do anything to anybody that wasn't
asking for it to begin with.
I probably got hit over 5,000 times as
a child. That's abuse. Asking him to come outside... that's not
abuse. It's not even threatening.
I just asked him a question.
It was a challenge, a challenge that
Keith Haynes rejected, after trying to get tough with me, because
he's a coward. He's not a real man. That's why he called the police, filed a
report, got a judge to sign off a on warrant for my arrest, and tried
to ruin my education, and employment opportunities. Just as a coward would do.
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