I'm being hassled by The Man!!

Dude, nice html stuff, Blogger. There's all buttons and stuff, much like writing emails. It cannot defeat my monkeys, though!
 
So, anyway, about being hassled by The Man. Everday that I go to school, I ride the Newark subway system to Penn Station. It's not actually a subway, it's a "light rail vehicle." Several years ago, before I started using it anyway, they changed from having ticket collectors on the trains to automated tellers at every station stop. You purchase a ticket, then validate it, and the validated ticket is good for 45 minutes.  Using the machine usually takes about five minutes, in which time a train might come and go. So I but tickets in bulk, 10 or 5, or however many I have the money for after I've run out. I keep this small bundle of tickets in the front pocket of my little purse. A few of you know what I mean. Anyway, there are never any people to check the tickets either on the train or at stations. And by "never" I mean, well, there have been maybe five times since the beginning of the summer that I have been asked to show my ticket. This is a somewhat disheartening state of affairs, so while I used to go the whole ride holding my ticket eagerly in my hand, I've taken everyday to pulling a ticket out of my purse, stamping it, and then shoving it back in my purse. My downfall, as it happens.
 
So, I have these used and unused tickets floating around in my purse. Usually at the end of the week or so, I clear out the ones I've used and throw them away. I thought I did this on Thursday. There was, I believe, one unused ticket in my purse, which is why I entreated some funds from my father, so that I might purchase more. So I felt around in my purse, stuck the ticket in the stamper, and put it back in. Lo, this was one of those magical days when three Fare Enforcers came on the train, acting very obnoxious as they demanded tickets in an accusatory tone. I immediatly retrieved my ticket for presentation. And as soon as I saw it, I saw something wrong. It was a ticket I'd already used, and I'd stamped it twice. I looked, and found the unused ticket, sans stamp. This is not the first time this has happened, at least once and possibley twice, I have noticed while throwing the tickets out that one seemed to be stamped twice. I thought this was a fluke, and I didn't have much impetus to go checking all my tickets, because I'm lazy, and no one ever checks them.
 
I point out my error to the fare enforcers. I show him the double-stamped ticket, and the unstamped one, and offer him both. He asked my age. I told him, and then he demanded indentification from me. I gave him my license, which he then grabbed and moved to the opposite end of the train. I spoke with one of the other guys, explained that I made a mistake, and tried to explain why. His decision? I was trying to evade payment of my ticket. Essentially, I told him it was an accident, and he told me he didn't believe me. I was then handed a $71 ticket, and they spouted out instructions about appearing in court, and by this point I had begun to cry. The little old man sitting next to me asked them if I couldn't just give them a dollar (the cost of a ticket), and the girl in front of me began rubbing my shoulder. The fare dudes refused to accept my unstamped ticket, and one told me to keep it for use on another ride, like he was giving me a gift or something.
 
When I got to the train station, I immediately went outside and called my father, bawling. Because, you know, I'm a girl. He calmed me down in a very practical way, which helped me get through  class, and then he took me out to dinner, where we discussed the system and its stupidity. So on August 30th, I'm going to court to contest my ticket, and my father will act as my legal counsel. He's good at that. After speaking to all my family members about it, I've moved past the phase of kicking myself for being an idiot (I mean, it is  my fault, but I didn't commit any crime. I'm not trying to defraud NJ Transit or the City of Newark or anything, I made a mistake.) and have moved on to being pissed off at the unsympathetic asscarts.
 
Yes, I'll be checking my tickets every day from now on. And as my father said, it's not their job to be sympathetic. It's their job to write tickets. So we'll take it to a judge, and let him decide if he believes me or not. And the worst thing that can happen is he doesn't. And then we've payed $71 for an engagement at the courts. Like an outting or something. But I'll be doing my darndest to Fight the System. Damn The Man. Fuck City Hall. Power to the People.
 
I'm still kind of upset. Comfort me.