I'm not saying tickets are fun. And I'm not saying some cops aren't jerks.
And I'm not saying some Vanagon drivers aren't jerks, myself included.

I am saying I think we as a culture need more big picture awareness.

No one likes to get a speeding ticket, for example. And no one likes a
ticket for urinating in public or camping illegally. And at the same time no one
wants cars speeding through their own neighborhoods endangering their kids and
families and no one wants people urinating in their yards or illegally
camping  in front of their house.

And the hard truth is law enforcement isn't designed for the  convenience of
the person who choses, knowingly or not, to go outside the  law.

You don't get to refuse a speeding ticket because you didn't know  you were
speeding. You don't get to refuse an illegal camping ticket  because you wanted
to camp illegally. And if you're nailed for not having a  permit when you
need a permit you can't choose not to be ticketed.

The nice thing is you can choose to berate the cop who is doing his  job. And
you can choose to belittle the cop. There's sometimes a downside to  that.
And I'm not sure what the upside is.

And you could bask in the glory of how stupid the laws are and how  "little"
the people who enforce them must feel to do such a job. But my guess  is, if I
know human nature, it would be worse without them. Because, believe it  or
not, there are people out there who would like to pick and choose which  laws
they abide by.

I don't want camping and urinating in the public marina by my house. Sorry.
It has nothing to do with anybody's Napoleonic complex. It's just that it's
the  kind of thing that gets out of hand pretty quickly and the quality of life
deteriorates with it. I just don't like urine.

And I'm guessing the mushroom permits serve the function of regulating
mushroom removal. I dare say I even like the idea that they're free --  sounds like
a perk to me.

State lands and Federal lands are generally heavily regulated. Hence you
don't see casinos on them or people walking out with the vegetation that  grows
wild until that vegetation exists no more. Don't think that could  happen? Look
around. We've done all this to the land that is now America in only  about
250 years give or take. Secaucus was all pristine land a mere 250 years  ago, so
was Detriot, so was LA, so was Vegas--and that's a blip on the screen of
time. We as a people are pretty good at ruining things. All because we  suffer
from a lack of big picture awareness.

As far as the $150 ticket for the mushrooms, that's a drag, no question.
Sometimes it easier to pay than waste a day in court--especially if you believe
you're guilty. You could chalk it up to a lesson learned about the permit for
$150.

If you have the time you could go to court and plead "guilty with an
explanation." I had luck getting a fine reduced for an open alcohol  container in
public when I was in college. I didn't know it was illegal at the  time. It ended
up costing me a lot less than the other lessons I learned in  college if you
break it down to dollars and sense.

It cost $50 to learn "No open alcohol in public" and that has turned out to
be very practical information. It cost $50K+ to learn Existentialism and  I'm
still not sure how to apply it.

Believe it or not the cop who gave the $150 summons gave me the suggestion
of the "guilty with an explanation" plea to possibly reduce the fine. I  think
he offered up the advice because he got the wrong idea about me since I
forgot to tell him how stupid he and his job were.

That's my 2 cents.
Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA