After six years of living in Dickinson, North Dakota, the best way to describe it, is that it is a prison work camp.  I want to begin this blog post by telling about my most constant reminder that I am in prison.

When I was living in Florida and got my driver’s license when I was sixteen years old, to when I moved away from Florida when I was thirty-two years old, in those sixteen years, I was stopped by the Police a total of three times.  The three times that I was stopped, I was speeding.  In those sixteen years, I commonly drove over the speed limit, and I often went out to bars until 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday night.

From when I was thirty-two years old to forty-two years old, living in Colorado, Arizona, and Idaho, I was stopped by the Police a total of two times.  Once for speeding in Arizona, and once for a truck headlight being out in Idaho.

In comparison to being stopped twice by the Police in ten years of living in Colorado, Arizona, and Idaho, I have been stopped by Law Enforcement in North Dakota twice in the past thirty days.

In comparison to being stopped three times by the Police in sixteen years of living in Florida, I have been stopped by Law Enforcement in North Dakota more than three times in this past year.

In the past two years of living in North Dakota, I have been stopped by Law Enforcement more times than in my previous thirty-two years of driving.

I dread going anywhere in North Dakota, especially just going to the grocery store, going to work, or coming home from work.  In the past thirty days, while I was driving at the speed limit, not doing anything wrong, Law Enforcement that was travelling in the opposite direction, has made a U-turn after passing me, in order to come after me.

What Law Enforcement is trying to do, is stop me, ask me questions, and look in my vehicle in order to get me for something.

Every two or three days, the Dickinson Press newspaper has an article titled “Police Blotter” or “Crime & Courts”.  In these articles that are published every two or three days, there are typically ten to fifteen individuals named who have been charged with the following:

“…driving while license suspended, failure to carry liability insurance, possession of meth (misdemeanor), possession of meth paraphernalia (felony)…”

Dickinson has a horrible methamphetamine problem, and along with it, a terrible theft problem too.  I have had to call the Police on May 28, June 6, June 15, and June 25 regarding theft where I live in downtown Dickinson.

I understand what Law Enforcement is doing in North Dakota, trying to deal with and stop the methamphetamine and theft problem, by stopping motorists who appear to be just ordinary workers.  Law Enforcement is not making a U-turn on Villard Street to come after anyone in a new Ford F150, new Chevy 1500, new Dodge 1500, or new Suburban, lest they irritate or inconvenience someone who matters.

Most of the people in Dickinson are uneducated blue-collar workers, laborers, construction workers, welders, plumbers, electricians, equipment operators, truck drivers, and fair game to be pulled over by Law Enforcement at any time, because they are probably drunk, high, or driving on a suspended license.

Living here in Dickinson, is far, far from normal, and like no place else that I have ever lived, except for another oil field town in Texas.  There is very little to do here in Dickinson, and nowhere to go.  The women here are ugly, ugly, ugly, and mean.  No normal women will stay here.  And prostitution in not allowed.

You are just an inmate here in Dickinson, and you have to understand that this place is a prison work camp.  I understand what Law Enforcement is trying to do, but I am so tired of living like a black convict in a prison labor camp.