Living off the land

Follow this link to read the story of an old man getting kicked off his land for the crime of living without modern conveniences.  Then, if you care, email some people in the county by starting here.  For those with free time, here's the email I sent:

To whom it may concern,

I recently heard of the plight of a certain gentleman in you county, one Dick Thompson.  I understand from the media reports that you are essentially forcing him off of his own land, for the apparent crime of living without modern conveniences.  I understand that there are certain rules and regulations that he is charged with violating.  However, do they really apply in his circumstance?  I don’t mean in a strict letter of the law sense, but rather in terms of common sense.  It seems the rules I am aware of Mr. Thompson violating; rules concerning sanitation and living permanently in an RV were likely designed for urban and suburban settings.  But this gentleman lives on his own thirty-two acre plot.  It seems to me that he is not likely to generate any more biological waste that many of the animals that inhabit his property.  Nor is the presence of his RV doing anything to lower the property value of the neighbors he doesn’t have. 

Aside from this, there is of course the whole issue of the state forcing a man from his own property.  Are there times when such an action is appropriate?  Yes, when the person involved has committed actual crimes.  For example, if Mr. Thompson were running a meth lab out of his trailer, then jailing Mr. Thompson and seizing his property would be appropriate.  But this is not the case; he is in violation of regulations that as argued above do not apply based on a common sense analysis.  Even if, the rules did have true relevance, would not a fine and a warning be more appropriate?

Please, especially as it is Christmas, reconsider this action and offer an apology to Mr. Thompson for the anguish that this ordeal has caused him.