I told people I'm a convicted felon after 20 years of hiding it

probably not the detail to omit to try to hook a readership..

technical aside : on low bandwidth connections your site acts really inconsistent and weird; it appears to be downloading those on-hover sound files.

    I was unable to rent apartments in San Francisco. 
    I was unable to get a job directly after being released from prison. 
    It's funny because when you owe the state $17,000 in restitution and
    you can't get a job, people become extremely desperate. 
    And that desperation can easily put you right back into prison.

I suggest that serially denying paid-for redemption (fines, incarceration) forever (never ending punishment delivered via criminal records) is deeply evil.

I find stories like yours inspiring, and reassuring in a way. I'm increasingly worried about this trend toward being tough on crime in response to growing public disorder, increasing maximum sentences, and generally taking a no-holds-barred approach because good society has been wronged.

I've been a victim myself, from petty theft to assault when I intervened to stop a hate crime, by people out on bail with long court records. After being assaulted I really did start to question my beliefs on this. But I still very much genuinely believe that people can change and should be given a second chance, even though some won't take it seriously, and for others it might take a very long time.

I've met quite a few people with criminal records, or records as youth offenders, who genuinely did become better people over time. A former classmate of mine used to deal cocaine and is now a personal trainer with a wonderful personality and sense of morality. Another used to be a lookout for a stash house and has similarly moved on from that life.

I guess that's what I find so reassuring about stories like yours. I've seen people change and move on from what was probably the worst chapter of their lives, and become people I'm genuinely glad to know. I worry that in our societal desire to be tougher on crime, we're becoming less willing to give people that chance. And I think stories like yours are a good reminder of why we shouldn't lose sight of it.

Hope to work hard and win the lottery ticket when the game is stacked against you? What hope?

I'm happy for your personally, but it doesn't sound like a message of hope.

I tend to hang with a number of folks with similar stories (I've been a Recovering drug addict for 46 years, and only mention it now, occasionally, because I'm not looking for a job -and it's usually not relevant to HN discussions).

Good for you, mate! Less good for those nuclear secrets you may or may not have stolen and those antelopes you may or may not have sex trafficked

Especially if its for the purpose to drum up interest for your autobiography.

I got a feeling of lack of remorse and someone sort of sociopathically showing off.

Ummmm, actually, I can think of a few politicians who have been accomplices to this, or have authorized this type crime, even one more recent, on a massive genocidal scale, against foreign citizens.

"All this time, no one knew that I was a convicted felon".

Hmm, did he change his name, or ?

Hit his dad on the head with a metal baseball bat with other family members around.