Comments | the_nita: Semi-political thought

the_nita

Semi-political thought

Aug 14, 2007 15:02

I've been listening to the CBC. They've reported several times that there are calls for legislation banning panhandling, as part of the fall out of the death of a man allegedly at the hands of 4 panhandlers on Queen St. in Toronto ( Read more... )

news, op-ed

Comments 12

k_calypso August 14 2007, 19:14:31 UTC

I think the time and effort creating said legislation would require could be much better spent examining and implementing solutions to the problem that causes panhandling.

-thoughts from the peanut gallery

the_nita August 14 2007, 19:30:38 UTC

Yah, but that would require thought, and just implementing a meaningless law that pacifies people into thinking their safe is easier.

artistatlarge August 14 2007, 19:35:07 UTC

The murdered man was a well-loved co-worker of a friend of mine.

the_nita August 14 2007, 19:40:05 UTC

I am not trying to get into a debate of if the people who allegedly committed the crime shouldn't be punished. I am very sorry for your friend, and for the loved ones of the man who died. I just don't see a knee-jerk response law that's about as enforceable as wet toast being a useful response to that.

artistatlarge August 14 2007, 20:01:14 UTC

I have no comment to make on the law itself. Just... still reeling for my friend's loss.

I guess it was kind of knee-jerk on my part to weigh in with that, and nothing to further the actual discussion at hand. :-(

the_nita August 14 2007, 20:04:30 UTC

Fair enough and I can understand. My apologies for my assumptions.

olletho August 14 2007, 19:48:39 UTC

Ah shit. He died?

the_nita August 14 2007, 19:59:13 UTC

Yes. And they're changing the charges to murder (which variant, I don't know, CBC hasn't said)

olletho August 14 2007, 20:04:02 UTC

I suppose I should phone my brother then, he apparently knew the guy. I don't know how well mind you, and it's probably going to be a short akward conversation around the lines of:

"So I heard you knew the guy."
"Yeah."
"Shitty."
"Yeah."
"So ummm....."
"Yeah."

olletho August 14 2007, 20:33:21 UTC

Oh and I think there is a law, a curfew is still on the books to be used as an 'ass-hole law'. Anybody out after a certain time can be detained for breaking curfew untill they find something better to stick them with.

However I think it's so forgotten that the cops don't even think of it anymore. It's just one of those older things that I think they have forgotten to take off the books.

Thread 5

You have said that you want to know my (albeit knee-jerk) opinion on issues of the day cielf August 15 2007, 02:23:14 UTC

1/ Such a law would likely be enforced sporadically, only when the optics demanded it.

2/ The problem isn't that these people were panhandlers. It's the violence. Banning panhandling is not going to address the problem.

3/ I tend to see calls for laws that, if enforced, would reduce the number of homeless people on the streets (I'm assuming a large intersection between the groups of homeless people and panhandlers) as possibly-class-oriented attempts to hide the 'homeless problem'.

All things being equal, I would, of course, prefer to not step around any sleeping people on my way to work, and let my WASP middle-class guilt quiesce. But I don't live in that world -- I don't want to salve my guilt by hiding the cause.

4/ If asking for money publicly is legal on a large scale, it should be legal on a small scale.