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July

    Creative Commons License
 
Submitted by Krull on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 8:57am.

You can read about it here,

Now the homeless are a protected class in Seattle. There are laws on the books currently to deal with the crimes committed against the homeless. Just like if the same crimes are committed against you and me.

Instead of providing a special class for homeless, why not move to solve their baseline plight, their homelessness?

»

Why can't the city...

...do both?


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

Because...

Some people are not more equal than others. I think a guy named George wrote about that... C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

I was responding to Krull's

criticism about not working on the "baseline" problem. As for your point, a rational analysis would conclude that these laws do not make some people more equal. They protect them from the unequal treatment of others.

Now I've said the only two things I needed to say on the topic.

»

Gug said, "As for your point"

"As for your point, a rational analysis would conclude that these laws do not make some people more equal." If these laws are not intended and make a person(s) in the protected class more equal by their very nature, I suppose it is possible it is an unintended consequence, but is that really believeable? No not at all. It was exactly their intention when the laws were passed. It was the intention of the legsitlators and judges, as well as those who would benefit from such legislation. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

A few years ago the anti-gay

A few years ago the anti-gay bigots were at Evergreen for their yearly little "you're all gonna burn in Hell" social. One bit of untruth they fell back on the most was the idea that homosexuality makes a person more likely to be a pedophile. A student brought up the fact that she was repeatedly molested by her Uncle and asked if she should be relieved that at least it was a heterosexual rape.

Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down, the first time around, now I just sit on the ground in your way.
Nick Drake

»

Are you really feeling threatened...

...by extra attention being paid to vulnerable segments of society? Isn't this what gov't is for -- to protect those who can't protect themselves?


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

Laws are in place which accomplish this...

Murder is hateful. Battery is also hateful or very close to it. We have laws that prohibit both. If you beat and rob a homeless man, how is that different from beating and robbing a man walking home from work? Is the man walking from work some how less important, the crime any less in nature because the man has a job and a home? Of course not! If it had been a woman, say a female college student (a straight, white, Christian upper income female studetnt), instead of Matthew Sheppard who was murdered, in exactly the same circumstances, would it have been a hate crime?  No it would not have been a 'hate' crime. The crime itself would have been no less hateful in nature, but she would not have been in the same extra equal protected class.

Hate crimes are simply crimes. They are no more hateful or less so because they are committed against a homosexual, homeless, or a minority. The entire notion of hate crime legislation is liberal pandering to its potential and current constituents. It is pandering liberals approve of, but pandering none the less. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Maybe we should overturn terrorism laws...

...after all, attacking civilians is punishable as murder, too. 

Does context mean nothing to you? 

 

The Canaanite's Call

»

The fight against terrorism

Is a war, not a criminal matter. You know that rigth? Yes context means very much to me. Perhaps I should ask you the same question. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Some people are not more

Some people are not more equal than others. I think a guy named George wrote about that... C.

Wait... you mean George Orwell?  The socialist?  The Trotsky-influenced Fabian who wrote 1984 and campaigned for the Labor Party?

Do you really think he would be opposed to additional protections for the poor? 

The Canaanite's Call

»

Yeah I do. Did you read his books?

Who the hell do you think Ingsoc was, in 1984? Do you think Animal Farm was a statement for people being more equal than others? C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Animal Farm was a (pretty

Animal Farm was a (pretty blistering) critique of both capitalism and *Stalinism*.  Don't forget that Orwell was a fan of Trotsky, and was a self-described Socialist.  He absolutely would have supported laws like this, because hate-crime laws serve an egalitarian purpose by protecting the vulnerable.

You don't seem to understand much of the world outside your own myopic perspective. 

The Canaanite's Call

»

HEY GUG!!

How come no troll pics for Phil on this last comment??

"We Israelis sacrifice ourselves for our continued existence, our enemies sacrifice themselves for our destruction."--Unknown--

»

I stopped doling out the little trophies yesterday

They only encourage bad behavior. As for Phil, his posts are almost universally civil, thoughtful, and contructive. If he slips now and then, he only proves he's human.
»

Please forgive me for

Please forgive me for flaming there.  I slipped up.

I've been extraordinarily annoyed with Tschida lately, and I should probably just avoid engaging him. 

 

The Canaanite's Call

»

Seattle does a lot to

solve the "baseline" plight of the homeless. Things like the 1811 Eastlake project for one. So I'm not sure why this measure is a problem.
»

Well said

Tschida said, "The entire notion of hate crime legislation is liberal pandering to its potential and current constituents. It is pandering liberals approve of, but pandering none the less."

"We Israelis sacrifice ourselves for our continued existence, our enemies sacrifice themselves for our destruction."--Unknown--

»

If placing extra focus on hate crimes is pandering...

...what do you call placing extra focus on 2nd amendment rights? It seems like a manipulation of terminology to me.


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

What are you talking about?

Are there some extra laws that protect the second amendment you are referring to? As far as I know, the focus on the second amendment is the efforts of liberals to restrict and diminish the meaning, the implementation of, and the right to exercise the citizen’s use of the second amendment. Also along with that is the advocates for the second amendment who work to ensure that this right afforded citizens is not restricted, infringed upon, or as is the stated goal of many liberal legislators and judges to rescind the amendment one little step at a time. So again, is the second amendment some how used to create a protected class of extra equal citizens? Of course not! So what is it you are talking about? C. Edit: I think I understand. You think simply defending the second amendment is pandering. Right. So let me ask you this? How does defending a right granted and ensured to EVERY CITIZEN EQUALLY pandering? Who is excluded? Who does not enjoy the freedom of the second amendment? My point would be, that A) the Sencond Amendment does not establish a group who enjoys extra equality and B) It does not create legislation or pervert the justice system to pander to a specific group and C) Liberals do not approve of the second amendment, much less anyone pandering to people who do. Again I said it was pandering liberals approve of.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Exactly as you say:

How does defending a right granted and ensured to EVERY CITIZEN EQUALLY pandering?

Every citizen has the right not to be harassed, right? So how can that be pandering?


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

We have laws that deal with...

Harassment. So why do we need new laws with harsher penalties to provide special privilege to a class of people? How is harassment of a homeless guy different from a woman walking down the street? Are they not equal, and deserve the same treatment under the law? It is pandering liberals like and thus acceptable, in contrast to the supporters of the second amendment you pointed out earlier. Liberals don't like the second amendment or the people who support it. That kind of pandering to a group of people who are not seeking special privilege by the way, is not permissible. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

It's interesting to hear you refer...

...to homeless people as having a special privilege. They are homeless, after all.

To address your question:

So why do we need new laws with harsher penalties to provide special privilege to a class of people?

When existing laws don't do the job, then we pass more specific laws. For example, there are laws that address violence toward police officers. Does that make them a special class of people? I think the logic is that it will deter that from occurring. Same logic with harassment of the homeless, no?


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

No!

Police are a protected class as long as they are police officers. They are putting their saftey and well being at risk to serve the public. Due to this risk they are afforded special privilages, such as a deterents from people trying to harm them in the course of their duties. Do the homeless, homosexuals, or any other protected class doing the same as law enforcement? Of course they aren't. If existing laws are enforced, they work. Odd how that happens, isn't it? Beat someone and their is a law you are breaking. Kill them, and you break a law possibly at the state level and the federal level. The laws are plenty specific, and will work if the hands of the police and the DA's are free to impliment them. Again, saying a homeless person is more important, more equal, needs more protecting by affording them a special social status of increased equality than a white chritian man or woman ridiculous. Both the homeless man and the man with a job and a home are equal under the law. I think I read that somewhere. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Sounds like some assumptions there.

Do you have some data on the efficacy of the current laws?

I'm guessing that the reason for the enhanced laws is precisely because the current laws are not being enforced -- and won't be. Thus, the new law. No special treatment, just more focus so that they receive the same protections as everyone else.


> It's OK to be nice. <
enpen's social contract
»

You could be partially correct...

The Seattle city council has worked to tie the hands of the police department, and that along with an ineffective District Attorney is most likely the case of the police and DA not enforcing the law.... So the liberals in an effort to pander to the left wing base makes new laws. With nothing to suggest that the new laws will be any more effective than the old ones. It is pandering, like I said before. It is pandering that liberals approve of, but pandering none the less. It serves to make some more equal than others. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Reason: Parsing to destroy context.

»

Common sense legislation

The purpose of this type of legislation is to address a national epidemic of crimes and violence against citizens who have in common simply their homelessness.  For an analysis of why these crimes happen and who commits them, see this fact sheet from the National Coalition for the Homeless: “Hate Crimes and Violence against People Experiencing Homelessness”

 

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/hatecrimes.html

Christie

 

»

Yes it is exactly that in an effort to creat another protected..

extra equal class of citizen. We have laws in effect right now that deal with crimes against homeless people. One apparently uncomfortable difference is that these same laws protect people who have jobs and homes. If legislation on any government level was needed for this issue, why not then legislation for black people who have crimes committed against them by other black people. It is my understanding that most crime experienced by American Africans is perpatrated by other American Africans. Are black people some how less equal than a homeless person? C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

There is no need for this enhancement to the

law. I don't believe we need hate crime enhancements at all. But certainly not for the homeless. Perhaps we should have hate crime legislation for body type. You know, if a homeless person is punched in the nose for being homeless, what about the poor fat body that gets punched in the nose for being a fat body. It's ridiculous! If you punch a homeless person, black person, gay person, or obese person, you have committed an assault and need to be punished accordingly.

If you believe that there needs to be hate crime laws to protect on the basis of race, I disagree, but it makes some sense, very little, but some. But now this latest idea from Seattle has brought the homeless issue to the level of the history and dynamics of black and whites in this country.

And how come if I punch a black guy in the nose while calling him a nigger, I have committed a hate crime, but if the black guy punches me in the nose while calling me a cracker or honky, it's not? Don't give me all that B.S. about balance of power, etc. When it happens inside the 4th Ave Tav, its two dudes fighting, and the actual power will be determined between them.

"We Israelis sacrifice ourselves for our continued existence, our enemies sacrifice themselves for our destruction."--Unknown--

»

I agree

Harassment is harassment, assault is assault.  Regardless of how it is motivated, there does not need to be special enhancement for certain groups of people.  This does not provide equal protection under the law, it provides unequal protection under the law.  This is not right. 

»

There are many laws for different groups of people

child labor laws for example. And laws about the maltreatment of the aged or the dissabled. These laws exist because people recognize the vulnerability of certain groups of people. Unequal treatment under the law? Please give an actionable example.
»

Destroying a homeless

Destroying a homeless person's tent and belongings would be a hate crime, spraypainting a homeowner/renter's business wall would merely be vandalism (some would say "art")

I'm not completely on a separate page than you, however. I recognize that the homeless have a true vulnerability. My problem (and honestly it's not as big a problem as it is for some others) goes towards hate crimes based on culture. How often is the term "hate crime" invoked for Hispanic-Black violence, or Asian-Black, or Asian-Hispanic? And within the groups (for hypothetical example), if the Koreans don't want the Filipinos "encroaching" their businesses into their neighborhoods and take action why would such a clash not be considered a hate crime? And why is it that no white person can be a hate crime victim unless they're gay, Jewish, or a woman attacked by a man?

Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down, the first time around, now I just sit on the ground in your way.
Nick Drake

»

Well

A bit off the topic of hate laws, but I believe I sent you some links that are unequal treatment :-)

I didn't think about child labor laws and laws protecting the aged or disabled.  I just wonder if hate crimes laws would be enforced if a say a black person assaulted a white person calling him a "honky muthafu---" and similar....  I'll bet if the roles were reversed, hate crime laws would apply.  I should say I believe the laws maybe unequally enforced..

Oh crap, I need to rethink my position, other things come to mind, robbery vs strong arm or armed robbery, etc....

Just disregard what I said in my last post.  Hasty posting.

 

»

Enhancement

For those of you arguing against the need for hate crime enhancements...consider an analogous situation with death penalty cases (in states having the death penalty)--one civilian kills another and in most cases no death penalty, but one civilian kills a police officer and the state will almost always seek the death penalty.

Is this just?
»

No!

Either you value human life or not. You don't get it both ways, as far as I'm concerned. I value the unborn and I value the life of the murderous criminal. I would not want either murdered. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Unborn human life

isn't that an oxymoron?

Someone grab a dictionary.

»

Not an oxymoron

According to my dictionary.

Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down, the first time around, now I just sit on the ground in your way.
Nick Drake

»

No it is not an oxymoron.

No one is going to become pregnant and give birth to a giraffe. It will always be a human both inside and out side the womb. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Could someone fix that typo!!

It's driving me nuts. I know it's just a little thing, but so irritating! Couldn't someone fix it? Docents? Anyone?

Peace became pizza. -- Guglielmo

»

Do we not have special laws protecting children?

Because they are more vulnerable members of society?

To say there is not "special treament" for segments of our society would be.....intellectually dishonest

»

Thanks!

I feel much better now... I'd hate to think that Seattle was full of "idots."

Peace became pizza. -- Guglielmo

»

Well, you're just little Miss Spell and Grammar Check

today aren't you? Now we know your super hero weakness. Dangling from a cliff, Superman's participle becomes your Kryptonite.
»

Please!

Ugh! Please don't talk about Superman's dangling bits. Yes, that's right -- I'm a Superman hater.

Peace became pizza. -- Guglielmo

»

I am SO hurt now

It's like my world is turned upside-down. I'm gonna go cry in the shower now.
»

I don't think it's needed

but I don't make the rules, and I don't normally assault people.
»

well,

I would be more excited if it covered discrimination as well, then it would help them as opposed to just protecting them.
»

Umm...

Employment would help them much more than any extra equality. C.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

»

Ummm...

You seem to be operating under the assumption that homeless people don't have jobs. You're wrong, most of the ones I know work really hard to scrape by. It's actually not cheap to be homeless, they wish they could stock up on food for cheap, but instead they can only keep what they can carry.

Anti-workplace discrimination laws would help them get and keep jobs by the way. That's why I mentioned it. You can currently discriminate against homeless people openly when they're applying for work or for housing. That's holding a LOT of people back right now. You know how many times I've seen people turned away from work they were qualified, even over qualified for, just because they didn't have a steady address at the time? Too many.

»

Whatever....

Rob R. says "You seem to be operating under the assumption that homeless people don't have jobs. You're wrong, most of the ones I know work really hard to scrape by."

Rob, sitting on a corner with a sign begging for money is not a job, nor is it hard work.

"We Israelis sacrifice ourselves for our continued existence, our enemies sacrifice themselves for our destruction."--Unknown--

»

I've never been homeless but

I've never been homeless but I've come close a few times. Even a couple months ago; I've had my current job for three years, Tammy's had hers for about four. I work full time, earn benefits, earn lots of other perks, etc.

A couple months ago we moved. We found a place, gave our notice at the old one. The new places management had gotten out their calculators, took our info, and said we qualified. (We couldn't make over a certain amount.)

Two days before we were supposed to move in I got a call; the central offices in some other state used a different calculator, I guess, and determined we made too much to qualify. It was too late to keep our old apartment, and we couldn't afford anything else that was then available in the Oly-Lacey-Tumwater area (not that we'd be able to move in on two days notice.)

After a day of sweating blood I was able to negotiate an agreement with the powers that be and we got to move in after all. And to be honest I can't completely compare myself to some of the true hard-luck cases because we both have family that would've let us crash.

I lived in Seattle a few years ago and worked full-time. After rent and utilities (I rented a room in a house) and bus fare I hardly had anything left. Dinner was often a can of corn or peas because I can usually find them for sixty cents at Safeway.

For three years between that job and my current one I was signed up with the temp agencies. So that I could make some money and eat while trying to find something permanent. Try making rent when you're lucky to have a three-day work week. Supposedly all that time working temp jobs at various places gives you experience and contacts. And then comes the thing where you're offered an assignment, but you also have a job interview. Do you take the assignment and the guaranteed money for the week, or do you risk it for the job possibility and lose a day's pay (or more if it was a longer assignment) and possibly lose your place in the temp queue?

If I hadn't had family I wouldn't have been able to live anywhere in my early years at Express Personel, and then once my clothes stopped getting laundered I wouldn't have had any more job assignments.

Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down, the first time around, now I just sit on the ground in your way.
Nick Drake

»

Reason: Argumentative and Unconstructive and False

»

I like the graphic and agree

I like the graphic and agree with its use here, but you might want to consider using it more sparingly. Those of us who were able to reform, or at least partially reform, our ways after discovering OlyBlog might be turned off and refuse to even make an effort if this was what we got.

Now, I realize that there are card-carrying Trolls out there who will never change, but for the rest perhaps a suggestion of how they could've presented their argument in a non-trollish way would help. I remember Norm, Rob and Rick all at different times gave me suggestions for how a point I made could've been reworded to be the same point without being as offensive.

Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down, the first time around, now I just sit on the ground in your way.
Nick Drake

»

I'll consider your request

But there are only two reasons I've been using it lately. So you'll never see more than two per thread. But that might still be too much. Perhaps a more subtle approach is a good idea and less nutritious.
»

If you are interested,

Read this. It is a very well written article about the homeless. The people who panhandle are a very tiny minority of the overall population. We're talking maybe 5% at the very most. Their needs are a lot different than the needs of the average homeless person. If you are not interested, please refrain from posting comments on threads about homelessness, it hurts the conversation.
»

Good example Rob

You are my hero.
»

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