The City of Medford, Oregon has a new resolution--fining curbside panhandlers up to $1,000.00 and a jail sentence of up to one year for seeking handouts from motorists at large intersections in the city. I wonder with the police working to curb illegal methamphetamine use, drunk driving, robberies and other nasty crimes if cracking down on the peacefully disposessed makes any sense, morally or otherwise?
Although there are surely some con artists who pretend to be tapped out to simply try and get money, it's clear to me from close inspection that many of these panhandlers are simply sick or misfits or some form of social outcasts who need the money because they still want to survive. The fact that these people are going to be being harassed in the coldest months of the new year is particularly draconian.
A nearby town up the road here, Roseburg, has gone a step further in this new wave of altruism in southern Oregon, and will start fining drivers and pedestrians who give money to panhandlers. Yes, folks, charity will be against the law.
I guess soon the only way you will be able to give money to a charity is either online, by mail, or by going into an office of a corporate-sponsored charity and giving some person in a cashmire sweater a check.
I suppose the City Council of this fair metropolis see panhandlers as unsightly and worry that corporate types who come to the Rogue Valley area looking to locate a company franchise or set up a convention might be put off by the sight of people asking for charity. I guess that's bad for the Chamber of Commerce. Someone once said, "that which you do to the least of these, you do to me." Seeing a story like this in my paper the day after Christmas shows politicians are in no danger of taking the harsher injunctions of Christ--or the Founders of any other major faith I know of-- too seriously.
For more on the story:
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/NEWS/712260319
When did turning our backs on people become socially acceptable? This is despicable. $1,000 fine for a person who does not have $.10. Fining people for helping a person in need. Our local governments are losing touch with reality. Maybe they should put more effort into helping homelessness rather than filling up our jails and imposing penalties they will never be able to collect.
ReplyDeleteWhen did turning our backs on people become socially acceptable? This is despicable. $1,000 fine for a person who does not have $.10. Fining people for helping a person in need. Our local governments are losing touch with reality. Maybe they should put more effort into helping homelessness rather than filling up our jails and imposing penalties they will never be able to collect.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. And I and others will let the good folks you peddle this "community spirit" know it as well, for whatever its worth.
ReplyDeletecoming from San Francisco, I'm not a fan of panhandling. But I agree that it should not become a crime. The question is why should people be reduced to doing this in the first place. Affordable housing and available mental health would go a long way to helping people who are down and out get back on their feet.
ReplyDeleteA shocking story Doug - I wasn't familiar with the term 'panhandler' but I assume we're talking about beggars. While their presence can be unsightly and on occassions intimidating, the penalties proposed do not fit the 'crime'. My experience of them in the UK is that they've usually falling outside of society for reasons of mental health more than anything else, and as such these fines and prison sentences will not act as a deterrent.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's obvious to me that none of you have ferreted out how clever the city really is. Jailing nets the panhandler a warm, dry place to sleep and three squares a day for so long as the incarceration endures. (Isn't that the goal of the panhandler in the first place?) The fine is just an attempt to keep the process revenue-neutral. Surely this is a win-win.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the incarcerated can't come and go as they please is certainly a downside, but no plan is perfect. You have to admire the bold innovation that Medford has shown in dealing with this vexing and all-important social issue. The city council is surely composed of people wiser than we mundane folk. Perhaps someone should erect a statue in the city square, or hang a plaque in honor of this modest proposal made reality.