Wednesday, June 28, 2006

VERY IMPORTANT MEETING TONIGHT!!!!


poster-june-28-06-sm, originally uploaded by Oldmaison.

Just this morning a poor guy receive a $80 fine for panhandling. I saw everything. I was going to take a picture but the cop said Hi Charles! I decided to leave the cop alone.

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would rather steal than beg. guess the police would rather people steal than beg as well.

Spinks said...

I'm a bit surprised Pat Carlson would completely equate panhandling with poverty. While that may be the case some of the time, most of the time it's not.

On the weekend, CTV ran a story interviewing a panhandler about his hard times. While I have no doubt the man has had it tougher, poverty is a small factor in the man's problems. The man is typical of most of the homeless in North America. Most are either alcoholics/drug abusers or have a mental illness or both.

There can be no question that these people need our help but relaxing panhandling laws and giving them money on the street is not the answer. It may make you feel that you're helping but in the vast majority of cases, all you're doing is helping these people kill themselves. Those are facts I hope come forward at the meeting tonight. Long term strategies are needed not quick fixes like giving panhandlers money which truth be told don't fix anything.

Anonymous said...

Here we go again, Spinks spouting his 'facts'. There is nothing factual in that 'opinion'. Panhandlers aren't necessarily homeless, in fact most aren't in Fredericton. Go outside sometime and talk to them and you'll see.

The idea that 'you are helping them kill themselves' is utter garbage by cheap bastards who have long dismissed christian charity.

Even if you are a cheap bastard, what is more worrisome is the encroachment of the police state. Just asking somebody for money is a crime, that is pretty scary stuff. What's next? No asking for directions? What's ironic is that places in the states have made it illegal to not help somebody, while here we make it illegal to ask for help. That's pretty f&^%ed up.

There's no doubt that solutions need to be implemented. That man clearly has no choice but to rob somebody in order to stay out of jail since he's not allowed to panhandle to get it. That's blatant criminality by the state and stuff they don't even do in third world countries.

So like Charles says, it's like 'old germany' all over again, except here they are starting with the poor.

Anonymous said...

and it's a good place and way to start, get these Free Loaders off the streets. It's bad for tourism

Anonymous said...

for that last commet ,we are not free loaders we are out there because we do not get a little extra. that last commet put them self in our shoes.

Anonymous said...

I'd say we should start with posters like the above. Take them and throw them the hell out of the province, it would be so much better without them. Yeah, asking for a quarter is a BIG deal, but handing over millions to Irving is just business as usual. Talk about messed up priorities. Here's a thought, how about having a decent legal system so that people can sue, since almost half the people on welfare were disabled from their jobs. New Brunswick is like the 19th century, you work your ass off in unsafe working conditions, then if you are hurt you're thrown to the dogs. All the while creeps like the above call you a 'freeloader' for wanting a decent meal, while your employer laughs all the way to their next victim, and their next shareholder meeting in Bermuda.

Anonymous said...

Pat Carlson will tell you that if you ask. In fact that's pretty common knowledge that most (not all) of the people at homeless shelters are mentally ill and/or have alcohol/drug abuse issues. The media doesn't usually touch it because it wouldn't be very politically correct to actually state the fact at least in the alcohol and drug abuse scenario that the situation might not be government's fault but there might be some (choke, gasp) personal responsibility and there's no one to blame.

However, we as a society still need to help the unfortunate no matter what but throwing them change on the street isn't a solution. Getting them help for their addictions or illness is. Unfortunately we can't even do that unless the person themselves wants to be helped and thus the vicious circle.

Anonymous said...

Again, there is NO factual evidence in the above. Nobody has gone into a homeless shelter and asked how many have substance abuse problems or are mentally ill. So 'most' is clearly out of line, and we can note the poster provides no evidence and has probably never set foot inside a shelter.

A person is homeless simply because they have no money. If you lose your job, that's it, because welfare will only just barely cover you. There is more of the hogwash that by disagreeing with SPinks opinions, people are just being 'politically correct', rather than Spinks simply admitting that he might be wrong (heaven forbid!) First, a substance abuse problem does not equate with 'personal responsibility', and personal responsibility doesn't equate with policies that cause such people harm.

That's why most civilized countries, ours excluded, have programs. That's why you never see a person begging on a street in Norway, and they spend a fragment of what we do on incarceration and the legal system.

But you will notice that none of the people talking about the speakers will actually even bother going to the meeting to find out the real issues, it makes it that much harder to hold onto your ideology.

Michael G. McKay said...

I attended this meeting which was held yesterday evening, I think that it went well and there was a lot of issues that were covered in that 2plus hours we were there. both Pat Carlson, and george Piers enlightened us on a lot of the problems that many of our fellow New Brunswickers are living through.

I appreciate Mr. rechard for taking the tiime to attend also, but I would like to have Mr. Lord Our Premier at one of these meetings as well. I will make the statement that I made last evening at the meting, Maybe these elected officials would be more willing to help the poor and low income members of our Society to become self-sufficient if they had to live in the same conditions that the homeless and poor have to live in. It is time that we all realize that every huyman being has the right to a Decent stndard of living and living conditions because of their humanity and not their status in life.

Spinks said...

I'm disappointed you didn't post my retort to Mike (8:34), Charles. I understand wanting to clean up the blog but I don't see what I wrote was out of line especially given the language or perceived language used by my counterpart in his comments. Your blog as always and do as you will but I'm disappointed.

Anonymous said...

My lord I don't know if it's just me but I just can't believe how rediculous that ticket really is when you read that line that says,
"Begging without Authorization from the municipality"

How in the world would one even go about getting Authorization from the city to beg!?


Would this example be exceptable as getting permission?

Or is there certain protcal for this too!?

Excuse me your lordship I really hate to bother you at this fine establishment while your eating your lobster and salad lunch but I don't even know how to begin to get ahold of you in that security suburban landscape that you effectionately call home.

So this is really the only place I am able to get close enough to you to ask if you could see it in your heart to let me stand on one of your fine streets in the downtown area and do a little begging so I might have a little supper too?

What do you think?

Oh, if you can see past this and hopefully agree to let me do it,

Could you just jot that down on your napkin, there's a clean spot right there on the lower end, just so I can present it to the next officer that comes to verify that I now have your Authorization to beg for supper and thank you for your time your worship.

Michael G. McKay said...

I would like to point out that any information on guests or, clients at the Shelters is treated as confidential and is not given without the permission of the individual. therefore, a person cannot simply just ask who or how many of the guests or, clintel controled by substance abuse.

the Shelter treats every guest with the strictest confidence.

Anonymous said...

Good one! Sounds about right not that far down the road? 6:45