How many liberties would you give up to live in an orderly DC?

[Anonymous]

Authoritarian societies where everyone is forcefully held to a certain standard of behavior are often used as backdrops to dystopian novels, and obviously real-life attempts have never been good. Yet the more time I spend in DC, the more a zero-tolerance approach to decorum seems appealing. Imagine a world with no crime, no nuisance, no break-ins, no package thefts, no litter, no panhandlers, no encampments, no one hurtling obscenities at you while you're walking down the street. In exchange, all you have to do is not be a criminal or nuisance yourself. Those who abide by the rules experience a comfortable and prosperous life. Those who don't are swiftly dealt with. Where do the noncompliant people go? Not sure. Rounded up and relocated to a commune where they could be reeducated or permanently quarantined from law-abiding members of society?

This is just a small fantasy I have as I go about my daily life in DC. Someone broke into a car in front of my house in the middle of the afternoon. WTF.

[Anonymous]

Twelve liberties.

[Anonymous]

I would give them all up, except for voting. "Liberty" is a stupid, jingoistic buzzword that serves to describe the very real problem of hamstringing the ability of government to maintain order.

[Anonymous]

WAPO ran a front page story yesterday on the deaths of homeless people in the District that figured a transgender named Alice as its poster child. The WAPO reporter knew she made her home on 17th Street north of Q (it was in the story) but apparently made no effort at all to see how her life and death affected those who live there.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Alice was considered a major blight on 17th St. A meth addict who routinely aggressively verbally assaulted residents and storeowners, shoplifted, and engaged in public sex acts. A number of residents have emailed WAPO their disdain for their attempt to make Alice a homeless hero. And these are people who routinely take food and blankets to the homeless on their street and have been known to visit those who are in jail.

Could we start with a press that isn't so caught up in identity politics that it leaps to a hagiography on possibly the only transgender homeless death this year to highlight a significant social problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WAPO ran a front page story yesterday on the deaths of homeless people in the District that figured a transgender named Alice as its poster child. The WAPO reporter knew she made her home on 17th Street north of Q (it was in the story) but apparently made no effort at all to see how her life and death affected those who live there.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Alice was considered a major blight on 17th St. A meth addict who routinely aggressively verbally assaulted residents and storeowners, shoplifted, and engaged in public sex acts. A number of residents have emailed WAPO their disdain for their attempt to make Alice a homeless hero. And these are people who routinely take food and blankets to the homeless on their street and have been known to visit those who are in jail.

Could we start with a press that isn't so caught up in identity politics that it leaps to a hagiography on possibly the only transgender homeless death this year to highlight a significant social problem?

"A transgender PERSON" is surely what you meant. Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Authoritarian societies where everyone is forcefully held to a certain standard of behavior are often used as backdrops to dystopian novels, and obviously real-life attempts have never been good. Yet the more time I spend in DC, the more a zero-tolerance approach to decorum seems appealing. Imagine a world with no crime, no nuisance, no break-ins, no package thefts, no litter, no panhandlers, no encampments, no one hurtling obscenities at you while you're walking down the street. In exchange, all you have to do is not be a criminal or nuisance yourself. Those who abide by the rules experience a comfortable and prosperous life. Those who don't are swiftly dealt with. Where do the noncompliant people go? Not sure. Rounded up and relocated to a commune where they could be reeducated or permanently quarantined from law-abiding members of society?

This is just a small fantasy I have as I go about my daily life in DC. Someone broke into a car in front of my house in the middle of the afternoon. WTF.

The people who propose these things, always assume that the zero-tolerance would be aimed at OTHER people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Authoritarian societies where everyone is forcefully held to a certain standard of behavior are often used as backdrops to dystopian novels, and obviously real-life attempts have never been good. Yet the more time I spend in DC, the more a zero-tolerance approach to decorum seems appealing. Imagine a world with no crime, no nuisance, no break-ins, no package thefts, no litter, no panhandlers, no encampments, no one hurtling obscenities at you while you're walking down the street. In exchange, all you have to do is not be a criminal or nuisance yourself. Those who abide by the rules experience a comfortable and prosperous life. Those who don't are swiftly dealt with. Where do the noncompliant people go? Not sure. Rounded up and relocated to a commune where they could be reeducated or permanently quarantined from law-abiding members of society?

This is just a small fantasy I have as I go about my daily life in DC. Someone broke into a car in front of my house in the middle of the afternoon. WTF.

The people who propose these things, always assume that the zero-tolerance would be aimed at OTHER people.

This! Go live in China as a Uighur if you're so enlightened.

[Anonymous]

I'm reminded of what Benjamin Franklin said"

"They can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would give them all up, except for voting. "Liberty" is a stupid, jingoistic buzzword that serves to describe the very real problem of hamstringing the ability of government to maintain order.

Go away. You do not belong in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WAPO ran a front page story yesterday on the deaths of homeless people in the District that figured a transgender named Alice as its poster child. The WAPO reporter knew she made her home on 17th Street north of Q (it was in the story) but apparently made no effort at all to see how her life and death affected those who live there.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Alice was considered a major blight on 17th St. A meth addict who routinely aggressively verbally assaulted residents and storeowners, shoplifted, and engaged in public sex acts. A number of residents have emailed WAPO their disdain for their attempt to make Alice a homeless hero. And these are people who routinely take food and blankets to the homeless on their street and have been known to visit those who are in jail.

Could we start with a press that isn't so caught up in identity politics that it leaps to a hagiography on possibly the only transgender homeless death this year to highlight a significant social problem?

Where did Jesus draw the line at empathy? Oh wait, he didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WAPO ran a front page story yesterday on the deaths of homeless people in the District that figured a transgender named Alice as its poster child. The WAPO reporter knew she made her home on 17th Street north of Q (it was in the story) but apparently made no effort at all to see how her life and death affected those who live there.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Alice was considered a major blight on 17th St. A meth addict who routinely aggressively verbally assaulted residents and storeowners, shoplifted, and engaged in public sex acts. A number of residents have emailed WAPO their disdain for their attempt to make Alice a homeless hero. And these are people who routinely take food and blankets to the homeless on their street and have been known to visit those who are in jail.

Could we start with a press that isn't so caught up in identity politics that it leaps to a hagiography on possibly the only transgender homeless death this year to highlight a significant social problem?

This starts early. Almost every school adopts homelessness as a service project, and makes it warm and fuzzy. This is leading to a cycle of hagiography and handing out care kits rather than addressing deep, disturbing underlying issues through governance solutions..

[Anonymous]

Sorry. I left out a word in my quote of Ben Franklin.

The correct quote reads as follows:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

[Anonymous]

Wouldn’t it just be easier to get people homes, education, and healthcare. Wouldn’t it just have been easier to give Alice the proper mental health care that every human deserves?

We can’t fix issues with cops, we need to fix them with treating people as humans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn’t it just be easier to get people homes, education, and healthcare. Wouldn’t it just have been easier to give Alice the proper mental health care that every human deserves?

We can’t fix issues with cops, we need to fix them with treating people as humans.

What if Alice didnt want the care? Would you force it on her?

Because that is the reality for many homeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. I left out a word in my quote of Ben Franklin.

The correct quote reads as follows:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Thank you!