“Where you from, man? Where you from?” It seems like I hear that every time I walk down Main or Union or Second, from bums trying to do the “tour guide” thing. Of course, they’ve seen me every day for five years, but that doesn’t stop them.
I think I’m going to start telling them I’m a sheep farmer from Belgium. Not that I’ll attempt a fake Belgian accent or anything – wouldn’t even know how to. I’ll just speak to them in my normal voice but say I’m from Belgium. And raise sheep.
Anyway, I had an idea this morning that might help address the panhandling situation downtown. The deal is, the city can’t declare panhandling illegal (that’s unconstitutional – violation of free speech), but it can restrict when and where panhandling occurs. That’s why it’s illegal to panhandle at night, or in groups of 2 or more, or at a bus or trolley stop.
So here’s an idea – you know how spam e-mails are supposed to offer an opt-out address, an address you can e-mail and request not to receive any more spam from that person/company? Well, how about an opt-out program for panhandling downtown. The city government, or Center City Commission, or MPD or whoever, could sell bright, large, easily visible buttons for, say, $20 apiece. Then a law could be passed saying that anyone wearing such a button (with it clearly visible) is off-limits to panhandlers at all times.
The $20 (which is obviously about 40 times the actual cost of producing each button) could then be used to fund legitimate homeless-help programs, to purchase more motor scooters for MPD to use for panhandling patrol, etc.
Just a thought. I bet a lot of people would buy those buttons.
Sorry for the lack of posting lately… it’s partly due to Comcast and partly due to a lack of material to post. (Actually, I’ve heard LOTS of juicy stuff the past couple of days, but it’s all off-the-record… when someone asks me to keep info off the blog, I always respect that.) Got some stuff in the works though… one last Sleep Out’s photo album, a couple of Majestic brunch pics, another idea to address panhandling, and a hot tip for local artists. So check back soon. Off to trivia… the Rapscallions now have a stash of $0 after Saturday night’s party, so it’s time to win some gift certificates.