So a couple
of blogs that I read have been passing this article around:
A rather
prominent apologist links to the article, warning darkly that the city
government should remember the parable of the sheep and the goats. There is the
usual string of comments, decrying how evil it is to be denying food and
shelter to those in need. How the mayor must by a fascist, etc.
I read
through the blog comments first. I then read the linked article. I then did a
bit more online research on this story. My bullshit detector then promptly
spiked to 11.
Give the linked blurb a quick read and come back. To summarize, a law was
passed that attaches a fine to giving stuff to panhandlers in the certain areas
of the city. This is decried by most in the comment sections as being hateful
of the poor. The mayor claims it’s being done due to health reasons.
Now, I don’t
read Italian, so I have to rely on a couple of other articles in English on the
subject. The first thing you find out is that almost every article is a quasi
hit piece on the mayor who, I found through research, is now approaching
reelection. That instantly raises my suspicion. It doesn’t mean the article is
false, but it means you should tread carefully when coming to any conclusions.
The articles
also give the impression, though they don’t state it directly, that now the
poor will have no one to help them, and they will probably start to starve in droves
like in some Dickensian hell-scape that resembles the snap shots they use in
the commercials for African relief charities. (“for the price of a cup of
coffee…”)
Is this really the case? Verona seems to have homeless shelters, food banks,
and numerous other charities available, and no sign that they will be made
illegal, at least according to what I could find in English on Google.
So what
could all this be about if it’s not about the mayor’s (implied) burning hatred of
the poor? What we do know is the following.
There are about 20 homeless that are mentioned that are living on and defecating
on the main city plaza. We also know that at least one charity organization
uses the plaza to hand out freebies regularly. The mayor is not saying it is
illegal to give handouts to panhandlers there.
That’s about
all we know for certain. But we can figure a bit more out with common sense.
First, the homeless
and the panhandlers are not stupid. They will go will the free stuff is. The
guy claiming that he isn’t encouraging the people to show up is, at best, naïve.
Second, if groups of people are pissing and shitting in the public parks and
streets on the plaza of a town that depends a lot on tourism, that’s not
exactly a good thing. If I start going to the park near my building a taking
dumps in the grass by the swing sets, is it ‘fascist’ for the cops to throw me
out?
Third, people don’t seem to understand how storefront business works. If you
get a bunch of homeless and panhandlers on a block, local businesses will start
suffering because of that. People, particularly women with children, do not
want to have to wade through aggressive panhandlers, or step over human feces,
just to get to your business.
To
illustrate the point imagine I show up in front of your house (assuming you
live in an urban area) and announce that I will be giving out free food and
even cash handouts to homeless and panhandlers who show up. Within a few days
of activity, I will have a good sized group parking themselves around, and in
most cases, on, your lawn. If you try to put a stop to this or even get the
police involved, especially when there are other places that cater to the needs
of the needy, does that mean you hate the poor?
An important
thing we are not told: What do the regular citizens of Verona think about this
ordinance, particularly those who live and work around the square? Perhaps withholding judgement until we know more would be better.