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Class Actarchie, Vendredi, Juin 17, 2005 - 11:34 (Analyses | Repression)
Archie Kennedy
In the mid 80's governments everywhere threw people out of mental hospitals with the promise that they would supply money for community care. That was a promise that was broken. And now that they have done this, they are worried that those who are panhandling are neglected mentally ill people and present a danger to pedestrians. That’s how karma works. If you kill little animals, little animals will give you the creeps. If you kill poor people, poor people will give you the creeps. But poor people are simply that – poor people. Panhandlers are youth fleeing abuse, people that cannot find work, people with addiction problems, people with neglected mental health problems and generally, people that have been victimized one way or another. These anti-panhandler laws are offensive on many levels. The most obvious is that the people that want to pass these laws are the same people that are responsible for the massive homelessness problem; a problem that emerged in the mid-eighties. They are offended by the reality of the poverty that exists in the midst of their affluence. They would prefer to get rid of them and sweep them away from their blissful shopping trips. They find homeless people offensive - again, the karma thing. Secondly, it is offensive to any person that believes in freedom. These people are trying to create a class of untouchables in the developed world. The same legal freedoms and principles that work for everybody else do not apply to poor people. If they did, then salespeople could not approach people in any way to sell their wares. Asking for spare change is considerably more honest and less of a hassle than dealing with most salespeople. But this is not about the act of soliciting. It is about class. It is a class act. And it is a violation of the basic rights of the poor. Here is an act that would be similar to other laws passed in various provinces and states: BILL 71 -- 2004 Definition 1 In this Act, "solicit" means to communicate, in person, using the spoken, written or printed word, a gesture or another means, for the purpose of receiving money or another thing of value, regardless of whether consideration is offered or provided in return. And this is an excerpt from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. We cannot, as a society, grant freedoms to some and remove them from others because some people might consider them creepy or unsightly. It is they that are creepy and unsightly. In a free society, we have to preserve universal principles of freedom for everybody. We cannot arbitrarily remove some freedoms for some people we deem to be less than human. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states the following: 15. Racism, nationalism, religion, gender and disability are not grounds for discrimination. Maybe those that want to make panhandling illegal would argue in front of the Supreme Court of Canada that a person’s social or economic class is not covered under the Charter. But more than likely they will argue that it is specifically “aggressive |
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