Please help against racism

[StLee]

I don't consider my hometown to be more than a slight fraction of the "typical" Southern city as far as racism is concerned, but this story screams racism. I would like to ask you to constructively and intellectually stamp out the place I called home for most of my first 30 years of life's racist slight against a barber. An irrelevant law enforced for racial reasons is the exact opposite of what this country should be after the Civil Rights Movement and everything great African-American leaders fought for.

Please send letters, intellectually--rather than through hate-mongering-- inspired of course, condemning this absurdity.

Link: hxxp://www.houmatoday.com/article/20080521/ARTICLES/805210332/1211&title=Barber_ticketed_for_cutting_hair_on_a_Monday

[rkmsuf]

eh, he got a ticket. nobody is saying the guy or the place is bad.

[Young Drachma]

Umm....

[Klinglerware]

Most hair places I've come across are closed Sunday & Monday. I always assumed that they did this voluntarily so they would have the equivalent to a full weekend off (since Saturdays are presumably very busy).

I never realized that this had its roots in some sort of union and/or government mandate...

[Young Drachma]

Most hair places I've come across are closed Sunday & Monday. I always assumed that they did this voluntarily so they would have the equivalent to a full weekend off (since Saturdays are presumably very busy).


+1

[Karlifornia]

eh, he got a ticket. nobody is saying the guy or the place is bad.

"eh, he got a ticket"?

Not, maybe.."he got the most retarded ticket of all time"?

Guy #1: Hey wanna go get some wings and a beer?

Guy #2: Naw, man. Gotta pay off this damn ticket.

Guy #1: Shitty, what'd you do?

Guy #2: Gave this guy a perm on a Monday.

Guy #1: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?

[Radii]

This is not quite what I expected when I opened up this thread.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yawn.

If the people of Houma want the law changed, there's plenty of ways for them to express that desire. Since I was nowhere in the neighborhood at the time the law was written it's far from clear whether this is race-inspired, union-inspired, or something even more obscure (stranger things have happened), but what does seem pretty clear to me is that a local ordinance -- peculiar though it may be -- duly passed & legally on the books is damned far down the list of things in life I feel a need to worry about. Even more to the point though, I have no dealings in the town nor do I really anticipate any, so I'm hard pressed to figure why they would give a damn what I thought about this one way or the other ... and if they do, then they're bigger idiots than whoever conjured up this ordinance in the first place.

[Raiders Army]

I don't consider my hometown to be more than a slight fraction of the "typical" Southern city as far as racism is concerned, but this story screams racism. I would like to ask you to constructively and intellectually stamp out the place I called home for most of my first 30 years of life's racist slight against a barber. An irrelevant law enforced for racial reasons is the exact opposite of what this country should be after the Civil Rights Movement and everything great African-American leaders fought for.

Please send letters, intellectually--rather than through hate-mongering-- inspired of course, condemning this absurdity.

Link: hxxp://www.houmatoday.com/article/20080521/ARTICLES/805210332/1211&title=Barber_ticketed_for_cutting_hair_on_a_Monday

While I applaud your desire to appeal to the FOFC community to take your cause up, I do not find this to be racism...rather an enforcement of a legitimate law, albeit obscure in nature.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Watch out! Other laws in Georgia (courtesy of dumblaws.com)

It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroners office.

Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.

No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.

In Acworth, GA... All citizens must own a rake.

[EagleFan]

In before the lock

[EagleFan]

dola: Can we reach any farther with the racism label?

[JonInMiddleGA]

dola: Can we reach any farther with the racism label?

Please don't tempt fate.

[RendeR]

Please don't tempt fate.


QFT.

[Telle]

People in the area complained about teenagers hanging around and so the police went digging for any law they could find to hit the barbershop with. StLee's issue is that he's presuming that the reason people complained is because the kids were black. And if that is the case then that most definitely is racism. But we really don't know enough about it to know whether it's a case of "we don't like groups of teenagers hanging around" or if it's "we don't like groups of black teenagers hanging around".

[rkmsuf]

"eh, he got a ticket"?

Not, maybe.."he got the most retarded ticket of all time"?

Guy #1: Hey wanna go get some wings and a beer?

Guy #2: Naw, man. Gotta pay off this damn ticket.

Guy #1: Shitty, what'd you do?

Guy #2: Gave this guy a perm on a Monday.

Guy #1: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?

Sure the ticket is stupid but extrapolating just that event to racism is equally as stupid.

[JonInMiddleGA]

People in the area complained about teenagers hanging around and so the police went digging for any law they could find to hit the barbershop with.

Based on the original story, even that requires a presumption about the intention of the officer (whose own boss seemed a little surprised, enough so that I don't think he ordered anybody to "go digging").

Having known more than a few folks in law enforcement it's at worst very plausible that the guy who wrote the ticket did indeed simply happen to stumble across the ordinance while flipping through a code book. He may have put 2+2 together and realized he could make use of it to help deal with citizen complaints but I haven't seen anything so far that indicates anybody went looking for something to use.

[Telle]

Duplantis said neighboring business owners had complained about the barbershop, alleging people loitered outside Clippas at "various odd hours."

Sgt. Daniel Belanger reviewed local codes and noticed there was an ordinance on the books regarding barbershop hours, Duplantis said.

"He instructed Michael Toups to issue the barbershop a summons for the ordinance," Duplantis said.

This is the part that to me says that he went digging for something.

[rkmsuf]

This is the part that to me says that he went digging for something.

Maybe the cop is bucking for a promotion.

[rkmsuf]

This is the part that to me says that he went digging for something.

Maybe the cop is black!

[Telle]

Maybe the cop is black!

Could be. As I said we really can't tell whether or not this happened because the kids were black so you can't tell whether or not it's racism. The story seems to indicate that the police action wasn't so much about being open on a Monday as it was about teenagers hanging around all the time. But there's no way at all to tell whether or not people were upset because the kids were black. For all we know the barbershop is in a predominantly black neighborhood.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This is the part that to me says that he went digging for something.

I really wasn't (and still aren't) entirely confident whether the complaints & the review of the ordinances were connected or if the story was just awkwardly constructed.

I will say however that I initially read it as "... was reviewing the local codes" instead of "reviewed the local codes", the latter phrase implying more of a direct connection than the former.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Well, maybe this tiny tempest is over. The ticket will be dropped.
http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl052208mlbarber.1cd4272b.html

And the council is going to look at repealing/rescinding/removing the ordinance
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20080522/ARTICLES/805220312/1211/news01&title=DA_seeks_to_have_barbershop_law_repealed

And that's all well, fine, and good by me, specific days of the week for barbershops seems a bit silly. That said however, damned if I see any problem with a cop doing his job and actually enforcing the law. I know that's sort of shocking today, but it is what they're sworn to do.

[st.cronin]

I really wasn't (and still aren't) ...

Tangent: Isn't this a perfect place to use "ain't"? Or else, how would you fix this? "Aren't" seems incorrect to me. Sorry, Jon, not picking on you, I'm really curious about this.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tangent: Isn't this a perfect place to use "ain't"? Or else, how would you fix this? "Aren't" seems incorrect to me. Sorry, Jon, not picking on you, I'm really curious about this.

"(and am still not)" perhaps?

I've been mostly working with numbers instead of letters so far today, my word engine wasn't quite warmed up yet ;)

[st.cronin]

"And am still not" is, imo, an incredibly clunky construction.

[Anthony]

technically he should be using "am not".

[Passacaglia]

I think ain't makes a good catch-all here, a nice compromise between what is correct and what sounds right. Although "and still am not" is less clunky than "and am still not" IMO.

[Anthony]

the phrase would be "and still am not".


-Editor-In-Chief of High School Newspaper :)

[Telle]

In before the lock

Bet you didn't see this devolving into a discussion about grammar.

[st.cronin]

DEvolving?

[Anthony]

DEvolving?

de·volve (d-vlv)
v. de·volved, de·volv·ing, de·volves
1. To be passed on or transferred to another: The burden of proof devolved upon the defendant. The estate devolved to an unlikely heir.
2. To degenerate or deteriorate gradually: After several hours the discussion had devolved into a shouting match.

[Telle]

DEvolving?

Yeah probably not the best word choice.

[Toddzilla]

HA: That's the funniest sound-byte I've heard in a long time.

"Milluh"

"Cuurs"

[SportsDino]

If the officer was 'just enforcing the law', after ticketing this barber shop he should have jumped in his car, drove to every other barber shop in town, and wrote a ticket to each that was open.

[Raiders Army]

If the officer was 'just enforcing the law', after ticketing this barber shop he should have jumped in his car, drove to every other barber shop in town, and wrote a ticket to each that was open.

That's ridiculous. You're saying that every time an officer arrests someone for shoplifting, he should do nothing else but go to stores and seek out shoplifters?

[Raiders Army]

And what if his windows weren't down? He'd slide across the hood and try to jump in his car and he wouldn't be able to.

[Raiders Army]

Double dola, and why go to every other barber shop in town? Why not go to every barber shop in town?

[Toddzilla]

Ever go fishing? Did you catch all the fish?

[SportsDino]

I do not buy the argument that the cop is 'doing his job and actually enforcing the law. I know that's sort of shocking today, but it is what they're sworn to do.'

If that is the case he should be tracking down all those other law breakers (or make a reasonable attempt). Enforcing bullshit laws just to find something to use against a barber who is just running his business... that is the behavior of an asshat.

I did not swear an oath to catch all the fish in the lake, or write flawless posts on a message board... although I am motivated to catch at least one fish, or write at least somewhat comprehensible sentences. My motivation is to eat a fish or get across a point, if the officers motivation was to uphold the law then he would make a reasonable effort to do so equally and issue tickets to other violations of the same law (within reason).

If he does not, maybe he is working off an entirely different motivation, 'I am going to screw with that black barber', which everything in the article seems to indicate. It does appear racist on the surface (I bet a crowd of white guys smoking would not be excuse to dig through the law book), and it is not fulfilling the intent of the police officer's oath (justice and protecting the public from threats).

[JonInMiddleGA]

maybe he is working off an entirely different motivation, 'I am going to respond to the complaints of law abiding citizens', which everything in the article seems to indicate.

Fixed that for you.

[SportsDino]

That's ridiculous. You're saying that every time an officer arrests someone for shoplifting, he should do nothing else but go to stores and seek out shoplifters?

If a police officer spotted someone else shoplifting I would expect him to nab the second criminal as well. Reasonably though, no I do not expect a cop to drop everything and scour the mall for shoplifters... I just expect them to treat two shoplifters the same way.

Its public knowledge that barbers generally are open on Mondays, the cop should be aware that a crime is probably being committed, and if he is not working on another crime, perhaps he should be going around taking care of all these crimes he is aware of. I think the standard should be reasonable equality when it comes to enforcing the law, if you look at the law books there are so many things in there that almost all of us are breaking the law without knowing it many times in a year.

Should we make it the standard that we ignore all these foolish laws, unless there is someone we want to persecute for another reason, in which case we pull out the obscure piece of bullshit? No, we should have some common sense and treat everyone as fairly as possible, and that means not pulling out a law you would never enforce otherwise on someone else.

We should all protest dumb laws, and police abusing them... we all know of the many times in history that 'enforcing the law' has meant more about oppression than justice, I would hope we would know better by now not to hide behind 'they swore to uphold the law'.

[SportsDino]

Fixed that for you.

Complaints about a crowd of teens and a barber breaking no laws except for opening a barber shop on a Monday. The cop has no reason to be there if that is the only crime he could issue a ticket for.


Get rid of the barber shop being open and the complaint is from 'law-abiding citizens' ABOUT 'law-abiding citizens'. If he turns around and files a complaint about the barber shop a few blocks away would you expect the police officer to go there and issue a ticket?

[JonInMiddleGA]

The cop has no reason to be there if that is the only crime he could issue a ticket for.

Bullshit, the law is on the books until its removed. Enforcing that law is as valid as anything else any officer does in the line of duty. If it coincidentally resolves an additional problem, more the better.

[RainMaker]

Reminds me of when I lived in Minnesota. A porn store opened up in town and actually became very popular. Residents tried to fight it but they couldn't (believe it went to the MN Supreme Court). The city spent a fortune trying to sue them. Eventually they just started ticketing them for random bullshit like not icing their sidewalks properly, some handicap stuff violations, and other obscure stuff. They would send the fire marshall in their almost weekly to find minor violations (I believe one was for having a hand railing two inches too high),

[Raiders Army]

A porn store opened up in town and actually became very popular. Residents tried to fight it but they couldn't (believe it went to the MN Supreme Court).

If it was very popular, why would the residents try to fight it? Aren't the residents the one who made it popular? ;)

[JonInMiddleGA]

If it was very popular, why would the residents try to fight it? Aren't the residents the one who made it popular? ;)

Actually patrons of porn stores often come from nearby zip codes rather than the one the shop is in. Kind of like the old Southern tradition of buying your liquor in the next county over ;)

[RainMaker]

If it was very popular, why would the residents try to fight it? Aren't the residents the one who made it popular? ;)
It was a college town surrounded by the boonies. The store would get it's share of students but also a lot of people from outlying hick towns coming in for their porn.

[SportsDino]

I think the porn store illustrates the point, if you have an agenda to find a broken law you almost always will after looking long enough. This is all well and good to get rid of the riff raff we don't like around our city, like porn shops, strip clubs, liquor stores, casinos, unruly teens, slightly suspicious looking but otherwise harmless teens, black people, hispanics, unpopular person of the month, jews, polish, catholics... the list never stops.

There is always an ax to grind out there, when we start using the cops to cause trouble for people that we dont like (whether it is for valid complaints or just plain racism) it is a bad precedent.

What if this law remained on the books, the barber gets angry and starts calling the cops with complaints about every other barber shop in town just to be a nuisance? Would we expect the cop to go around handing out these useless tickets? Would we want the cop to say "no, I don't feel like enforcing that law today?", which will lead to an immediate outcry of how unfair the cops are?

I know it seems like we need a back door way to enforce our will, such as removing porn shops from the city, but it always seems like a great idea until it gets turned against you, or runs out of control, or turns into corruption.

[Logan]

Do porn stores really do well in the Internet age?

[EagleFan]

Bet you didn't see this devolving into a discussion about grammar.

I wasn't (and still ain't ;) ) expecting it... :D

[Raiders Army]

Actually patrons of porn stores often come from nearby zip codes rather than the one the shop is in. Kind of like the old Southern tradition of buying your liquor in the next county over ;)

It was a college town surrounded by the boonies. The store would get it's share of students but also a lot of people from outlying hick towns coming in for their porn.

Ah, the old go somewhere where "they don't know you" to buy your porn. It's hard for the minister or chief of police to frequent a porn shop in his district. Me understandey.