Posted on 12/12/2020 9:39:33 AM PST by simpson96
In October, the Seattle City Council floated legislation to provide an exemption from prosecution for misdemeanor crimes for any citizen who suffers from poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness. Under the proposed ordinance, courts would have to dismiss all so-called “crimes of poverty”—which, according to the city’s former public-safety advisor, would cover more than 90 percent of all misdemeanor cases citywide. In effect, the legislation would create a new class of “untouchables,” protected from consequences by the city’s powerbrokers.
This is the latest and most brazen effort in the city’s campaign to establish what might be called a “reverse hierarchy of oppression.” The underlying theory is that society has condemned the lower class to a life of poverty and stigma, which leads to addiction, madness, and indigence. The poor, in the logic of Seattle’s progressive elites, are thus forced to commit crimes—including violent crimes—to secure their very existence. Therefore, as society is the perpetrator of this inequality, the crimes of the poor must be forgiven. The crimes are transformed into an expression of social justice.
On a practical level, if this ordinance becomes law, it will effectively legalize an entire spectrum of misdemeanor crimes, including theft, assault, harassment, drug possession, property destruction, and indecent exposure. Criminals must simply establish that they have an addiction, mental-health disorder, or low income in order to evade justice. The impact of this measure would be enormous. In 2019, the Seattle Police Department reported 25,993 thefts, 8,442 assaults, 6,430 property offenses, 4,194 frauds, 3,910 trespasses, and 1,640 narcotics violations—representing 72 percent of all reported crimes. If the ordinance passes, nearly all these crimes would be permitted under law.
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that there would be an equal protection argument that if the underclass is exempt from a law, everyone is.
Completely bass ackwards. A life of addiction, mental illness, and indigence leads to poverty and stigma.
Never underestimate stupidity or evil ... sometimes it is difficult to determine the difference.
'expert class' translation: legalized anarchy is all right by me
The other takeaway from this type of policy is that “normals” will quickly figure out they need to avoid the new “privileged class” folks who are exempt from the law.
That does not mean just crossing the street to avoid them, that means avoid being in the same building with them, and ultimately avoid being in the same city with them.
Like the “store “ in Soylent Green.
Apparently the majority of the voters in Seattle approve of this. Idiots . More popcorn ! ! !
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