Comments on: Homeless Encampment Found on Decatur Square

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:04:54 +0000

A very interesting discussion. I can pretty safely say that most communities have never had such a candid conversation about this topic in their history.

But I think people are getting a little fatigued – I know I am – so let’s close ‘er up and move onto other things.

By: cubalibre

cubalibre — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:04:12 +0000

Amen, Girl. You & I don’t always agree on everything, but I think we’re definitely on the same page on this particular issue!

By: cubalibre

cubalibre — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:02:24 +0000

You apparently didn’t read my post very carefully. Your previous posts mentioned nothing about your being attacked, which of course would throw a completely different light onto it (but I suspect you knew that). Now, I and everyone else who responded to you read your posts the same way: that you & your family spray panhandlers (or potential panhandlers– you can’t really know what their intent was if you sprayed them before they had a chance to do more than approach you, could you?) as a pre-emptive measure. I am certainly not “new to city living”– rather, it’s your reactions that intimate that you are, or that you’ve gone to extremes to acclimate yourself with what you deem an unacceptable threat (i.e., people asking you for change). In general, people know that sometimes panhandlers become violent (which is why I do not support allowing “urban camping” or other such enabling measures), but they also know that most do not– which is why it is indeed unreasonable for you to assume that every panhandler who approaches you has violent intentions. The worst thing about this is, you’re teaching your child to be pro-actively violent toward others, even before she knows whether there’s a reason to be. This in itself could result in tragedy if she (or even you) should happen to launch a “pre-emptive strike” against someone who truly is violent, and who might strike back at you with something even worse than pepper spray. Any police officer will tell you that there are certain conditions which can lessen someone’s reaction to capsaicin, so that far from disabling them, you merely enrage them (which is why police also carry tasers). Commercially-sold pepper spray also doesn’t pack quite the disabling punch that the military/industrial-grade pepper spray the police use does. I carry a little canister of pepper spray, too– but I’ve never had to use it, and I pray I never do. I pray that your foolhardiness doesn’t lead you or your family into such a situation– I truly do.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:56:06 +0000

Dodegur – just ignore the panhandlers or just say “no” and walk on/drive on, there is no need to use pepper spray on panhandling people. i have lived and worked in a big city for a long time, and do not have the fear of people that you seem to have. i haven’t had a car for almost 12 years, and use public transportation and/or walk all the time locally. (i only rent a car if i need it when i am on vacation.) so i am “out and about” on the streets almost every day and night. i just don’t know what your fears are based on. male poodles??

By: Nelliebelle1197

Nelliebelle1197 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:45:10 +0000

Guess my hope that this wasn’t serious just flew out the window. I can’t actually see how you you can justify such reckless, inhumane, illegal behavior. A spare change approach would never legally constitute an attack unless you were literally physically or verbally threatened. The attacks you claim to perpetrate on Jehovah’s Witnesses border on hate crime.Cubra and I have both lived in much larger cities than this one and I personally have been a urbanite most of my life. Never would even the thought of pepper spraying another person cross my mind. I am very sorry you chose this area to spread such vile behavior.

By: dedogur

dedogur — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:29:33 +0000

Professional panhandling is most certainly a physical threat to me, my wife, children, neighborhood and community. Have you never been attacked by a panhandler?? Perhaps not if you are new to city living, or only go from your house to your car and back. Pepper spray is a very humane deterrent for when one is physically threatened, is it not? Can you suggest a more effective/humane deterrent? I fail to understand why you are relating people to dogs, and it seems inappropriate in this context. But to answer your question, I personally do not feel threatened by dogs, though I keep my distance from the male poodles.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:25:01 +0000

Cubalibre – Thanks for putting this into a legal framework as well as prodding this guy’s shamelessness.

By: JEM

JEM — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:05:32 +0000

Dedogur, you are being fecitious. If it weren’t so pitiful, it might even be funny,