Editorial: Hurting the homeless / Does it really happen rarely? Published Feb. 10, 2003
If you stroll into a soup kitchen and ask the gathered guests if ever they've been pushed around by the cops, they'll likely laugh. The question strikes them as funny because the answer seems obvious. To homeless people, police harassment is a fact of life -- easier to come by than a hot shower. The point is pertinent in light of the recent report of alleged police mistreatment of two homeless people at Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis. Since the incident was apparently witnessed, the victims stand some chance of securing relief and justice. For their part, city and police officials have responded to this embarrassing disclosure as they must -- with expressions of dismay and promises of probes. Perhaps some good will come of this shocking episode -- whatever the evidence ultimately reveals. Scrutinizing police conduct is almost always salutary. But to the throngs of homeless soup-sippers, the sudden eruption of official concern about this case seems a little puzzling. To them, the Little Earth incident is notable mostly because it was noticed. http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/3640506.html Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- _______________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup Meet Singles http://corp.mail.com/lavalife TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
