As I read, on-line, the StarTribune's headline "Punishment for graffiti vandals' parents clears Senate" , I cursed under my breath at our U.S. Senate. Those darn Republicans are at it again, I thought. So imagine my surprise and despair when I read on only to discover that this is a bill that cleared the DFL-controlled State Senate today by 62-3. The bill's sponsor is Senator Linda Berglin (at least she's earned my gratitude for reminding me why I defected to the Green Party just when Pawlenty and Bush nearly made me reassess my decision). In essence, parents of youngsters found responsible for damaging property through graffiti would be forced to come up with restoration money. Furthermore, property owners will be able to seek three times the amount it cost them to restore their property . . . So why stop at graffiti, a crime that many of us,correctly or incorrectly, associate with marginalized populations (e.g., inner-city youth of color)? Let's be fair and consistent and hold parents responsible for any and all crimes and property damage done by their children, making sure we throw triple restitution into the bargain. On second thought, maybe we should exclude shoplifting since last I heard it's the white middle-class female's crime of choice. And let's exclude the establishment of meth labs in rural areas, as dangerous as they are. We can't have Governor Pawlenty calling any special elections to fill a vacant seat in the House or Senate. And we better not forget automatic amnesty for anyone living in a fraternity who is still his mother or father's legal dependant . . . Face it, folks, Senator Berglin's bill is another sorry attempt on the part of Democrats to prove that they're as tough as Republicans. And PLEASE Democrats, don't go shaking your finger at Trent Lott or any other racist Republican, when your own party advocates laws and policies that promote institutional racism. (Remember that your former leader, Bill Clinton, rallied around the death penalty.) Race issues aside, Senator Berglin's bill is still awful. Let's say a single parent earning minimum wage has to take another job in order to pay restitution fees, that leaves his or her children more unsupervised than ever. Adding more stress to parents, particularly low-income parents, may cause their children to act out more. And what if, five years from now, a child involved in graffiti-related property damage should come from Mary Jo Copeland's orphanage? Will the state hold Mary Jo responsible? I think not. Again if we're going to have this bill let's at least be fair and consistent. Given the way justice works in this country, a higher-income parent will only have to make one phone call to their attorney to get off the hook, while a lower-income parent will be lucky to enjoy the right of due process. (Recall all the cuts that have been made in legal aide services to the poor. ) Given that our nation, state and municipality are cutting or eliminating the few government-funded suppports that were available to parents, I'd like to propose that all parents, no mater what their race, economic status or martial status may be, are entitled to more support from our government, not punitive consequences. (No one can accuse me of class warfare.) Please realize, my property has been vandalized by graffiti. Removing it is time consuming and costly. But if we really want to eliminate this problem, then we need to look at its root causes (further marginalization of children, especially low-income children, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and the criminalization of drugs which is the main driving force behind gangs and gang-related behavior such as graffiti). Unfortunately, politicians from the DFL, like Democrats nationwide, no longer have the courage or compassion to wage war against poverty and the damage it causes to us all.-------------------------Peter Schmitz CARAG
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