Comments on: Sarasota homeless man arrested for charging phone

By: Guest

Guest — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:03:00 +0000

I agree, that thing with the other cheek was the worst advice anyone ever gave me.

By: Hugh Johnson

Hugh Johnson — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:54:00 +0000

Florida, Americas wang.

By: Ray Trygstad

Ray Trygstad — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 05:22:00 +0000

Oddly enough, the Sarasota Herald Tribune website is now linking to the website of a chain of Indian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area.

By: mysterymoil

mysterymoil — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:41:00 +0000

As long as they are given safety training I think it’s a bright idea to…

By: TheOven

TheOven — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:57:00 +0000

‘Cause, y’know, if I don’t have to see it, it’s not a problem.

By: TheOven

TheOven — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:56:00 +0000

I’m really more concerned that there’s a homeless stroke victim that needs an electric wheelchair to get around. America’s weird.

By: Missy Pants

Missy Pants — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:38:00 +0000

You’re leaving out the room and board he gets now that’s he’s off the streets. Blankets, bed, heat, food, electricity, the salary of the guards, benefits, pension, etc, etc, etc.

By: acerplatanoides

acerplatanoides — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:26:00 +0000

No, but you can get a refund for the free ice-cream

By: deaduncledave

deaduncledave — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:08:00 +0000

Bluh! Bluh! *cough* It’s the principle of the thing… or something. *Snort,mutter* Have to send a strong message, tough on crime, in this economy *fill-in-the-blank-platitude* Bla bluuu bluh.

By: GregS

GregS — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:45:00 +0000

I’m not your buddy, pal.

By: Missy Pants

Missy Pants — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:43:00 +0000

I’m not your Friend, Buddy.

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Silly harassment by cops/city. If they can’t bother to put up a sign then they can’t believe they could convict thus they should recognize they should not charge.

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:16:00 +0000

:) I took less than 2-3 seconds to scan the post by my reckoning, more than enough info to tell me whether to continue to the actual article, or not. The Happy Fun Time Power Hour Blog is 3 doors down on your right.

And c’mon, admit it, the Rambo comment and the “risk of charging his phone” comment totally made up for the blues & anger -inducing subject matter

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:12:00 +0000

LoL, I’ve always appreciated and admired that particular usage of the word “Friend”, as in, “don’t mind this pick ax handle, friend, it will only hurt until you are unconscious”

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Nah, with the reporter finding 2 others charging phones and a third charging a wheelchair on the same outlet, which is not posted as restricted, it is a bona fide public charging station as much as the EV station is.

And for the sake of accuracy the article specifies “vehicle charging station” which it should because you can’t charge a phone or anything else there.

By: blue moon

blue moon — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:01:00 +0000

it is exactly stuff like this that makes me stop wanting to read boingboing. can we get a “how depressing is this article” rating so i can get news that doesn’t make me want to vomit?

By: Mitch_M

Mitch_M — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:17:00 +0000

Madison, WI also cited at least 1 person that I know for using a public outlet meant for use by vendors who purchase a permit. This outlet may have been meant for people who pay to rent the park shelter. A verbal warning or looking the other way in case the guy was using his phone for a job search would have been more appropriate, however.

Are there any Sarasota businesses willing to cause a little trouble by providing a power strip for homeless people to charge their phones?

By: noah django

noah django — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:06:00 +0000

This post has upset me. Far more than the usual social-justice-type posts on BB. That easily could have been me charging my phone.
Frangioni and Holloway, you are among the worst people alive. I have had to delete most of what I initially wrote in this field, because it made me look like a psychopath. That is the type of response your version of law enforcement evokes from individuals that still have emotions, in spite of your paradigm suppressing them. burn in hell. a hollow threat from an atheist, i suppose. since i don’t believe in an afterlife, just burn in this life then.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:50:00 +0000

A power outlet at a picnic shelter, they arrest this man for using this?
Oh how this newspaper placates the fascists (charging station ftw.) I think the cops of my birthplace, Los Angeles and / or of my dad’s home towns (San Diego & Tijuana) must be migrating to towns and cities across the U.S., based on the shit I’ve been reading, hearing and seeing for like, ever.

The town in which I was raised, and now again live has more or less (but when it’s less, it is LESS) effective civilian oversight of the police, progressive police hiring practices and a fairly mellow institutional culture within the police department. Unlike Corvallis, which is about 40 minutes north of us. Corvallis cops and the city council forcibly round-up (or pay) a bunch of homeless people and send them in private cars, or by charter bus to Portland, or Eugene. Corvallis and Sarasota have a similar right-wing vibe and demographic. Plus the Beavers (and whichever teams Sarasota has) suck, perhaps not in terms of performance, but in their choice of schools.

Police in Eugene? They collect blankets and food for the homeless, at least during the Christmas season, I mean when it’s freezing outside.

The mounted (motorcycle) traffic cops here, sometimes when I see one of them on his (always a dude) steed, or when I read about abuses similar to this BB post, I think of one of my favorite bands from my youth, MDC, — because the mounted pigs, Wheel-Pigs are a pack of perjurers.

Here the band MDC’s WikiP link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDC_(band)

By: RayCornwall

RayCornwall — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:57:00 +0000

Christ.

I’m in an area (Toms River, NJ) that was hit by Hurricane Sandy. We lost power for a week because of the storm (my wife and I were incredibly fortunate enough to not be in town during a lot of the storm, but that’s another story). Tired, without a shower for two days, and with dead cell batteries, we pulled into a local Starbucks that had power. I had a small charging strip with me (so we’d only take up one outlet), and we powered our phones (and bought some food and drinks so that we wouldn’t be viewed as complete jerks). Within an hour, we could see everything that was going on, reach out to friends and family, and catch up on work stuff.

Nobody said boo. Nobody said we stunk (I did brush my teeth and change clothes and put on a fresh coat of deodorant that day, but no power = no heat = icy cold ice showers, and I wasn’t that brave yet. Luckily, we got power back that night. Best shower EVER.) Nobody hogged us for siphoning an outlet and precious, precious electricity.

I can’t imagine the indignity of being charged with just trying to power up a device that, in today’s world, is absolutely necessary to keep up in civilized society. What utter stupidity and inhumanity.

By: professor

professor — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:54:00 +0000

Come on… as Jeebus said: “Screw the poor, I work hard for my shekels!”
Oh… wait.

By: SedanChair

SedanChair — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:36:00 +0000

Americans: “Get a job, you bum.”
Homeless person: “OK I’ll get a job, let me call to set up an interview…” *pulls out phone*
Americans: “THAT HOMELESS PERSON HAS A PHONE! HOW CAN YOU BE POOR AND HAVE A PHONE”
Homeless person: “Oh, my battery is depleted.” *plugs in phone*
Americans: “OFFICER ARREST THAT BUM! HE’S STEALING MY VOLTS”

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:28:00 +0000

Bada Boom.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:28:00 +0000

Bada Bing,

By: fuzzyfuzzyfungus

fuzzyfuzzyfungus — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Both EV charging stations and putting the underclass in its place are services the municipality provides to the constituents it actually gives a damn about…

Clannish and morally myopic? Certainly. Contradictory? Not really.

By: obdan

obdan — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:22:00 +0000

Christ.. what an asshole

By: Marja Erwin

Marja Erwin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:29:00 +0000

I think this needs more enforcement:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Equal_Protection_Clause

I’m not aware of any universe in which hurting the homeless can be considered a rational basis for anything, but these laws target a disempowered minority and should qualify for strict scrutiny instead of we’ll-pretend-your-bigotry-is-rational basis scrutiny anyway.

By: Jason Baker

Jason Baker — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:18:00 +0000

I’m tempted to respond with a pun. But I’ve misplaced my binder full of puns. All I have is this binder full of… oh, never mind.

By: Marc Mielke

Marc Mielke — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:14:00 +0000

(they were using the same calculators they use to tally votes.)

But how does the state collect a bill in the amount of “Mitt Romney”?

By: Felton / Moderator

Felton / Moderator — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:08:00 +0000

I see you’re keeping up on current events.