A Labor Day Weekend In America
[Updates below]
Chris Hedges has a powerfully moving and meaningful column today – I particularly liked the allusion to Hayek’s “Road To Serfdom“, the ideological origin of our current Neoliberal Nightmare – – so please read the whole thing:
The core traits of psychopaths — superficial charm, grandiosity and self-importance, a need for constant stimulation, a penchant for lying, deception, manipulation and the inability to feel remorse or guilt — are celebrated. The virtues of empathy, compassion and self-sacrifice, are belittled, neglected and crushed. The professions that sustain community, such as teaching, manual labor, the arts, journalism and nursing, are underpaid and overworked. The professions that exploit, such as those in high finance, Big Pharma, Big Oil and information technology, are lavished with prestige, money and power.
“The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make these people sane,” Eric Fromm writes in The Sane Society.
In a remarkable case of synchronicity, less than an hour after I read that column I witnessed the trauma and repression first hand, ironically on a trip to the local sustainable organic farm to table vegan diverse feminist rainbow Food Co-Op.
In fact, it is possible that the Food Co-Op itself made the complaint call to the police that prompted the traumatic episode, as I’ve noticed that the Food Co-Op’ers have become increasingly hostile to the handful of homeless that frequent the pocket park adjacent to the Co-Op.
For example, they recently installed a fence between their outdoor food court and the park to screen their upscale organic foodies from the local rif-raff that frequent the park.
The letter below to the Mayor, Manager, legal Counsel, and City Council of the lovely liberal town of Port Townsend, Washington describes the scene.
This letter was a followup to the prior letter and public testimony I gave to City Council regarding posting of the harassing signs (see above) in City parks just before the 4th of July holiday weekend:
———- Original Message ———-
From: Bill WOLFE <>
To: John Mauro <JMauro@cityofpt.us>, “citycouncil@cityofpt.us” <citycouncil@cityofpt.us>
Cc: David Faber <DFaber@cityofpt.us>, Thomas Olson <tolson@cityofpt.us>
Date: 09/03/2023 2:04 PM PDT
Subject: Arrest of homeless today
Dear Mayor Faber and Council:
This afternoon, at approximately 1:15 pm, as I parked my bicycle at the Food Co-Op to shop, I witnessed two of your police officers detaining, arresting, handcuffing, and removing to a police vehicle a middle aged woman, presumably homeless, as I’ve seen her in this pocket park adjacent to the Co-Op before.
I did not observe the events that led up to the arrest, so I will not speculate.
Regardless, as I’ve previously written to you, situations of this kind are not police matters and should be dealt with via social services agencies.
The arrested woman was distraught, and cried as she was escorted away.
Her dog was even more distraught, and howled in pain and terror as his owner was hauled away.
It was an inhumane – even obscene – scene that made me sick to my stomach.
You should be ashamed for allowing such incidents to occur in your fine city.
Minutes later, as I proceeded to the Key City fish market, I passed an ambulance parked in the Port. There did not appear to be any medical emergency they were responding to.
If necessary, as a last resort, medics staffing that ambulance should have responded to the scene, not 2 police officers with handcuffs.
Please act to revise the ordinances, management, and police policies and procedures regarding such situations for humanely and decently responding to situations involving homeless and/or mentally troubled people.
Current practice is intolerable.
Respectfully,
Bill Wolfe
Amazingly, in less than 20 minutes, the Chief of Police responded – we’re just doing our jobs:
———- Original Message ———-
From: Thomas Olson <tolson@cityofpt.us>
To: Bill WOLFE <>
Cc: John Mauro <JMauro@cityofpt.us>, CityCouncil <citycouncil@cityofpt.us>, David Faber <DFaber@cityofpt.us>
Date: 09/03/2023 2:23 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Arrest of homeless today
To all that are concerned,
The person that was arrested was in violation of a court ordered No Contact Order, this is a mandatory arrest. The purpose of the arrest is for the safety of all parties involved. She may have been very emotional because she was highly intoxicated, with a .283 blood alcohol content (test taken with a portable breath test machine).
These situations are very unfortunate. Port Townsend police officers perform their duties with professionalism and compassion. This incident involved a highly intoxicated person who didn’t agree with the consequences of her actions, we cannot control that.
Regards,
Thomas Olson
Chief of Police
Port Townsend Police Department
360-531-4965
[Update: Here is my reply to the Chief of Police:
Dear Chief Olson:
Thank you for a timey reply.
I’d like to add a few facts and perspectives to your assessment of the situation:
1. Regarding the alleged basis for the arrest – i.e. “a court ordered No Contact Order, this is a mandatory arrest.” – please be advised that just yesterday, at the Food Co-Op, I spoke with a man on a bicycle who had been questioned by police. I (mistakenly) initially thought that perhaps he was questioned for a bicycle infraction, so, as a cyclist, I was interested. When I asked him why he was questioned, he said it was about his violation of a No Contact Order. Yet, he was not arrested and the police apparently exercised enforcement discretion.
2. Regarding your speculation about this woman’s emotional state and causal attribution to intoxication, please be advised that I witnessed the woman being questioned by your officers, before she was handcuffed and hauled away. Initially, she was quiet and reserved and seemed coherent. Only when she was taken away, when her dog started howling, did she start loudly sobbing. So, from my vantage point, perhaps her reasonable emotional pain originated in the suffering of her dog.
As I wrote, regardless of circumstances, this arrest was inhumane. And it is both uncaring and unprofessional for you to speculate a cause for her suffering – that is blaming the victim.
3. I never made any claim about the professionalism of your officers. In my limited experience with them, they have been highly professional.
But they are enforcing inhumane laws and policies, and these must change.
4. I do not understand and disagree with your claims that this woman “didn’t agree with the consequences of her actions,” and that “we cannot control that.”
Although I am not an attorney and have not read Washington law regarding mandatory enforcement of Court orders, the police have enormous enforcement discretion. So, to claim that your officers had no control over this situation is more a means of dodging responsibility than is necessary.
Finally, people with alcohol and homeless problems generally have diminished capacity to cope and control their behaviors – this is a medical set of issues that warrant empathy and compassion, not a law enforcement problem that justifies handcuffs and jail.
Bill Wolfe
[Update #2 – 9/4/23 – Police Chief followed up – sounds like there was a serious incident that, if true, warranted arrest:
Mr. Wolfe,
I very much appreciate your concerns for the citizens of our community. You are also entitled to your opinions of the laws of the state of Washington.
I looked a little deeper into the incident and received a briefing from the supervisor that was on scene. Prior to the officer’s arrival, witnesses observed the woman knock a disabled man to the ground and punch him in the face. These were the two parties named in the protection order. The prosecutor was contacted and consulted with prior to the officers booking her into the jail. The woman was also taken to the ER to be screened prior to being booked into the Jefferson County Jail.
I encourage my officers to use discretion whenever it makes good sense, but today the officers on scene did what they were obligated to do by law.
Thank you,
Thomas Olson