Althouse: Sidewalk benches removed, then reinstalled, in Madison's neverending struggle to balance good and evil.

October 13, 2011

Sidewalk benches removed, then reinstalled, in Madison's neverending struggle to balance good and evil.

So it seemed like a good idea to remove those benches in front of Jimmy John's and Taco Bell because supposedly that's where drug dealers were sitting. But then various nice people emailed the mayor, Paul Soglin, to complain that now there were fewer places for regular people to sit, plus it seemed like an attack on the homeless. So Soglin had the benches reinstalled.

My first thought, as a taxpayer, is: You people wasted our money. My second thought is: If you know where the drug dealers habitually sit, arrest them.

32 comments:

Carol_Herman said...: Well, if the idiots didn't put the benches back ... the TENTS would have been installed, instead.

You can sell drugs from inside a tent, as well. Plus, think of all the storage spaces!

Is the guy who is habitually "starving" now standing up?

Oh, another bonus point! Where were the benches stored ... while they were "away?" Did they go to summer camp?; 10/13/11, 10:04 AM
ricpic said...: Reinstitutionalize the homeless!; 10/13/11, 10:07 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: "Arrest them if you know where they sit". Heh. Why don't you ask Mayor Soglin if that thought ever occurred to him.; 10/13/11, 10:07 AM
Robert said...: Can't arrest them for just sitting. Would Madison countenance a buy and bust operation? Or would that bring out the protest crowd?; 10/13/11, 10:13 AM
traditionalguy said...: Soglin serves his customers.

But deciding who are the customers leads to confusing moments.; 10/13/11, 10:13 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/11, 10:17 AM
edutcher said...: When they were just bums, people wanted them chased away.

When they became "the homeless", they were another Democrat constituency and required all manner of special consideration.; 10/13/11, 10:19 AM
Curious George said...: The sole commenton the link

"Dorothy Krause8:32 am
Got a clue people... the problem isn't benches. "It's the economy, stupid." Give people the opportunity to be productive citizens and the vast majority will. The rest are just mopping up that police can deal with easily. Those in a position to do so must create jobs or society must continue to afford to pick up the bill to meet basic needs. As long as the elite choose to ignore those below them and systematically create more and more poor people, it's going to continue to get worse."

Dorothy Krause
Alder at City of Fitchburg

This explains so much about Madison and liberals in general. The answer isn't benches or not, or arresting drug dealers. Nope. It's MORE PROGRAMS! And PUNISH THE RICH!; 10/13/11, 10:19 AM
jrberg3 said...: "So it seemed like a good idea to remove those benches in front of Jimmy John's and Taco Bell because supposedly that's where drug dealers were sitting."

So why does that even seem like a good idea in the first place? What genius thought, "Hey if we remove the benches the drug dealers sit on, they will go away!!" And who are the mensa members that all agreed with that approach?

Seems to me like those people are incompetent.; 10/13/11, 10:19 AM
Fred4Pres said...: I have seen this battle before about street amenities and homeless/drug dealing. The way you deal with it is you deal with negative and criminal behavior. You crack down on agressive pan handling (you may have a right to ask, you do not have a right to intimidate). Unfortunately cities like Madison (but Berkley, Seattle, San Francisco, etc. all come to mind) have a problem with doing so.; 10/13/11, 10:19 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Jimmy John's and Taco Bell? Sounds raaaaacist to me. What? No Popeye's in Madison? That seems raaaaacist too.; 10/13/11, 10:20 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree, arresting them is the solution. But nowadays, everyone requires the police to be "sensitive" and tolerant. Someone may be innocent, someone may be offended! In our little city, the homeless t/4 drink and inject and annoy at will.

Removing the bench reminds me of my old Catholic school days--if you remove the occasion for sin, you will pretty much eliminate sin.; 10/13/11, 10:27 AM
SGT Ted said...: Well, absent a bust, those drug dealers have civil rights to freely travel. Can't violate their rights, you know.; 10/13/11, 10:30 AM
Chuck66 said...: Maybe old man Soglin does some business with the drug dealers. Or are his suppliers more high class?; 10/13/11, 10:57 AM
ndspinelli said...: Madison Police are too busy doing other social work. I have lived in many cities and in no city have I seen so many cops walking around a police staion and so few on the street as there are in Madison; 10/13/11, 10:59 AM
ndspinelli said...: Soglin is a curmudgeonly mope.; 10/13/11, 11:00 AM
ndspinelli said...: Fred4,

There were several Popeyes in Madison but only one has survived. There aren't enough black folk to keep them in biz and the white folk here eat the much inferior KFC.

On this topic, The Boston Globe did a feature article yesterday about how during the season the Bosox starting pitchers not throwing that day had a routine of sitting in the clubhouse during the game eating KFC and bisquits, drinking beer, and playing video games. contrast that to seeing the entire Brewer pitching staff on the bench supporting their team. For decades the Bosox had a reputation of being cliqueish. It looks like they've gone back to their old ways.; 10/13/11, 11:11 AM
Bob Ellison said...: You ignore the power of inconvenience! Removing the benches was like taxing cigarettes: it made those drug-dealers have to stand up, which probably shortened their working hours, since they got sore feet and knees...thus reducing drug-dealing and -use.

Re-installing the benches further inconveniences them, because drug-buyers see the empty benches and say, "Huh? Where's my dealer?!" This debases the dealers' brand and decreases loyalty, thus further reducing drug-dealing and -use.

Soglin should remove and re-install those benches on a weekly basis. That'll drive the dealers and buyers crazy! It's also a jobs program!; 10/13/11, 11:22 AM
TosaGuy said...: Can't go after drug dealers when you are busy going after beer kegs on porches.; 10/13/11, 11:29 AM
Simon said...: "My second thought is: If you know where the drug dealers habitually sit, arrest them."

Blame the Warren Court.; 10/13/11, 11:43 AM
Paul said...: And pray tell me why there were not surveillance cameras zeroing in those benches they KNEW were used by drug dealers?

Why did they allow them to even ply their trade? Is there come kind of payoff being given to the cops?

The whole thing stinks of crooked government.; 10/13/11, 12:09 PM
ignatzk said...: If you know where the drug dealers habitually sit, arrest them

Or at least build them a library where they had access to skype. It's the Madison Way.; 10/13/11, 12:39 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Do like some Urban McDonalds do.

Provide WiFi,

set up a Stamtisch where beat cops can do their paperwork (rather than at the station), feed them free coffee and put the table overlooking the benches.

I bet it would cut down on both drugs and thuggery in the Micky D's.

win-win; 10/13/11, 1:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Progressive idiocracy.
1. Because you spend so much money on patronage crap, you don't have enough money to hire the proper amount of police.
2. If you had the police, you could just post one there on that street, and freak out all the dealers and their clients, who would retreat to the dirty shadows where they belong.
3. But if you had a policeman haunting the Taco Bell benches, the dear peepul would protest, as it creeps them out also, and some particularly enlightened progressives would cry racism. Because no doubt the dealers have dark skin.
4. So, to keep everybody except the normal family-raising law-abiding citizens happy, you'll leave the dealers be, and reduce the police headcount.

You progressive morons! When all your choices are bad, has it ever dimly occurred to you in the deep recesses of your febrile brains that it's your system that's f'ed up, and not the rest of us?; 10/13/11, 1:24 PM
Anonymous said...: And just to pile on, you progressive morons, you have welshed on the deal. You extract by force taxes from the law-abiding families, and instead of spending our wealth prudently to secure the rights of all the people, you shower your friends with corrupt patronage, make life convenient for crimminals, and then call us racist. Fie!; 10/13/11, 1:44 PM
jamboree said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/11, 1:50 PM
がんこもん said...: Althouse said, "If you know where the drug dealers habitually sit, arrest them."

No kidding. I think the same thing when I see the obvious illegals hanging out in the Home Depot parking lots waiting for day work. Guess the cops are too busy accommodating violent Leftist/anarchist OWS protestors (funny how they never extended that courtesy to the TEA Party folks)and the ICE/Border Patrol agents are are too busy running guns to Mexican drug cartels to worry about actually protecting the communities by enforcing the laws.; 10/13/11, 2:11 PM
David said...: Who says government isn't responsive.; 10/13/11, 2:58 PM
carrie said...: Who ever was police chief in Madison in the late 70s and 80s saw the police as social workers and wanted all of his police officers to have college degrees in social work or psychology.; 10/13/11, 3:14 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: If you know where the drug dealers habitually sit, arrest them.

Finally, something I can agree with. A mix of critical thinking with good ol' common sense. Your money was wasted. And now you know they're morons.

Act accordingly.; 10/13/11, 7:28 PM
walter said...: Go to the root of the problem: Sidewalks; 10/13/11, 10:56 PM
walter said...: Tags: crime, drugs, Madison, Paul Soglin, stupid; 10/13/11, 11:01 PM