I recently read this article in the Orlando Sentinel reporting on a third round of arrests of activists arrested for violating an ordinance prohibiting the sharing of food with large groups in a city park more than twice a year. The group Food Not Bombs has had 12 members arrested as of the writing of that article. One of my favorite posters read, “Did Jesus need a permit?”
My hometown has recently been in the news for a similar arbitrary-seeming limit on how many people may be served per day in soup kitchens.
Even closer to home, a long time friend of mine lamented to me a few years ago that she and her friends had been forced to stop their 12 year tradition of sharing food with hungry people on the streets of Atlanta after their weekly Saturday afternoon gatherings. They had offered soup to two plain-clothes officers one cold day and were told they had to stop and leave or be arrested.
It’s such a tough issue to balance the needs of the homeless with safety regulations and economic concerns. Most tax payers don’t want a homeless shelter or soup kitchen in their neighborhood. Everyone draws the line in a slightly different place. What have your experiences been with the NIMBY attitude? Would you be willing to be arrested to make a point about something you felt strongly about?
I never realized there were these kinds of limits and regulations on helping others. Wow. Food for thought.
A big part of me would definitely want to be arrested to make a point – and then make sure there was plenty of press to witness it. I’m difficult that way.