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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Oh, no. Can't do that. It's so much easier to be a dick.
It feels like Joni will use any kind of strawman argument to make her point and I will not let her use being female as a reason this was good legislation.
Most of the speakers for the bill when it passed were men. In fact, all of them were, if I recall correctly -- I did space out for about 3 minutes while fighting with a broken button. Many of the speakers against were women.
And here in the Times again we have two women and one man: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/no…
Check the breakdown of their support. Women against, men for.
Joni is trying to stoke more fear while blasting The Stranger for stoking fear. More than that, she's playing the interminably sexist trope of "women are so weak and passive and frightened and oh god, we need to be protected".
The premise of the point, as you began to offer, doesn't hold. The evidence didn't bear out, and I can find nothing of evidence-based support for the measure. So, don't let this little challenge create a perception that it's so.
…oh…and women in Seattle wear high heels?
It's one thing to wear a medium heel or pump on the street. It's quite another to be in some ridiculous pair of high heels - particularly if you are claiming to be some sort of everywoman.
Besides, how many women in high heels carrying babies do you see?
The real danger here is making people feel like something has changed when it hasn't; that erodes public confidence in the streets and in the ability of government to do anything meaningful.
This is a red herring.
@7: Welcome, future member of the BLOCKED BY ELENCHOS club! We have gift baskets.
It's clearly "Me Tarzan, You Jane" legislation.
According to her, people who were against the most likely unconstitutional anti-panhandling bill are somehow arrogant and don't care about the safety of women.
Plus, who the fuck walks around Seattle at night in high heels carrying babies? Especially downtown on all the hills, in the rain?
Damn she is so full of shit.
Don't take up her offer. It is stupid posturing and is just an attempt to get away from talking about the real issues.
@1: She should not be taken seriously.
and you'll never guess what we got in them there gift baskets.
(My bona fides: 5'5", woman, has no baby and hates heels.)
And for the record, panhandlers are the least of a woman's problems while walking on the street at night.
I mean, seriously, where is a reasonable person expected to draw the line if "what makes a short woman feel nervous" is the only standard? A law like this has to be predicated on something more than one self-described diminutive person's anecdotally-inspired apprehension about walking down the street.
And since when has 5'7" been considered "short" for a woman? I always thought that was about average height.
All I said here was that I think it's offensive to be a dick to women (or anybody) who says it is not safe for them alone on the street because of their small stature or whatever it might be that makes them appear vulnerable.
And it's insulting and condescending to dismiss that as merely a "perception" of safety.
And if you are a woman who has a different opinion, where do you get off attacking and marginalizing other women this way? Why is only your point of view valid and not theirs?
When anybody says they not safe, don't treat them like a child and tell them they merely feel unsafe, and it's only their silly perception.
Fuck you.
Again, I support any and all measures that would actually improve the safety of women (and men). You continue to misrepresent, if not explicitly then by implication, the notion that this bill is worth the fight.
Attempting to argue that those of us who can see past the posturing here are mean to women is disingenuous. Argue better, please. Otherwise it's pointless.
This morning Eli Sanders said the Stranger has consistently supported increased police presence in downtown. The foot patrols and all that. And the mayor says he supports more police downtown, though he seems to be unwilling to make hiring cops a budget priority.
But if all this is merely the perception of unsafe streets, isn't it a huge waste of scare resources to send cops to patrol there? Are these cops supposed to arrest somebody's delusional fears?
If it's all just a crazy, paranoid perception, then these people who say they are unsafe should see a psychiatrist, and there's no need for any changes in public safety policy. Maybe that's why McGinn isn't taking any action.
Because frankly it will take something like that for everyone to just shut the fuck up already.
CHANGE THE CHANNEL FROM FOX NEWS!
There, solved it.
Now, go get a life.
See what I did there? ;)
I just wish people would stop shifting responsibility for this to McGinn. If Burgess were serious about cleaning up downtown, and not just getting political points, he'd stand up and say HE will get more budget to get more cops on the street. When will he?
I *could* get behind a bill that uses cover charges at the clubs to fund a mandatory "I'm not a sexist asshole" license, complete with training on how to not harass women on the street. It would be an equivalent violation of our first amendment rights but I personally would find it a lot more useful than the ordinance the mayor rightfully vetoed. Enforcing the distracted driving laws would be great too.
It was this insane woman in an American flag sweatshirt, extremely tight pants and a crooked wig. She came up to us and again demanded bus fare. She thoughtfully offered to perform oral sex on us in exchange for the fare, but we declined. She pulled up her sweatshirt and showed us her boobs. The gal was a real mess.
We gave her a few bucks and a hit, and sent her on her way. I wonder if she ever made it to Bellevue.
And yes, we made it to last call. I miss the Cloud Room.