Steven P. BarrettSUNBELT INSANITY: NO WONDER BROWARD COUNTY'S TANKING, AND TANKING FAST!
June 22nd 2008 02:53
LET'S SEE WHAT WE HAVE HERE: A GUY COMES OUT OF HIS HOUSE WITH A CHAINSAW AND THREATENS HOMELESS PEOPLE WITH IT. A "FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE?"
BUT A JUDGE SAYS THERE'S NO REASON FOR GRANTING A "PERMANENT RESTRAINING ORDER" AGAINST THE HOMEOWNER.
ONLY IN SUNNY FLORIDA AND BROWARD COUNTY, WHICH IS TANKING FAST, AND I MEAN FAST COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED. THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP IS TAKEN TO SUCH HEIGHTS THAT A MAN IN NEARBY LAUDERDALE LAKES WAS ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING HIS NEIGHBOR OVER A DISPUTE CONCERNING THE HEIGHT OF HIS LAWN.
WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH THE SAME "LAW & ORDER" CROWD IN MANHATTAN, FOLKS. THE LOCAL D.A. COULDN'T SECURE AN IDIICTMENT AGAINST THE SHOOTER--MUCH LESS INDICT THE PROSECUTOR'S PROVERBIAL HAM SANDWICH.
Broward is the home county of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pompano Beach, its three oldest and best known cities. It's also the home to numerous "overnight" cities that are nothing, if not paeans to the glories of unbridled capitalism and dog-eat-dog social darwinism at its worst.
It wasn't always like this. Years ago, while attending college at Biscayne College, (now part of St. Thomas University) in north Miami-Dade County to the immediate south, going to Broward was an escape from the madness of Miami -Dade. Things have indeed changed and not for the better.
While the wealthy kept on buiilding nice towers of luxury and gated communities, the county kept adding more and more indigents to the welfare rolls, many of them Haitian refugees, and of course, many of them couldn't speak English or recognizable French. Their primary language was Creole. Guess who gets blamed by whitey for everything under the sun: the Haitian Creoles. Everything, and that includes things the whiteys do that many Haitians don't. But the Haitians get stuck with the blame anyway. Maybe it has something to do with skin color.
Florida's always had a seedy bunch when it came to sexploitation. By this I mean, the "adult entertainment" /industrial sexual slavery complex. It was a fringe element when I was there, but apparently it's HUGE nowadays with big billboards advertising "escort services" just as you leave the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (even though prostitution is illegal -- hear that Mr. Spitzer?) According to many law enforcement and child welfare agencies, Florida is a major conduit for funneling child prostitues and kiddie porn "actors."
This hasn't just attracted a growing population of heterosexual swingers, cheaters and old geezers seeking underage girl toys (like they would in Thailand), many homosexuals have also joined in on the party scene. So much so that (heterosexual) College Spring Break made its way north to the Panhandle.
Sadly, this kind of sexually charged atmosphere turned into a "perfect storm" attracting all the worst kinds of perverts, porn producers/"actors," prostitutes and yes, drug lords and their legions of victims; lives that have been tragically wasted upon the sharp-glassed and topped altars of hedonism. Don't forget the thousands of kids who've been sexually abused in their homes, only to have grown up messed up for life, and at great risk, if not already at it, for repeating the misery they suffered through. Lord, don't let me leave out the thousands of divorced and mixed couples with kids who may or not be messed up as a result of this perma-confusion. Of course not every blended family has these problems. Not by any means. I'm only referring to the ones who've been mauled by the insidiousness of sexual licentuousness and couldn't get it out of their familial "lifestyles."
Lest I ever forget, Casino Gambling. What used to be a fairly sedate (you could almost call it a "tourist trap," located alongside the old main route linking Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, was the old Hollwood Seminole Indian Reservation. That is until it "went casino."
I'm far from a prude, and been known to take a gamble or two, but you don't have to be an Ivy League sociologist to figure out that allowing casinos in an already heated hothouse economy based on tourism and the year 'round promise of terrific weather, low taxes, fast money, etc., is only bound to make matters worse. And it has. Ask the local police departments having to deal with more crimes. They all go hand in hand.Which of the chicken and egg routine do you want first, with a little gambling and real estate speculation thrown in for good measure: sex or drugs, or possibly gambling?
Look, I have wonderful marriage and I know what a wonderful gift a healthy sexual relationship is like. Yet, I also know from my research and anecdotal discussions and stories with people I've learned about or gotten to know personally how badly they've been mauled.
THERE'S RIGHT AND THERE'S WRONG. AND GOOD PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES CAN ARGUE TILL HELL FREEZES OVER ABOUT SEXUAL ATTITUDES, ETC., BUT THESE PEOPLE--THE VICTIMS-- DON'T DESERVE OUR JUDGMENT AND STINGY ATTITUDES, THEY DESERVE OUR LOVE AND COMPASSION!
On the other hand, never, for the life of me, could I fathom for a second any governmental agency being folded up because of a politician's demagogic ability to whip up the ire of voters to demand "more accountability" from the less fortunate, the down-and-outers, the unwed pregnant teen moms, the drug addicts or even the homeless. But that's what's happened.
We're not even talking about "compassion fatigue" here folks. We're talking about playing Cain. Remember him? He was the first card-carrying member of the Republican Party.
When God asked him what he did to Abel, Cain gave the Classic Republican reply: "Hey, boss, am I my brother's keeper?"
So why am I NOT surprised that a guy pulled out a chainsaw to scare away homeless people? After all, a holding a chainsaw in your arms says something. And, I would agree with the homeowner that allowing homeless people to roam at will with no safe shelter to find refuge in says something too: on a much larger scale.
Am I being too rough on Broward? Consider this: a relatively new Pentacostal Church for a small Romany (Gypsy) population in the county is struggling to keep its property from the County that wants to take it to build another treatment center county officials can't agree if they even need anymore. You can bet the Gypsies will probably get booted, like they have for centuries, the County will have bought a new white elephant and the people needing treatment for drug abuse and other social problems will keep on getting the shaft.
In the meantime, take a loot at what the rising crime rate has done for home values, especially in northwestern suburbs like Margate, Lauderdale Lakes, and Tamarac. I'm mostly familiar with Lauderdale Lakes, which was a nice suburban tract community. Homeowners' property values have sunk, and with that the cities they live have suffered because they can't tax as much to pay for the police, fire and school departments they counted on to help keep their communities liveable.
And for you folks who've never lived in the land of the free enterprisers on steroids, this is one scenario you should keep in mind when people start talking about "saving taxpayers dollars" and making "governments run like businesses." Stay away from such charlatans!
I can't condone what that homeowner did by using a chainsaw to get his message across and he shoulde've received some kind of warning or even a temporary restraining order of sorts; not a free pass. Even being upset with a lack of services doesn't give us as individuals the right to become vigilantes. I empathize with the man, however because no body should have to deal with so much of society's problems by himself. That's why we have police officers.
But don't expect the police to be around if you can't even muster up a miminal amount of civic pride and responsibility to pay--by voting--for the services you need.
BUT A JUDGE SAYS THERE'S NO REASON FOR GRANTING A "PERMANENT RESTRAINING ORDER" AGAINST THE HOMEOWNER.
ONLY IN SUNNY FLORIDA AND BROWARD COUNTY, WHICH IS TANKING FAST, AND I MEAN FAST COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED. THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP IS TAKEN TO SUCH HEIGHTS THAT A MAN IN NEARBY LAUDERDALE LAKES WAS ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING HIS NEIGHBOR OVER A DISPUTE CONCERNING THE HEIGHT OF HIS LAWN.
WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH THE SAME "LAW & ORDER" CROWD IN MANHATTAN, FOLKS. THE LOCAL D.A. COULDN'T SECURE AN IDIICTMENT AGAINST THE SHOOTER--MUCH LESS INDICT THE PROSECUTOR'S PROVERBIAL HAM SANDWICH.
Broward is the home county of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pompano Beach, its three oldest and best known cities. It's also the home to numerous "overnight" cities that are nothing, if not paeans to the glories of unbridled capitalism and dog-eat-dog social darwinism at its worst.
It wasn't always like this. Years ago, while attending college at Biscayne College, (now part of St. Thomas University) in north Miami-Dade County to the immediate south, going to Broward was an escape from the madness of Miami -Dade. Things have indeed changed and not for the better.
Beautiful Ft. Lauderdale Skyline: What's behind and below it?
While the wealthy kept on buiilding nice towers of luxury and gated communities, the county kept adding more and more indigents to the welfare rolls, many of them Haitian refugees, and of course, many of them couldn't speak English or recognizable French. Their primary language was Creole. Guess who gets blamed by whitey for everything under the sun: the Haitian Creoles. Everything, and that includes things the whiteys do that many Haitians don't. But the Haitians get stuck with the blame anyway. Maybe it has something to do with skin color.
It's not legal, but advertised outside the airport anyway!
Florida's always had a seedy bunch when it came to sexploitation. By this I mean, the "adult entertainment" /industrial sexual slavery complex. It was a fringe element when I was there, but apparently it's HUGE nowadays with big billboards advertising "escort services" just as you leave the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (even though prostitution is illegal -- hear that Mr. Spitzer?) According to many law enforcement and child welfare agencies, Florida is a major conduit for funneling child prostitues and kiddie porn "actors."
This hasn't just attracted a growing population of heterosexual swingers, cheaters and old geezers seeking underage girl toys (like they would in Thailand), many homosexuals have also joined in on the party scene. So much so that (heterosexual) College Spring Break made its way north to the Panhandle.
Sadly, this kind of sexually charged atmosphere turned into a "perfect storm" attracting all the worst kinds of perverts, porn producers/"actors," prostitutes and yes, drug lords and their legions of victims; lives that have been tragically wasted upon the sharp-glassed and topped altars of hedonism. Don't forget the thousands of kids who've been sexually abused in their homes, only to have grown up messed up for life, and at great risk, if not already at it, for repeating the misery they suffered through. Lord, don't let me leave out the thousands of divorced and mixed couples with kids who may or not be messed up as a result of this perma-confusion. Of course not every blended family has these problems. Not by any means. I'm only referring to the ones who've been mauled by the insidiousness of sexual licentuousness and couldn't get it out of their familial "lifestyles."
The Old Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation, B.C.
Seminole Indian Reservation, A.C. There goes the neighborhood!
Lest I ever forget, Casino Gambling. What used to be a fairly sedate (you could almost call it a "tourist trap," located alongside the old main route linking Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, was the old Hollwood Seminole Indian Reservation. That is until it "went casino."
I'm far from a prude, and been known to take a gamble or two, but you don't have to be an Ivy League sociologist to figure out that allowing casinos in an already heated hothouse economy based on tourism and the year 'round promise of terrific weather, low taxes, fast money, etc., is only bound to make matters worse. And it has. Ask the local police departments having to deal with more crimes. They all go hand in hand.Which of the chicken and egg routine do you want first, with a little gambling and real estate speculation thrown in for good measure: sex or drugs, or possibly gambling?
Look, I have wonderful marriage and I know what a wonderful gift a healthy sexual relationship is like. Yet, I also know from my research and anecdotal discussions and stories with people I've learned about or gotten to know personally how badly they've been mauled.
THERE'S RIGHT AND THERE'S WRONG. AND GOOD PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES CAN ARGUE TILL HELL FREEZES OVER ABOUT SEXUAL ATTITUDES, ETC., BUT THESE PEOPLE--THE VICTIMS-- DON'T DESERVE OUR JUDGMENT AND STINGY ATTITUDES, THEY DESERVE OUR LOVE AND COMPASSION!
On the other hand, never, for the life of me, could I fathom for a second any governmental agency being folded up because of a politician's demagogic ability to whip up the ire of voters to demand "more accountability" from the less fortunate, the down-and-outers, the unwed pregnant teen moms, the drug addicts or even the homeless. But that's what's happened.
We're not even talking about "compassion fatigue" here folks. We're talking about playing Cain. Remember him? He was the first card-carrying member of the Republican Party.
When God asked him what he did to Abel, Cain gave the Classic Republican reply: "Hey, boss, am I my brother's keeper?"
So why am I NOT surprised that a guy pulled out a chainsaw to scare away homeless people? After all, a holding a chainsaw in your arms says something. And, I would agree with the homeowner that allowing homeless people to roam at will with no safe shelter to find refuge in says something too: on a much larger scale.
Am I being too rough on Broward? Consider this: a relatively new Pentacostal Church for a small Romany (Gypsy) population in the county is struggling to keep its property from the County that wants to take it to build another treatment center county officials can't agree if they even need anymore. You can bet the Gypsies will probably get booted, like they have for centuries, the County will have bought a new white elephant and the people needing treatment for drug abuse and other social problems will keep on getting the shaft.
In the meantime, take a loot at what the rising crime rate has done for home values, especially in northwestern suburbs like Margate, Lauderdale Lakes, and Tamarac. I'm mostly familiar with Lauderdale Lakes, which was a nice suburban tract community. Homeowners' property values have sunk, and with that the cities they live have suffered because they can't tax as much to pay for the police, fire and school departments they counted on to help keep their communities liveable.
Growth! Growth! Growth!
And for you folks who've never lived in the land of the free enterprisers on steroids, this is one scenario you should keep in mind when people start talking about "saving taxpayers dollars" and making "governments run like businesses." Stay away from such charlatans!
I can't condone what that homeowner did by using a chainsaw to get his message across and he shoulde've received some kind of warning or even a temporary restraining order of sorts; not a free pass. Even being upset with a lack of services doesn't give us as individuals the right to become vigilantes. I empathize with the man, however because no body should have to deal with so much of society's problems by himself. That's why we have police officers.
But don't expect the police to be around if you can't even muster up a miminal amount of civic pride and responsibility to pay--by voting--for the services you need.
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