I’m in Jackson, Mississippi, reporting out a story about H.B. 1020. The measure is basically a hostile takeover of the majority Black Jackson by the largely white state Congress.
The legislation would allow state officials to appoint judges. The stated reason is to help with a backlog of cases, but city lawmakers wonder why the judges would be appointed by white lawmakers, rather than voted in by Jackson residents, as is the norm.
The bill will also expand the jurisdiction of the state Capitol police. The Capitol police department has historically served as security for the Capitol building and surrounding areas. But in the past few years, they’ve morphed into a full-fledged police force, with plainclothes officers, investigative units and patrol cops who conduct traffic stops. In the past six months they’ve shot 4 people, killing one. The homicide rate in Jackson is high. But it’s unclear why the state is pouring millions into a second police force instead of bolstering city programs, the Jackson PD, or doing something about guns, as the Mayor has repeatedly begged them to no avail.
Anyway! Look for it in Truthdig. But I had an unrelated (actually sort of related) interesting experience.
The other night, I was (obvs) drinking beer at the hotel bar. A homeless man kept shuffling in, getting kicked out by the doorman, coming over to ask for cash from people sitting on the terrace, getting kicked out by the doormen again. They weren’t being cruel; it was just their job. I never have cash on me but I bought him a sandwhich, which he happily ate. I asked him what else he needed, and he goes, “Call 911. I need to get my medication.”
I go, “Are you SURE!? You want me to call the cops!?!?”
And he’s like, “Yes, please, I need my Haldol and … “ here he listed a bunch of other meds I don’t recognize. I called 911 and told them that. They said they’d send an ambulance. He asked me to wait with him. 20 minutes later an ambulance showed up and they took him in.
Recently, the conversation around mentally ill homeless people has revolved around how to balance their individual rights with public safety. To that end, we have the figure of the psychotic who bucks treatment, thinking he’s God or whatever instead of sick and dangerous.
Naturally, as is the case in our stupid discourse, the “reasonable” position that’s emerged is that we have to make the tough choice to infringe on people’s rights for their own safety and ours.
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