Sheesh — It’s come down to a shi shi bill?
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rep. Gene Ward is calling for “urine-free zones” where offenders could be fined for doing their business in public. “In Chinatown, it’s for real, you see it all the time,” Roads said. “If you live there for a couple of weeks, you’ll understand why.”
What kind of world are we living in if lawmakers are talking about fining people $2,000 for peeing in public?
It’s a world where facts are treated like opinions, opinions are treated as “alternate facts” and people can’t be counted on to behave properly.
We live on a beautiful island fouled by the undeniable stench of human waste in the doorways of downtown businesses, in stairwells and parking garages, in parks and beach bushes and even in the yards of private citizens who happen to live near hiking trails. And here comes state Rep. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai) with a proposal to create urine-free zones. Yes, zones. Specifically, no peeing in places like playgrounds, bus stops and parking lots. Other areas — grassy hills, roadsides, quiet cul-de-sacs for example — would be, ostensibly, fair game.
In all societies, parents teach their children about proper potty behavior — where to pee, where not to pee, what to do when you need to pee but can’t get to the designated pee place. Most kids get that figured out around age 3. If a person is too gravely disabled to obey the potty rules of a 3-year-old, that person is probably too ill to be living on the street and should be involuntarily committed to a hospital for psychiatric or medical treatment.
But the homeless situation has gotten so far out of control that lawmakers are coming up with hazard-mitigation plans and harm-reduction ideas rather than permanent solutions. Another proposal aired out in the Legislature this week is to set up sanctioned homeless camping zones. If you can’t stop people from being homeless, at least you can corral them into one area and get them to stop peeing in downtown doorways.
Ward, in explaining his plan, had some pungent quotes:
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“A person can be lying in their feces in a public stairwell and have an absolute constitutional right to do so, but the citizens walking over or through this public health hazard have no rights,” he said.
“Public health and hygiene is tantamount to a civilized society whether people are homeless or not, and this prohibition on public urination and defecation must be enforced.”
The counter-argument to Ward’s proposal is that instead of fining people for doing what is only natural, the government needs to build more bathroom facilities for these folks to use. But then those facilities would have to be cleaned and maintained and kept safe or else they’ll be just another set of broken-down, busted-up, sketchy bathrooms like at most of the beach parks on the island. Given the choice, peeing in a doorway may be the more pleasing option.
So on one hand, we have the punitive approach to getting people not to pee in public places, and on the other, an approach so permissive that all of us taxpayers have to pay for it. What kind of world are we living in where those are the only options?
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
26 responses to “Sheesh — It’s come down to a shi shi bill?”
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Not too much Aloha State wise.
Hah. By the headline, I already knew this was ‘penned’ by Lee. So as usual, she writes about the dilemma, but fails to provide a logical solution. What do you expect from our government and Gene Ward in specific. He has no clue. He probably uses a bidet.
If a person is too gravely disabled to obey the potty rules of a 3-year-old, that person is probably too ill to be living on the street and should be involuntarily committed to a hospital for psychiatric or medical treatment.
Wow, partly true but kinda harsh, which is why the ACLU fought against such involuntary commitments back in the ’70’s. Nevertheless, the organization’s successful efforts were a driving force, if not the genesis, of the legions of homeless now occupying our streets, parks, and sidewalks.
Sometimes “tough love” is a difficult pill to swallow. Do you think it would be better to just kick the can farther down the street and do nothing???
The problem I have is why does one person’s problem have to be a problem for many because of his /her rights. What about my rights?
Lived in Honolulu most of my life but had to leave about a year ago. Always worked and paid my taxes and owned a home. The legislatures inability to do anything right (homelessness case in point) and the fact that that ridiculous train is being built at a ridiculous cost to taxpayers was enough for me. Add to that the fact that public education is pitiful. I think less and less (tax-paying) people will be inclined to stay or to move their in the future. The word is unsustainable.
You must be my twin. I felt exactly the same way as you, and left the islands too, about a year ago for exactly the same reasons.
However, your hearts remain with the Star Advertiser.
Grew up in Kukui Gardens along the river shown in the photo. Homelessness in and around the area was the norm even back but not on the level it is now where the wooden trusses along College Walk were taken down to discourage the use as makeshift shelters
“Alternative.”
If Gene Ward thinks the homeless will stop urinating in public because they’d be afraid of a $2000 fine, he’s got his head up his behind.
Try walking up to your front door every morning and finding puddles of shi shi and piles of dodo… I think you’ll change your attitude…
Make homelessness illegal. Enforce the law. Build homeless camps with proper facilities. Problem solved.
Where are the public restrooms. Even the fast food restaurants have been shutting down their restrooms.
Anyone with $2000 probably won’t be urinating in public.
Lee Cataluna should know better than to use the plural when this only one privileged, insensitive and completely powerless GOP member representing his wealthy, disconnected constituents. But journalism these days only focuses on sensational things that have no chance of passing or even being heard in a committee than focusing on real life-changing legislation being considered in the legislature.
Does it need to be a law ??there must be a better way to fix this ….mixing bad manners with crime sends mixed messages ALOHA…
If you’re in college, one foot over the no-pee line and you’re OK. If you’re pro, both feet need to stay in-bounds.
Probably unenforceable, just like fireworks law. Maybe our lawmakers need to concentrate on realistic solutions to the bigger problem rather than bandaids that have no hope in reducing anything. An individual’s rights are important but what about when that individual’s actions are detracting from the rights of the vast majority?
Like fireworks, public defection is enforceable if there is a will to enforce. Could cleaner laws make it easier?…Sure, but HPD should not be selective on what laws they enforce. Also without laws there is no basis a home or business owner has to make a complaint on public defecation, it just would not be illegal. That’s certainly not correct.
Fact is there is an existing City and County law on this and the reason this State one was proposed is because the old one had expired. The root cause (and bad guys) in all this is our inept City and State Government (Caldwell and Ige)who have essentially failed to thoroughly think out, manage and address the homeless problem from a Systems Thinking standpoint.
Do you seriously think that this will work?
1.) You have to enforce the law which means the constable has to catch the perpetrator.
2.) Perpetrator will look before shi-shi ing to be sure they’re not caught.
3.) Will perpetrator have the necessary funds to pay for this offense ? NOT !
Case in point : Moped Law – Seems to be more mopeds with illegal mufflers riding around now that a law is in place.
How about this scenario…home/business owner calls HPD to report perpetrator defacating and provides video. Officer arrests and/or cites offender. Offender at least will think twice before doing it at that place again. In your scenario, there is no law, perptrator does whatever he/she wants with absolute no consequence and home/business owner have no recourse. What if it was your home or business?
It won’t work as homeless are willing to “stealth p” by just p’ing without even pulling down their pants or opening their zipper. If a cop sees some person with a only a puddle lingering behind them around them how can they arrest the person for exposing themselves in public? The solution is to by port-a-pottys in large quantity to secure a discount and allow easy repair or replacment cause all the parts are identical and hire a small full time crew to maintain and clean the port-a-pottys. Make it a public-private partnership that if local busineses pay a small monthly fee the City will set up the port-a-potties very close their business establishment. Set up online security cameras in the area and HPD needs to enforce the current obscenity laws and use operant conditioning of both positive and negative re-inforcement that if homeless refuse to use the port-a-potties, these homeless are going to be legally “hassled” until they become more responsible community members. Maybe even employ some of these homeless to help maintain these port-a-potties that are near them in helping to clean them up and keep them in good working order (positive reinforcment). Give these homeless a job and make more money than what they can panhandle out on Vineyard Blvd or at the entrance of Costco (for those who give them money, garans these panhandlers are going to use the case for booze or drugs). In Hawaii there are NO starving homeless, if they are super skinny, is because they are hooked on crystal meth or other drug). The cost of this program shouldn’t be much more than what the Cladwall makes per year in his pretend bank side job.
Shibai that shi shi.
Pampers! Extra trash cans for disposal of Diapers!
Urine too deep.