Orlando Police Arrest Five More Outlaws for Their Unauthorized Feeding of the Homeless

Story:

Orlando police arrested five more activists from behind a makeshift buffet table at Lake Eola Park on Wednesday evening, bringing to a dozen the number charged in the past week with violating city restrictions on feeding the homeless.

The members of the group Food Not Bombs were ladling out corn on the cob, rice, beans and watermelon to about 35 people when they were handcuffed. […]

They were violating a controversial city ordinance that prohibits sharing food with large groups in a downtown city park more than twice a year.

I wrote about the beginnings of this crackdown last week. Thanks to Kimberly Fara for the tip.

Comments

[Joke]

the group Food Not Bombs

I'd arrest them just for their name.

[proegg antichicken]

what about Food Bomb? I could get behind that name.

[PeeDub]

"We are Food Bob-omb and we're here to get arrested and make you feel sad and stuff!"

[Tom Walls]

The Hate Bombs were a great Orlando band.

[RADIOACTIVE]

Tony Orlando and Dawn, not so much

[Butts Wagner]

as opposed to Tabitha's Secret

[Fluffy]

As far as I know the statute in question limits the number of people you can hand out food to.

So what they should do is have each person feed the legal limit of people, and then deny that they are feeding the homeless as a "group".

If they split the food up before they go down to the park this should be pretty easy to do.

[Feedbag lady]

Could just set up 2 different tables.

[Isaac Bartram]

That would defeat FNB's point.

They're challenging the law itself, not just looking for ways to get around it.

[Fluffy]

Right, but to me, evasion is part of that.

If you force the city to engage in greater and greater absurdities in their attempts to maintain control, you embarrass them even more.

[cmace]

Embarrass them? Them?

[Wind Rider]

His next scheduled feat is enhancing blind people's appreciation of the Mona Lisa.

[Brandon]

That's assuming the collective has a sense of shame.

[Fluffy]

OK, these are good points.

[Obama]

Let me be clear, idiot libertarians: this story proves that volunteerism and charity can never be answers to our problems. Embrace government.

[Obama]

Or else.

[melman]

No, I think it shows that the government does not want to turn Lake Eola Park into a magnet for homeless people.

Drunk, stoned, mentally ill, urinating and defecating everywhere, accosting and threatening people, maybe you don't want to draw MORE people like that to the park.

[Cheeseburger]

So instead of arresting the people who are breaking the numerous public disturbance laws, you pass a law against feeding people. I am sure the dirty hippies are easier for the police to deal with, but we pay them the big bucks to deal with the drunks who relieve themselves in public and threaten people.

[yur mom]

"Drunk, stoned, mentally ill, urinating and defecating everywhere, accosting and threatening people, maybe you don't want to draw MORE people like that to the park."

None of this stuff is true anyway. They use the public restroom. The crimes they refer to decrease on the days FNB feeds. As for drunk and stoned...Have you been downtown on a weekend evening? Maybe Buddy should shut down all of the bars based on this logic.

[Rich]

It's all fun until some homeless person gets food poisoning.

[JCR]

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I'm sure most hungry people would risk food poisoning in order to alleviate hunger.

[Kathleen Sebelius]

Not on my watch.

[Wind Rider]

. . .then it's freakin hilarious. . .

[sarcasmic]

How dare these activists give food to the hungry?

Don't they realize that charity is the duty of the government, not individuals?

It is absolutely immoral for people to voluntarily give their own time and money to help other people.
Charity is only moral when the money is raised with threat of violence by members of the government, and then distributed by members of government who enjoy the power of having the needy dependent upon them.

What are these activists thinking?

[Rhywun]

Besides, they're unfairly competing with real, brick-and-mortal restaurants.

[Rhywun]

mortar, too

[Nanny]

You were right the first time! That's why we have to ban trans-fats. And raw milk. And saturated fats. And smoking inside or restaurants. And smoking outside of restaurants. And...

[Dilbert Doe]

I believe this falls under the Interstate Commerce Clause.

[L4F]

I don't feel sorry for the homeless, for many of them is a lifestyle choice. I even read how they live in the tunnels of New York City, some of them have college degrees, are former teachers, stock brokers, even doctors.

They're vermin as far as I'm concerned and the worst thing you can do is feed them. You know what they say about giving a man a fish.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

You know what they say about giving a man a fish.

He learns to make bouillabaisse?

[RADIOACTIVE]

and he has a fish??

[Rahm Emanuel]

For you, being a fucking retard is a lifestyle choice. Fucking retard.

[L4F]

Rahm, really? Get a different name. This is a libertarian website after all. Besides, my lifestyle choice doesn't lower property values, you commie pig.

[Rahm Emanuel]

You're a fucking retard.

[RADIOACTIVE]

probably just a regular retard, everyone knows that libertarians never get any action.

[Doctor Whom]

I do, but then, maybe I'm cuter than the people who keep saying that.

[RADIOACTIVE]

your own hand does not qualify as action, sorry.

[GoatEggs]

Of course, if you taught the man to fish the teachers' unions would smack your ass for not being certified to teach.

[Wind Rider]

Plus, you run the danger of the State Fish and Game SWAT Team conducting a no-knock warrant at 3am searching for evidence you incited fishing without a license. This is not the actual threat it seems, however, as they'll probably raid the wrong house. But man, think of how pissed off your neighbors are gonna be. Make for some pretty awkward neighborhood association meetings, lemme tell ya what.

[X]

even if you managed to illegally home-school him on how to fish, he'd still need a fishing license.

[PantsFan]

we prefer unschooling

[sarcasmic]

"for many of them is a lifestyle choice"

That is very true.
When you are homeless you don't have the responsibility of monthly bills, you can easily move from place to place since you're not tied to a physical location, it's easy to find drugs among other homeless since that's an easy means of making money, you don't have the bother of working 9-5, and best of all you've got bleeding heart liberal fucktards giving you free stuff in an effort to "fix" something that you don't think is broken.

[Lord Humungus]

*looks at backdoor of office, considers making a run for it*

[The Dan]

make a fire for a cold man and he is warm for a day. Set a cold man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life??

[Dead Milkmen]

If You Love Somebody, Set Them on Fire

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I were to say to you
I didn't set your house on fire
But it's just the way I am
You'll have to take it for a fact
Life can really burn you up
When you're a pyromaniac

If you love somebody
Better set them on fire

I went to your house last night
Your dad called me the human torch
Got a little pissed at him
so I burned down your front porch
Now I feel a little bad
About pouring gas on your dad
But you know it's hard to quit
And besides he started it

CHORUS

I just bought a brand new lighter
And I cannot wait to use it
Oily rags are special things
You know to me they're diamond rings
Maybe we can have some fun
Maybe we can burn someone

CHORUS

[Otto]

Here you go, Greg-O. Kindly fuck off now.

[Pro Libertate]

What's up with Orlando, anyway? Magic malaise?

[Isaac Bartram]

We're trying to get all the homeless people to move to Tampa.

🙂

I actually live in Seminole County. We don't have homeless people here.

Last time I was in downtown Orlando I was struck by how bad it smelled.

Oh, and how stupid all the empty highrises looked.

[Pro Libertate]

All the smart people are moving to Taintsville.

I've never much cared for Orlando.

[Wind Rider]

These people obviously have their priorities out of whack. Chasing and harrassing humans, when the whole fucking place is literally over-run by a giant rodent culture. . .

[Pro Libertate]

The fucking Mouse.

[Wind Rider]

I didn't say Minnie was crazy. I said "She's fucking Goofy!"

[Pro Libertate]

Presumably, that would be legal, if immoral, given her relationship with Mickey. But if she were having sex with Pluto, that would appear to be a crime. Why?

[Wind Rider]

I wanna see the mental gymnastics of an attempt to reconcile certain H&R commentators' differing stances on feeding 'trolls' versus 'homeless'. It should accomplish as much as most of the discussions here.

[?]

I can help you with that. "Trolls" provoke "discussions," which in turn drive page views which ultimately increase ad revenues. It's capitalism pretending to be highfalutin anarchy, with us commentators as willing if not clueless stooges. It "accomplishes" revenue and nothing else. No minds are ever changed.

And that's what H&R is all about, Charlie Brown.

[rather]

hmmm

[Sparky]

That never gets old.

[Clich? Bandit]

Thanks BP, but I must say DonderrOOOOOOO is not as blatently stupid as GREGOOOOOO!

[Isaac Bartram]

Ah, a new entry in Gregoooo's definition of a libertarian.

"Someone who thinks no one can make a lifestyle choice Greg doesn't approve of".

Add that to "someone who thinks that a corrupt, thieving, lying sherriff mistreating prisoners is a trues expression of libertarianism."

[dhex]

forget stone soup; this guy can make kultur war about anything from nothing at all...

[Tom Walls]

He'll stink for a day. Teach a man to fish...

[Bradley]

Scratching by: how government creates poverty as we know it

Also, fuck you, Gregory Smith. Go vote for Mitt Romney or something.

[Warren Zevon]

I saw Mitt Romney drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's...

[Patrick]

His hair was perfect.

[Just Dropping By]

I just can't picture Mitt Romney ripping anyone's lungs out though....

[Fist of Etiquette]

You let people feed the homeless, the next thing you know they're staging and filming bum fights or something. Also, the city doesn't want the property value on their park to tank. Plus, permits. And the children. So many good reasons.

[Wind Rider]

Plus, they really creep Mickey out. . .

[X]

apparently in Orlando, if you're too short to be a real cop, you can still be a bike cop.

[R C Dean]

I'd have arrested them for serving only vegetables, myself.

[wylie]

There could be some pork in the beans&rice;. (if not, I might have to reconsider becoming homeless.)

[Tomorrow's Headline]

SWAT TEAM RAIDS FOOD-NOT-BOMBS HQ: Authorities claim illegal watermelon stash.

[Matrix]

I'll bet they would even shoot a yorkie being walked by it's owner during a stroll through the park.

[OO]

the ordinance applies to a 2 mile radius of city hall. so find parks outside that radius. aint rocket science

[PP]

Jim Crow laws only apply to some states. So find another state to live in. Ain't rocket science.

[OO]

so an orlando city ordinance is equiv to the jim crow laws?

[Bradley]

0/10

[OO]

lol i no rite

[Troy]

A few days ago, Dunphy argued that people should WANT to get on a jury. This is a good example why. I would be chomping at the bit to get on a jury and acquit.

[robc]

I had jury duty once, almost got on picked for one jury, but I "lost" in the final draw. I was the only candidate that was seriously questioned for striking down.

With my luck if I ever was picked, it wouldnt be for something like a drug case where I got to use my cool powers of nullification.

[rather]

Park Rules:

Can't dance
Can't eat

I guess sex at night is out of the question too?

[RADIOACTIVE]

for you, no doubt. can't have the rabble reproducing willy nilly.

[Doctor Whom]

Tell me again about the Libertarian "let them fucking starve" test.

[Wind Rider]

Were you wondering if it was multiple choice and machine graded or something?

[Sparky]

Pretty sure nobody is forcing this group to go out and feed the homeless.

[Sparky]

"If the government doesn't do it nobody will can."