On Friday night on U Street, an area full of bars and restaurants, a large group of FBI and other federal agents took part in arresting a single man for publicly smoking marijuana, according to witnesses. (Possession of marijuana is legal in the District, though public consumption is not.)
“There’s so much other shit happening in this city, and you guys are arresting him for smoking weed?” an onlooker asks feds, who appear embarrassed, in a video posted by independent journalist Hannah Gais. “For weed!”
Jesus. Imagine actually saying you need soldiers to protect you from the most helpless members of society and not being uncomfortable with who you are.
Like, there regularly are people hanging out there, but they never bother anyone, they’re mostly just taking a break from the weather or using the bathroom.
It’s so surreal to see them talking as if they’re doing me some favor. Like fuck off, it wasn’t a problem, and I didn’t need them inflicting cruelty over it .
Also conveniently ignoring that a large portion of those people are veterans who served honorably then got discarded by the government and the VA. I can fucking guarantee you some of the troops currently “protecting” these cities ran up and down the same hills as some of those “vagrants” during basic.
Those vets telling the soldiers “You will be like me in 20 years” over and over should be pretty painful.
Imagine the level of assistance that could be provided to all of those people for the cost of that press conference.
Criminalizing the helpless is a big step towards dehumanizing them. Once the state has done that, they can get away with treating them anyway they please.
Gotta find a way to keep thos for profit prisons full. Then the prisons “lease” their prisoners to farms, factories, etc since migrant workers are being deported.
Slavers…I mean for profit prisons will make money, businesses get free labor, and prisoners get “work experience”.
I don’t recall homeless people being in Union station. There were maybe one or two within a block radius chilling on a sidewalk, but sending in the national guard for that is actually a joke. It doesn’t need the military. Maybe a few social workers.