2008 Woodie Awards
The clothes do not make the crime
STAFF EDITORIAL
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Opinion
THE MOBILE POLICE Department's desire to ban the sale of certain hooded sweat shirts used in recent robberies illustrates the real danger we face in this city: silly, frivolous laws that rob the citizen of certain rights in the name of peace and security, while instilling a fear of authority.
The situation regarding the hoodies boils down to the argument that the clothes worn in these robberies are the real danger of our society, rather than the choices made by the individuals involved. So says Police Chief Phillip Garret, "The only reason you would buy one is to disguise your identity." Deputy Chief Jim Barber also expressed the idea that the hoodies present a motivational tool for normally good kids to turn to "committing crimes, because the hoodies give them a feeling of invulnerability."
The clothes make the man, in a very literal sense. This is very unfortunate for those who frequently ride motorcycles and wish to keep the wind out of their faces. Thanks to an unrealistic, poorly examined ordination being written by the Mobile Police Department, they'll have to get rid of these hoodies in order to safeguard their freedom.
While in the process of writing this ordination, the police department also wishes to warn parents to keep their kids away from the garments for fear of being mistaken for criminals by police.
This law illustrates in plain black and white that Mobile is not immune to the plague of wildly unrealistic and seemingly ineffective ideas sprung from the minds of those in charge of keeping peace and security. After all, the code of Alabama contains plenty of laws that promote restrictions on other materials (including the infamous "blue laws," limiting the sale of alcohol on Sundays).
However, it must be said that while the hoodies in question do cover the head and face and allow for virtual anonymity, they do aid the robbing of a bank even less so than a firearm or other weapon meant to assist the criminal in exerting force against the victim.
While the differences between the two are many, the main difference comes from the fact that hoodies cannot easily be used to kill another human being. Regardless of whether there are hoodies or not, we will have robberies as long as we have guns.
The situation regarding the hoodies boils down to the argument that the clothes worn in these robberies are the real danger of our society, rather than the choices made by the individuals involved. So says Police Chief Phillip Garret, "The only reason you would buy one is to disguise your identity." Deputy Chief Jim Barber also expressed the idea that the hoodies present a motivational tool for normally good kids to turn to "committing crimes, because the hoodies give them a feeling of invulnerability."
The clothes make the man, in a very literal sense. This is very unfortunate for those who frequently ride motorcycles and wish to keep the wind out of their faces. Thanks to an unrealistic, poorly examined ordination being written by the Mobile Police Department, they'll have to get rid of these hoodies in order to safeguard their freedom.
While in the process of writing this ordination, the police department also wishes to warn parents to keep their kids away from the garments for fear of being mistaken for criminals by police.
This law illustrates in plain black and white that Mobile is not immune to the plague of wildly unrealistic and seemingly ineffective ideas sprung from the minds of those in charge of keeping peace and security. After all, the code of Alabama contains plenty of laws that promote restrictions on other materials (including the infamous "blue laws," limiting the sale of alcohol on Sundays).
However, it must be said that while the hoodies in question do cover the head and face and allow for virtual anonymity, they do aid the robbing of a bank even less so than a firearm or other weapon meant to assist the criminal in exerting force against the victim.
While the differences between the two are many, the main difference comes from the fact that hoodies cannot easily be used to kill another human being. Regardless of whether there are hoodies or not, we will have robberies as long as we have guns.
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