Seriously, I need a camera phone

Just too damn bad they're so expensive for my broke ass.

You see, this morning in Carytown a man was holding a handmade sign titled, "Fuck Richmond Police." Naturally, the po-po had to instigate this man and were pulled over to the curb chatting with him. I doubt they were being nice but who can blame them in a fucked up way; they were being publicly called out by an enraged man who just so happened to be homeless.

What did the sign say you ask? Ahhh, that part I had to drive back twice for to make sure I got it right. ;)

Fuck Richmond Police
1. For the harassment of the poor and homeless
2. Administrative abrogation of the Common Laws of public property (i.e. trespassing and whatever else he had listed that I couldn't get down)
3. There was a third but after driving by two times, I figured I needed to stop being a blog geek and move on

There are men, and some women, all over downtown Richmond, the Fan and Carytown who hold signs that say they are Vets, have fallen on hard times and need help. I give them money whenever I can, but lately I haven't had any for myself much less some to give to others. I'll buy them food if they're hanging out near the 7-Eleven or Ukrop's because I can do that with my check card. A few times I've gone and bought food then brought it back to whomever was sitting on the corner. It's been a great teaching tool because now I absolutely abhor the wasting of perfectly edible food and it drives me nuts that most restaurants can't give the extras to homeless shelters and the like for food safety reasons (regulated by Virginia's Department of Health). I've been known to give whatever I have left to someone walking down the street and I eat too much now, perhaps because Peanut decides he doesn't want what he ordered (or that I made) after taking only 2 bites.

But I digress. I almost stopped when I drove by the older gentleman who was practicing his right to a peaceful assembly on public property (he was on the sidewalk). I seriously thought about stopping when I drove by for the second time and one of the cops was out of his car, chatting with the man holding the sign.

You see, Richmond's 5.0 don't have a very good reputation for dealing with homeless persons humanely and it's been an ongoing subject controversy here. Homeless persons believe they have rights, even if the same rights I, as a person with a job and car, aren't available to them, many persons who are homeless believe they still get to hold on to those constitutional rights given to all Americans. And why shouldn't they? After all, I don't remember the Constitution or the Bill of Rights demanding a person must hold a steady job, be completely sane, own a car, or have a permanent address, right?

Because if that were the case, then I know a whole lot of Founding Fathers who shouldn't have believed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to begin with.