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Smith: Poverty is not a crime

The Cookeville City Council is in a battle over a proposed public safety ordinance that would ban panhandling in certain areas within city limits.  Panhandling  is defined as to stop people on the street and ask for food or money according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

The last city council meeting, held on Sept. 17th, was to be the final reading and vote on the ordinance. The vote was postponed until October after council members wanted to study the matter further, and after various residents, business owners and local clergy spoke at the public meeting. 

Andrew Smith, senior instructor of English & Religious Studies at Tech, has been very vocal in his protest of the proposed ordinance. He wrote a poem about it and spoke at the Sept. 17th meeting. Smith calls himself a “poet for panhandlers” and excerpts from his poem are included in this article. 

“Whereas you outline $10 fine for the first offense, a $25 fine for the second offense and a $50 fine for the third and subsequent offenses as if you can actually, as Government, extort money from the poor, the actual people who panhandle in the first place because they lack money,” Smith wrote. 

The public safety ordinance prohibits the panhandling on public right-of-ways. Places where the public could be considered a “captive audience,” such as drive-through food service windows, ATM’s, public transportation stops and gas stations would also prohibit panhandling. 

“Whereas you as Public Servants, specifically name places of public gathering & commerce, and prohibit panhandling there places such as The Shoppes at Eagle Point, The Cookeville Mall, Jackson Plaza, Walmart Shopping Center, whereas such places are 

inherently shared, communal, a kind of common space for all of us, you thus most definitely restrict everyone’s rights with such a nasty & narrow addendum,” Smith said. 

Cities in states all across the country are repealing all or parts of their panhandling laws after numerous court cases have found the laws to be unconstitutional. Many states such as Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Ohio, Arizona,Texas, California, Tennessee and Louisiana have cities in which courts have ruled that the prohibition of panhandling is a violation of the First Amendment. 

 The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil liberties groups have argued that it was unconstitutional for municipalities to prohibit people from begging for

money in public spaces. In Cookeville, it may come down to the final wording on the actual ordinance.  Clear, complete definitions  and phrases such as ‘aggressive panhandling’ and ‘public safety’ may be the difference between the ordinance passing and it not being repealed in the court system in the future. 

Smith criticized the Cookeville city council for the implications of their wording in the proposed ordinance. 

“Whereas you as public servants, with your own word, simply say that the poor are nothing more than an unsafe disturbance, unacceptable disruption, dangerous distraction, that is bad news,” he wrote. 

“Whereas with this ordinance, you subject the poor to the harsh judgmental language of this ordinance and thus co-sign the mean-spirited comments made by angry anti-panhandler Cookevillains on social media,” Smith added. 

Smith called the ordinance “illogical, immoral, anti-Christ, mean-spirited and just plain wrong,” and called upon the Cookeville city council to “vote no on the ordinance and all the bad consequences and blowback that it would encourage.” 

The Cookeville City Council’s consideration of the public safety ordinance is set for Thursday , Oct. 15, at 5:30. The proposed ordinance number, 022-08-15, can be found on the City of Cookeville’s website.

Andrew Smith. Instructor of English and religions studies. Self-proclaimed “poet for the panhandlers”.

Whereas Jesus announces 

his Mission Statement in Luke 4:18

we know that the entire purpose of the Gospel 

could be summarized therein as

 

Good News to the Poor

Freedom to the Captives

Sight to the Blind

Freedom for the Oppressed

 

Whereas you as Public Servants

with your own words

 imply that the poor are nothing more than an

unsafe disturbance

unacceptable disruption 

dangerous distraction

That is Bad News 

 

Whereas Jesus told us to take nothing for our journey

Depending on the Hospitality of Others

 

Whereas Jesus told us when 

“somebody asks you for money, give it to them.”

 

Whereas Jesus insisted that He will meet us again 

in the hungry, thirsty, sick, stranger, & prisoner & said

How we treat them is how we treat Christ himself

 

Whereas something entirely 

unnecessary, unenforceable, & unChristian,

your Ordinance against the Poor

describes the ancient spiritual tradition of begging 

as holding folks

captive or 

as abusive or

as intimidation or

as something that infringes on the clothed, fed, housed, & privileged

 

Whereas it is precisely such proximity to the poor

That can teach us about diversity & inequality

& move our weary hearts towards acts of 

compassion & generosity

 

Whereas you as Public Servants

specifically name places of public gathering & commerce

& prohibit panhandling there

places such as

The Shoppes at Eagle Point

The Cookeville Mall

Jackson Plaza

Walmart Shopping Center

whereas such places are inherently shared, communal, 

a kind of common space for all of us

you thus most definitely restrict everyone’s rights 

with such a nasty & narrow addendum

 

Whereas you outline

$10 fine for the first offense

a $25 fine for the second offense 

& a $50 fine for the third and subsequent offenses as

if you can actually as Government extort money

from the poor

the actual people who panhandle 

in the first place

because they lack money 

 

Whereas nowhere in this ordinance do you even

pay lip services to the roots causes of poverty

whether public injustice or personal suffering 

or event attempt to outline 

the abuses, disruptions, disturbances, or

dangers that the poor & unhoused community

experience everywhere on a daily basis

for simply being poor especially during 

a global pandemic & economic downturn

 

Whereas with this ordinance

you subject the poor to the harsh

judgmental language of this ordinance &

thus co-sign the mean-spirited comments made by

angry anti-panhandler Cookevillains on social media

 

Whereas you are not prepared for the 

unintended consequences, collateral blowback, or 

community resistance to this unjust ordinance

 

This Poet hereby Ordains 

your Ordinance as

 

Illogical

Immoral

Anti-Christ

Mean-Spirited & 

just plain

Wrong

#CookevilleWrong

 

This Poet hereby calls on 

all Cookevillains of Good Heart

Regardless of whether they follow the 

barefoot Palestinian Preaching Panhandling Jew

To just say No to this Ordinance & all the bad 

consequences & blowback that it would encourage

 

-Andrew Smith

poet for panhandlers

Poverty Is Not A Crime

Cookeville City Council

3 September 2020