If tabloid reporters and NIMBY disruptors aren't enough to remind them that they are somehow less than human, New York City's homeless population has a new stated enemy: the public employees who are paid to protect and serve them.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association is soliciting photos of the homeless as part of their "Peek-A-Boo, We See You Too" campaign, which would sound like juvenile Facebook ranting if it wasn't being propagated by the city's second-largest police union.
“As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type,” SBA president Ed Mullins writes in a release. "We will refer issues to the proper agencies, and we will help create accountability across the board.”
Mullins suggests that the "see you too" portion of the campaign's tagline is aimed at critics who want to videotape police or equip them with body cameras: "We, the 'Good Guys,' are sworn to protect our citizens. Shouldn't our public officials be held to the same standard?"
As of this writing, the homeless are also citizens, and none pictured in the SBA's hall of shame appear to be breaking any laws.
Too bad: think of how viral a photo like that would be! Almost as viral as a photo of a cop treating the homeless with kindness.
[h/t Azi Paybarah]
