“I wanna give you a little history lesson on homelessness. In 1910, Hitler decided to live on the streets for a while. So for two years, Hitler lived on the streets and practice his oratory and body language and how to connect with the masses and then went on to lead a life that got him in the history books. So a lot of these people, it’s not a dead-end. They can come out of this. These homeless camps and have a productive life… or in Hitler’s case a very unproductive life. I support this bill,”
Republicans claim to hate it when people compare them to Adolf Hitler.
Somebody forgot to give Frank Nicely the message.
Nicely is a 75-year-old state senator from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, and he was speaking in support of a bill that would further criminalize homelessness in the Volunteer State.
He’s a Republican.
Of course.
You actually have to read what he said carefully. It’s possible to look at it superficially and say homelessness is bad because you could turn out to be Hitler. But he talks about Hitler acquiring skills while homeless and saying it doesn’t have to be a dead end.
He shall overcome?
Sure, why not.
I’ve never been to Strawberry Plains, but it’s less than an hour north of Gatlinburg, and I’ve been there. It’s even closer than that to Pigeon Forge, home of Dollywood. My guess is that the lovely and talented Ms. Parton has a lot more sympathy for the down and out than Sen. Nicely does.
The bill passed the Senate by 22-10 and it will be up to the governor to sign it and enact it. It’s actually the worst kind of bill in one respect, because it is designated as “permissive.” That means law enforcement officials hae the option of whether to enforce it in given situations.
Down-on-his-luck white guy?
Carry on, sir.
Hippie?
You in a heap of trouble, boy.
African-American?
Leave town fast and take this hippie with you.
African-American hippie Jewish guy?
Somebody call Mr. Hitler and let him handle it.
It’s one thing to allow leeway in sentencing, but leeway on even enforcing the law leads to outcomes most of us wouldn’t want to see, It’s far too much of an opportunity for those in charge to single out enemies and reward friends.
Right-wingers love to say that comparing someone to Hitler means you have absolutely lost the argument.
That should go double if you say nice things about Der Fuehrer.
Or Nicely things, for that matter.