MMR: Photo Cops In Minneapolis

For this Monday’s rant, the topic is Photo Cops in Minneapolis. The red light/camera/citation system being put to use in Minneapolis (to balance the city budget...er to prevent traffic violations at dangerous intersections). Pam turned me on to this post in City Pages. I’ve been complaining for months that the cameras are in poor parts of the city. It seems like another tax on being panopticonic tax on the poor. We live in a mixed neighborhood in Minneapolis blocks from crack whores in one direction and millionaires in the other. Almost all of the locations of the photocops seem to be in economically depressed areas of the city. I haven’t seen any along Hennepin Ave or in downtown Minneapolis. There are no cameras near the lakes (affluent areas) but two of the twelve cameras can be found ten blocks from us in the opposite direction from the lakes or areas where suburbanites come to buy drugs and cruise for sex.

That’s it. Not much of a rant, but it is something that really irritates me. At its core I don’t like it. It’s not like my tongue-in-cheek poking at First Avenue. As most of you know, I am a right wing geezer fuck (god blissful ignorance is wasted on the youth), so it may surprise you that I hate seeing a government of superficial liberals and progressives allowing the exploitation of the poor and smiling as they hold on to their political positions.

(use your Verbal Kint voice for this one) Phuckin' photo cops!

Have a great week folks.