Actions speak louder than words, and thus far, the Fairfax County government’s actions suggest that its words about addressing panhandling in the county are pretty much an exercise in hot air.
There was a public-relations blitz a few weeks ago from county leaders on the subject, which suggests they are hearing from cranky constituents – constituents who recognize that some of those doing the panhandling are part of organized groups, and the activities of some others present a potential danger, particularly to themselves but sometimes to the public writ large.
Fairfax County Supervisor Patrick Herrity (R-Springfield) for several years has been attempting to convince his colleagues, Democrats one and all, to get serious about looking into the matter and crafting solutions that go beyond boilerplate bloviating dispensed by the county government’s excessive if not always impressive PR machinery.
Those other supervisors have agreed in small measure, if only to inoculate themselves against charges of do-nothing-ism, but have shown little interest in actually tackling the big picture. If anything, it appears from our vantage point that enforcement efforts by police (who are taking their marching orders from the top) have declined in recent years.
(Herrity definitely is in the crosshairs of Democrats, who aim to oust the lone remaining Republican on the Board of Supervisors as, four years ago, the lone remaining Republican on the School Board – also from Springfield District – was ousted. So Democrats are unlikely to give the supervisor any wins between now and November, no matter how worthy his proposals.)
Yes, Panhandler-Americans actually do have some constitutional rights, and can’t just be swept away willy-nilly. But the public has rights, too, and the county government should be working to ensure a fair – dare we pull out the buzzword “equitable” – balance between the two.
If nothing else, how about a formal acknowledgment that having people darting in and out of traffic to collect dollar bills from acquiescent drivers presents a clear and present safety danger to all involved in the transaction?
When such an episode ends in tragedy there will be lots of hand-wringing by the same people who today are failing to act in addressing the matter.
Because, by and large, they just don’t care very much about it.
