American Jurisdictions across the nation wait for the U.S. Supreme court to rule on the rights of people who are unhoused to make free with public lands. Arguments have been made and the Supreme Court is currently in decision-making mode. Current speculation favours the conservative court leaning towards no rights in public space for people who are homeless.
The parable “A Cat May Look At A King” could be useful here, but as a legal principle it is generally ignored. But “A Cat May Look At A King” can be considered to underpin the fundamental rights of the poorest and least significant members of society. It calls upon a nation’s legal system to recognize that a worthy society endorses a foundation of civility that encompasses even the least fortunate1.
What might such a fundamental right look like? A recent article from Ventura County, California has its hopes pinned on the US Supreme Court overturning a decision by the Ninth Judicial Circuit granting people who are unhoused certain access rights to public space.
What kind of disruption does the Ninth Judicial Circuit’s ruling currently inflict upon a community such as Ventura County, California?
Here’s an opportunity to use something with the appearance of a parable, in order to acknowledge the essential rights of everybody EXCEPT the unhoused.
Let’s consider the City of Oxnard as our ‘King,’ (or perhaps Demi-King, as Mayor Pro Tem Bryan MacDonald is a kind of ‘vice’ Mayor.)
And the cats? MacDonald describes them wandering up a his 30 foot driveway to peer over the gate into his back garden. MacDonald stresses that he does not hate people who are unhoused, but he hates trespassers. The article describes the damage done to Oxnard and Mayor Pro Tem MacDonald unless the the Supreme Court strips away rights mistakenly given to people who are unhoused by the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
The title of the following article expresses some of the broad rights of cities, regions and nation with hope of finding ‘a final homeless option’ — a truly shuddering turn of phrase.
Bryan MacDonald, the City of Oxnard, and Ventura County are pinning their hopes in favour of ‘Kings’ not ‘cats.’ America may well be much the poorer for its obsession with a legal system based more or less solely upon a single document written many years ago — the U.S. Constitution.
Read more in the Tri-County Sentry: Enforcement Is A Final Homeless Option
Footnotes
- Read about the expression’s origin and meaning in Word Histories: Meaning And Origin Of The Phrase ‘A Cat May Look At A King’
