Mark Nimigan's anti swearing proposal is F@*#ED!

"AM 900CHML radio host Bill Kelly talks with Mark Nimigan" interview date 5/21/2008



Saying that using vile filthy language isn't fair to those who want to enjoy Hamilton's downtown, the vice-chair of the Hamilton Police Services Board is calling for officers to charge people who yell and swear in the core. Mark Nimigan says merchants around Gore Park have complained to him about the foul language. He believes it's so bad "little old ladies" sit on the park benches with their hands over their ears.

Police Chief Brian Mullan backed his collegue's statement in a seperate interview, saying that, police can get tough on profanity and can charge someone if they receive a complaint.

I could not stop laughing when I first read this story in the Spec. Having apparently resolved all of the city's outstanding crime issues, such as drug induced bums using Gore Park and Jackson Square as a squatters paradise, fist fights galore amongst the various gangs that use the core as their own fighting "octogon". The City of Hamilton and Hamilton Police think cracking down on the amount of F-Bombs dropped in the downtown core is getting at the issue. The closed circuit cameras, while they can catch criminal activity in the act, have an obvious deaf spot, they can't pick up what you're saying because they don't have microphones, and THAT would be an invasion of privacy, after all. So, here's the theory from head "dirty mouth" crime dog.

Mr. Nimigan claims that the "Broken Windows" theory (read Rudolph Guilliani's autobiography) is the basis for this idea. It goes something like this: If we clean up the language then people will be more willing to come downtown, if they come downtown, businesses will prosper, if businesses prosper, the city will be more competitive, as Hamilton becomes more competitive more investment will be made downtown. Which will mean increased tourism and overall prosperity. And we'll all live happily ever after.

That would be nice, but do we really believe that by cutting down on the F@*# and S*$#s that are heard repeatedly is going to stop the core from turning into a scene from "Escape from New York" after banking hours? All the talk about new building projects and towers being devised will mount to a hill of beans unless we have cops arresting the scourge for breaking existing disturbance laws which cover everything form being drunk and high in public, possession of illegal substances and weapons to more serious assault and harassment offenses.

Nimigan feels that his efforts are being trivialized, what can he expect when he suggests this type of law. There is no doubt Nimigan is right that excessive profanity can contribute to an unpleasant atmosphere for members of the public who have a reign over their animal tendencies and use the F bomb in a more private setting and not inappropriately in public. But the idea of using police resources to try to stop people from swearing is silly and futile, unless perhaps the policing involves a bar of soap.

Later,
Kenaz