Lawmaker hammers home his homeless solution
HNN: "I got tired of telling people I'm trying to pass laws. I want to do something practical that will really clean up the streets," he said.
In his spare time he scours streets and parks in his district, looking for shopping carts homeless use to store and move their belongings. He returns good ones to stores and destroys others with his sledgehammer.
"I find abandoned junk, specifically shopping carts, and I remove them. I also create a situation where those carts can't be pushed around the city. I think it's a good thing," he said.
The executive director of Mental Health America of Hawaii thinks otherwise.
"His message to the public is that it's okay to commit acts of violence against homeless people, against vulnerable people. It's okay for vigilante justice," Marya Grambs said.
Others call Brower's method extreme and potentially dangerous.
"There are some people who are not that stable and maybe drug-affected that could really react to him," said Connie Mitchell of the Institute for Human Services….
"To see someone banging on stuff like that, it was very scary for me," Edward Ferreira said.
read … About a Dangerous Criminal on the Streets
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"It seems like Brower hates homeless people"
HNN: "What if I smash his car up with a sledgehammer cause I don't like what I see?" one caller said.
Brower's use of a sledgehammer to disable stolen and abandoned shopping carts to clean up his district struck a nerve and triggered reaction.
"Who do you think you are to go around using a sledgehammer on anything because you think somebody doesn't deserve it?" another caller said.
Brower listened to the messages and then said he would lower the boom.
"I guess I shouldn't use the sledgehammer because it's a really loaded image," he said....
"Seems like he hates homeless people," Chadwin Mandac said.
Retail Merchants of Hawaii wouldn't comment on Brower's actions, but did say shopping cart retrievals statewide average about 100 a month. Every missing cart costs a merchant money.
"A shopping cart without the security stopper is $100 apiece, and one with a stopper is $300. It's a significant cost for our retailers," Sheri Sakamoto said. (30 x $100 = $3000 damage by Brower)
read ... Brower Self-Destructs
Action Institute: Brower 'Infected by Hatred for his Fellow Man', Should be Arrested
AI: The media reports do not explain why Rep. Brower has not yet been arrested for destroying private property that he finds in non-public spaces. Presumably, a sledgehammer-wielding homeless man would be thrown in jail for carrying out the same actions. But apparently the power and privilege of being a lawmaker exempts Brower from the laws, both natural and civil, that apply to common citizens.
We should pray for the homeless men and women in Hawaii. Being without shelter is not only an indignity and hardship but compounds just about every other adversity that can befall a human being.
However, we should pray even more intently for the men and women, like Brower, who are infected by hatred for their fellow man. If there is one affliction even worse than being homeless, it’s living inside the self-made prison of hate.
read ... Acton Institute
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BROWER CHANGES WAIKIKI TOURISM IMAGE WORLDWIDE--ONE DAY'S HEADLINES: