Found a copy of Quick next to the toilet today and opened it up (hey, I like Sudoku) to find a blurb about a proposed graffiti crackdown in Dallas. If the City Council gets its way, $500 fines can be issued for carrying spray paint around town. Sure, fine, whatever. But this bit is reason for concern:
"Police would seek probable cause--such as seeing people wearing backpacks in a high-graffiti area--before stopping a tagging suspect."
In short, if you're sporting a backpack (or any means of carrying your possesions and/or school supplies, really) in a large percentage of Dallas, cops will have another reason to hassle you with little to no proof of wrongdoing. Lord knows what Dallas police will do to blue-collar workers who have the nerve to leave their Sharpies dangling from their shirt pockets. Deterring graffiti is one thing, but taking innocent people's rights away is another. Let's hope this proposal gets covered up. -Sam Machkovech
