Topeka, a.k.a. Google, Kansas

I lived in Kansas for two years.  It’s a pretty straightforward place.  I really don’t know much about the politics there, except that their governor became the Secretary of Health and Human Services a while ago and and some tax problems.  In general, I think it’s a pretty conservative place.  You know, fly over country.  Everyone has their favorite football team, and there is a constant rivalry between KU and K-State.

Now, I have to ask the question again.  Would you trade your civil liberties for safety?  Many people would.  But, I would not.  Why?  First of all, you never get those liberties back.  Secondly, almost anything can be billed as a safety issue.  This time, in Kansas, the mayor of Topeka is asserting that he would like to see a ban on caps and hoodies in public.  Why?  Because it is harder to catch criminals if they are wearing those items.  The security cameras can’t see their faces as well.

Here is what the mayor has to say about this:

I wouldn’t have a quarrel with it. Now, I don’t have a hoodie and I don’t have a ball cap, but if I did I’d take it off. Most people take their hats off when they go into a store anyway. Well, they used to.

This is the same mayor of the same city where it is allegedly illegal to throw snowballs.  According to wikipedia, the mayor was made aware of this law and is working to repeal it.  Of course, that doesn’t stop him from working to ban other nonsensical things that will serve to label and criminalize normal behavior.

As I read further, I find that the sentiment changes to be more similar to my own:

Laing works at Marion Lane Candles downtown and sees people in hoodies and caps everyday. She calls the proposal “kind of crazy.” She says, “If someone’s going to rob you, they’re going to rob you. They’ll find another way to hide their face. It could make it worse, you never know.” Minihan says, “We used to be a country that loved individuality and freedom and it seems that everyday someone is changing that.”

Here’s something else.  What’s up with hoodies making multiple appearances here?