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rape

Tucson Slutwalk: Old Pueblo jumps on brazen bandwagon protesting Toronto cop ‘slut’ comment

Tucson is hopping on the Slutwalk bandwagon, a raucous-sounding trend that is sweeping parts of the Western World in response to an idiotic remark made by a Toronto Police Service Officer.

He said women should not dress like sluts if they want to avoid being raped.

Nice. And men shouldn’t dress like police officers if they’re going to make such inane statements.

The cop, Constable Michael Sanguinetti, made the remark back in January at a university campus safety event. The area’s local Excalibur newspaper reported he even prefaced his statement with something like “I’ve been told I shouldn’t say this.” Sanguinetti has since apologized, according to CBS, but he was merely disciplined and not fired from the force.

Meanwhile, people lose their jobs in a heartbeat for Tweeting they’re bored at work.

Although his apology was much delayed and the dude is still serving a community that he evidently neither respects nor understands, the Slutwalks are serving him a fine slap in the face.

They’ve already popped up all over Canada, England, at Arizona State University, California and Maine and one is scheduled in Tucson at 5 p.m. Friday, May 13 (today!).

The location is in front of the main Tucson Police Department station, 270 S. Stone Ave. While the location is prime for rallying against law enforcement, it does seem a bit unfair to Tucson cops. First off, it was a Toronto officer who uttered the phrase, not our Tucson men and women and blue.

Perhaps a more fitting location might be in front of a Canada Dry factory, although we do not have one. But there’s always the Consulate General of Canada offices, just up the block at 33 N. Stone.

The protest is also unfair to Tucson police because budget cuts have already cut down on manpower and patrols. With a Slutwalk scheduled for 5 p.m. on a Friday, either overtime will have to be scheduled to patrol the Slutwalk or officers will be pulled from their beat on the streets. This means fewer police out catching rapists, Peeping Toms, other sexual assault perpetrators and perverts who flash their privates at small children in supermarket parking lots.

Bet Constable Sanguinetti would say the kids were asking for it by dressing like sluts.

Those two minor TPD twists aside, Slutwalks are a brilliant way to bring attention to the backwards thinking that obviously still prevails that victims of sexual assaults are somehow at fault.

We would expect such a mentality, perhaps, from 1950s small-town America, but not from a Canadian metropolis in the year 2011.

Sanguinetti needs to get with it. It’s incredibly sad and surprising he’s not more knowledgeable about his own career field. If he were he would realize that a rapist will rape, a Peeping Tom will peep and predators will continue to sexually assault, harass and batter victims based on opportunity, impulse, obsession and mental instability more than anything else.

This includes their mode of dress. Even if they are, as Sanguinetti so delicately puts it, dressed like sluts.

Filed Under: blogski, column, crime, danger, life, odd pueblo, police, fire, law, politics Tagged With: Constable Michael Sanguinetti, dumb comments, peeping toms, police slut comment, public safety, rape, sexual assualt victims, slutwalk 2011, slutwalk canada, toronto police, tucson slutwalk

Would you hire a convicted felon to babysit your kids?

Convicted felons, for some reason, have a bad reputation.

It may be because they’ve been, well, convicted of a felony. Felonies run the gamut from murder to drug possession, theft to child prostitution.

Royzell Williams/AZ DOC photo
Royzell Williams/AZ DOC photo

Arizona law suspends a host of civil rights from convicted felons. They can no longer vote, can’t hold public office positions and are banned from owning a gun. They automatically get out of jury duty. They can forget about working as a sheriff’s deputy or cop.

But convicted felons can be hired into a state position unless their felony “has a reasonable relationship to the functions” of what they are hired to do.

In other words, it wouldn’t be wise to hire a person convicted of child prostitution to run a day care agency or babysit your kids.

While some of us may want to give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove us wrong – not unlike that “innocent until proven guilty” theory – some folks just can’t be trusted.

Two cases popped up recently in Pinal County where convicted felons who had been hired by the county government screwed up royally.

Albert Robbs, 51, who served prison time for theft, was hired by the County Recorder’s office into a position where he had complete access to county residents’ checking account numbers, credit card information and social security numbers.

Albert Robbs/AZ DOC photo
Albert Robbs/AZ DOC photo

Guess what? Robbs stole checks that came into the office and handed them over to one of his three partners-in-crime to buy drugs, according to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

“It’s not surprising he was subsequently arrested and indicted for identity theft and assisting in a criminal syndicate,” Babeu said in his August newsletter.

Royzell Williams, 46, who served time for theft, drug possession and sale of drugs, was hired as a bailiff in Pinal County Superior Court.

“Just last week, he was arrested, booked and charged with accepting bribes in exchange for attempting to influence the outcome of cases before the Superior Court,” Babeu said.

That’s some pretty heavy duty stuff.

Both guys were hired fresh out of prison. Both guys were given the benefit of the doubt. Both guys made the sheriff angry enough to demand a ban on hiring convicted felons into Pinal County government positions.

“These situations serve as strong examples of why we should ban the hiring of convicted felons,” Babeu said. “Leaders in our government have knowingly hired convicted felons, who have used their public offices to commit serious crimes. Hiring officials allowed their personal relationships or other considerations color their judgment when it comes to hiring decisions.”

I’ve seen convicted felons who are honestly trying to turn their lives around and cringe every time they have to fill out that little box on employment applications: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Please explain.”

I’ve also seen convicted felons who dabble at making a better life, realize it’s a major pain to follow the law, at least for them, and plunge back into the “easy” life of crime.

Some, too, pretend to be on the up-and-up while they have no intention of doing anything other than falling back into their old habits.

Would I hire a convicted felon to weed my yard?
Sure. As long as he stayed outside.

Paint my house?
Maybe. Depends on the conviction. And as long as he didn’t see where my diamonds, emeralds and rubies were stashed.

Watch my dogs?
Not in your life.

wb-logolil16What do you think?

Is banning convicted felons from government employment too harsh?

Should they all be given a second chance?

Have you had any positive/negative experiences hiring, befriending or marrying a convicted felon?

Filed Under: blogski, crime, danger, death, gross stuff, life, police, fire, law, politics, stupidity Tagged With: albert robbs, az doc, child prostitution, convicted felons, danger, drugs, felony, gross, murder, paul babeu, pinal county, prison, rape, royzell williams, rynski's blogski, sheriff, theft, twisted

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