John Roach is an Obstacle to a Safer Madison

John Roach, is a Madison-based television producer, and has a column in the Madison Magazine. In May, he wrote an article titled: A Safer Madison. However, contrary to his intention of making Madison safer, I would assert that his article makes Madison a less safe place. Here's why:

1. Roach is spreading ignorance: He says we need anti-panhandling laws. Well laws against aggressive pan-handling already exist. Alder Konkel goes into this in greater detail but the story is, we already have these laws (and other laws that go beyond panhandling). Ignorance is typically not useful when solving problems...or maybe we've already fixed things?

2. Roach is being divisive: So he says this: But the notion of Law and Order is anathema to Madison progressives.
So, Roach decides that throwing in a dig against progressives is helpful? Right off the bat, he's excluding a very good chunk of the city. It's not helpful to divide up people by political labels when dealing with crime because liberal/progressive/conservative/whatever, we all have a common interest in being safe. It should be law abiding folks working together against dangerous criminal elements. But not in Roach's world.

And not to mention, the statement itself is simply bulls***. Of course, progressives want to live in safe communities. Does he think progressives want to be beaten and robbed or want to live in a crime ridden neighborhood? Of course not!

I mean, it's possible that he is referring to George W. Bush Patriot Act, "Law and Order." So I guess in that case, Madison progressives might not like Bush's policies, which in reality make us less safe. But if he's referring to law and order in the sense that we are safe in our communities, well then he's full of it.

3. Roach is spreading ignorance (part II): He also demonizes the entire homeless population in downtown Madison. Again, this isn't helpful because the vast majority of homeless people aren't causing problems. Unfortunately, there are a lot of potential threats downtown and if we go overboard cracking down on a population, well a lot of other threats are going to be missed. Police work is a zero sum game, if an officer is doing one thing, that means that officer isn't doing something else. So the police department focuses in on some random homeless person, that means that the police officer isn't available in the case of a mugging. Not to mention the fact that he's using a selective standard here, I mean, if someone who matched by demographic committed a crime, I don't think I should be implicated by demographic-association. Once again, this alarmist ignorance isn't helpful and could encourage a misdirection of resources.

4. Roach is Mr. No Solution: So Roach's big solution is to acknowledge we aren't safe. And what he is really saying is, "OH MY GOD PANIC!!!!" Alright, that's not an effective solution or attitude. Let's be proactive, let's talk about solutions. The fear that Roach is spreading is pointless.

So in sum, Roach is pushing a divisive and ignorant attitude, which is anyone takes him seriously, will make Madison a less safe place. It would have been better if he hadn't said anything at all.

Look, I believe in Madison, I think we have a great community here. Sure, we're not perfect, but let's approach Madison like this: keep it good, make it better. There are things that need to be fixed in Madison, but keep in mind that these issues are fixable. And I'd be willing to work with anyone interested in keeping Madison a good place to live and making it better. And I'd wager that most people (progressive or otherwise), feel the same way. Unfortunately, Roach does not appear interested in working together to make Madison a better place, since he's too busy being divisive and spreading ignorance. I think that's a damn shame.