Noted squish Mark Hemingway posted this in horror earlier today on Twitter:
Is this supposed to be amusing? Because if this is an actual government sign, it's terrifying. pic.twitter.com/zXWakUA47R
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) August 27, 2014
After libeling me as a "soft* fascist," Hemingway explained that he felt the punishment didn't fit the crime: "Against posting video to YouTube where the humiliation could easily be disproportionate to the crime."
The problem with street-peeing is that you don't have many reasonable options when it comes to punishment. A paltry fine will do little to deter street-peers and prison seems like an exorbitant waste of resources for those who have committed a nonviolent offense such as street-peeing. I'm reminded of the dilemma over what to do with those awful people who steal from restaurants. In that case, I suggested bringing back the stocks. But the solution suggested above—and roundly dismissed by prominent anarchist Mark Hemingway—is far, far more elegant:
If the state catches you on camera peeing in the street, the video of your crime should be put on the Internet for a period of no less than six months.
This provides both the shame of the stocks and the immediacy of the Internet. Would it put a dent in your Google rankings? Well, yeah. That's practically the point. If people are actually afraid of breaking the law**—if they will suffer an actual consequence for it, one that, as a bonus, costs the state very little to levy—then fewer people will break the law.
Much like stealing a copper mug from a restaurant, peeing in the street is largely a problem of impulse control. It demonstrates that the person in question does not think before he acts. If you give him a reason to think before he acts, however, perhaps the problem can be overcome. Sometimes it's the smallest nudges that are the most effective.
*I am a well-known hard fascist, thank you.
**Some will scoff "But it's just a little pee!" To them I would reply, "Have you ever lived next to a urine soaked alley? GROSS."