‘She’s opening the bees!’ US beekeeper jailed for trying to save friend from eviction
www.theguardian.com
Massachusetts woman set swarms of insects on sheriff’s deputies attempting to evict elderly man with cancer
  • FelixCress@lemmy.world
    0·
    19 days ago

    So, why are the public authorities involved in private evictions at all?

    BTW:

    The court heard that Woods was told during the encounter that some deputies were allergic to bees, and that she replied: “Oh, you’re allergic? Good!”

    🤣🤣🤣

      • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
        0·
        18 days ago

        Yeah, but the alternative now is a private sector dedicated to forcibly removing people from places. I agree with your sentiment, I personally think cops need to be reminded of the fact they’re civil servants, but I also don’t want private security conducting evictions.

        • moustachio@lemmy.world
          0·
          18 days ago

          I do, let them appear as the hostile occupying force that they are. They shouldn’t get to hide behind taxpayer money and force to conduct their theft.

        • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
          0·
          18 days ago

          Sorry, no. The alternative is to not have private ownership of capital. Why do so many people who fully know how terrible capitalism is just refuse to imagine a world without it?

          • BeMoreCareful@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            18 days ago

            Looks around from atop a pile of bodies in one of the most violent cultures on earth

            I’m not saying that you’re not correct, but I’m not sure how how to put that rubber on the road.

            • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
              0·
              18 days ago

              Organize your community. It’s super fucking hard because American’s are alienated and atomized to fuck, but it doesn’t even have to be political at first. Literally just get out of the house and join a group of people. Once you have some ties to your community, start talking to the group about politics. Or if you are lucky enough to live in an area that already has a socialist organization, join that. It all starts with community organization, which will take lots of time, maybe even more time than our lifetimes. But one fact is undeniably true: society will never get better if we all just keep doing our own thing.

              • jj4211@lemmy.world
                0·
                18 days ago

                Ok, but even granting that in theory could eventually render the how evictions work question moot, so that we don’t even have to think about whether police would be in that position in not, it’s not a practical answer in this specific context.

                Until you get rid of evictions, of the bad options law enforcement is one of the less bad options. We shouldn’t let evictions happen the worst way possible just because we are holding out for the perfect scenario where evictions don’t exist.

  • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
    0·
    19 days ago

    She got 6 months but will only do 2 more weeks because she was held without bail.

    America is the toilet of jurisprudence.

    • kungen@feddit.nu
      0·
      19 days ago

      The incident happened in 2022 and it’s only now that she got convicted? Is that what America calls “the right to a speedy trial”?

      • frongt@lemmy.zip
        0·
        18 days ago

        You have the right to a speedy trial, but most people do not invoke it because you want your lawyer to build a defense. You can waive a lot of stuff, including the right to a trial by jury itself, and just go right in front of a judge if you want, but he’s almost certainly going to find you guilty.

        • prime_number_314159@lemmy.world
          0·
          18 days ago

          At least for federal cases, bench trials have higher acquittal rates (38%) than jury trials do (14%). That’s based on data from 2018-2022, and there may be case selection bias.

        • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
          0·
          18 days ago

          The cops also like to keep people in jail if they think they’ll lose the case, because at least the person will serve some time, even if they eventually get found not guilty. For example, Casey Anthony, who was found not guilty, but still spent 3 years in jail, which is about what she would have gotten had they convicted her of child neglect, instead of Capital murder, without even knowing the cause of death.

    • Klear@quokk.auEnglish
      0·
      19 days ago

      What’s that? A deputy is coming to evict an old cancer patient? A large influx of bees ought to put a stop to that!

  • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    0·
    19 days ago

    Idk why she’s being sentenced to anything. It is not illegal to release bees. What the bees do after release is not the responsibility of the keeper. Nature is self balancing. Obviously the cops were upsetting the natural order and should issue a public apology and avoid evicting elderly people. Or at least wear bee keeping gear while they do it.

    Or just go jump in a fire for considering it to begin with.

  • corbindallas@fedinsfw.appEnglish
    0·
    19 days ago

    “This was unlike anything our team has ever experienced,” Nick Cocchi, the Hampden county sheriff, said of the incident, which was captured on video released by his office and posted to YouTube by MassLive.

    Oh, so let me get this straight: Six months of jail time for weaponizing apian assault on badge-wearing servants of capital, but absolutely zero consequences for the systemic, routine devastation of booting an 80-year-old cancer patient out of his house so some predatory lending vulture can liquidate his assets. The sheriff found the bee incident “unlike anything our team has ever experienced.” Yeah buddy, because you experience housing destruction so fucking regularly it doesn’t even register as anomalous anymore. It’s background radiation at this point. Just another Tuesday enforcing the financial rape of sick people. “We try to help people through difficult situations,” Cocchi said, while literally being the instrument of their most difficult situation. That’s some real I’m very sorry for this but I’m going to do it anyway energy. “We’re compassionate genocidalists” is basically what you’re saying. Rebecca Woods showed up with an actual physical manifestation of “NO” and the state’s response was to break her face into pavement and jail her for six months. But the eviction? Chef’s kiss. Totally cool, totally legal, totally normal. The fact that his statement treats getting swarmed by bees as the shocking aberration rather than, I dunno, the routine judicial destruction of someone’s life is just peak American law enforcement tunnel vision. You know what’s “unprecedented”? Actually giving a shit about the person you’re destroying. Woods failed, the guy lost his home, and everyone’s fine with that. That’s the part that should be “unlike anything we’ve experienced.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    FUCK THESE PIGS

    FUCK THIS SYSTEM

    STING ALL THE FUCKING PIGS

    • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
      0·
      18 days ago

      He should have moved into your house. I’m sure with just a little effort you could find people about to be evicted and have them move in.

      • Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
        0·
        18 days ago

        Or we could demand that our horrible system be dismantled and rebuilt without financial parasites, the perpetrators fined, bankrupted, and jailed, and the victims fully compensated for their losses.

        That would definitely be more effective than charity.

      • TerdFerguson@lemmy.world
        0·
        18 days ago

        LOL. This is the stupidest take.

        Sometimes, I feel kind of bummed when I wake up in the morning… but when I read a comment like this and go “What a fucking idiot” it makes me feel a tiny bit better.

      • katzimir@lemmy.world
        0·
        18 days ago

        Oh a severe case of -fuck you! I got mine.- congrats on your elite mindset. It is going to trickle down on everyone. Any minute now.

    • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
      0·
      18 days ago

      I think you hit on the real problem. Why does the law in that state allow for an eviction before the judge hears the case?
      And why is there not a safety net that would ensure the best interests of both the rentor and the rentee? It would cost a lot less for sure. And everyone involved would be happier.

      That said, these vops showed far better restraint than we usually see. Many would have just shot her immediately. Small step forward, but still a step foreward.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    19 days ago

    90 years ago when the sherrif showed up to evict people like this…

    The neighbors were already there with shotguns.

    If the sherrif didn’t turn around, the county was soon having to vote for a new sherrif. And they usually voted for one that wouldnt even leave their office for an eviction call.

    If anything ever went to trial out of it, juries were very unlikely to convict.

    Sometimes people need to just stop giving any fucks. And we’re kind of getting there again…