“Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness. Broad wholesome, and charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one tiny corner of the globe.” – Mark Twain 

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Leaving Canton... thinking, Why would hitchhiking be illegal?

To Canton.

After leaving Drew(yesterdays post), I decided against the car-less road of Route 14 and decided to head into Canton to then head north on another expressway, Route 275.  A bit out of my way, but I have to head where the cars are going.  Plus, Canton is the home of Kirk Jones.  Kirk is the only man to have survived a plunge over the Niagara Falls with no safety device.  This must be a town for of adventurers!

Dennis, a line manager at the Edison Plant, gave me a ride the fifteen miles to the highway in Canton.

It was here near downtown Canton, that I met Officer Bailey.  He informed me that Canton has a local ordinance against “flagging down vehicles.”  I respected it and moved on.  But, I am very concerned about this ordinance.  It seems like an overly restrictive law.  It really sits wrong with me.  I think laws should be constructed to keep a community safe and happy and I do not see how this law fits that mold.  Please enlighten me if you believe differently.  

The following is a short letter to the Supervisor of the Township of Canton with my thoughts on the subject, asking for his explanation.  

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To Supervisor Phil LaJoy of Canton Township:

Hello!  I hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.  The point of this letter is to provide you with a source of feedback from a visitor to your community, in hopes that it will increase your perspective when making decisions.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this correspondence, I am sure that there are many pressing issues that you must deal with, so I appreciate your time and I hope my ideas add to your decision making abilities.

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A Vistor to Canton

I visited your community on September 1, 2009 as I was passing through on my trip from Ypsilanti to Royal Oak.  I was hitchhiking and I was stopped by Officer J. Bailey as I was trying to catch a ride going north on Route 275.  He informed me that there is a local ordinance that prohibits flagging down vehicles.  The officer was polite and treated me with respect which I appreciated  but I then had to catch a bus to finish my travels.  I left the encounter wondering, 

What is the point of a local ordinance that prohibits people to flag down vehicles and how does this ordinance help your community be happy and healthy?

I am concerned that this ordinance is too restrictive of your community members and even is prejudicial against a safe and effective way to travel.

About me.

A little about me, I am currently hitchhiking around the United States of America in an effort to share stories of the Goodness of People.  I am choosing to hitchhike because I want to make as many new friends as possible and I believe people are good.  I want to share my stories with everyone in an attempt to help share stories of people doing good deeds (as opposed to our news media which seems to share many stories of people doing “bad” deeds).  I also want to foster a sense of community.  That if a fellow human needs a ride that we will stop and give them one.

Officer Bailey’s explanation of the ordinance was that “there were a lot of gypsies” that pass through the area.  Which I took to mean, to keep them from staying or causing trouble in the area, this ordinance “encouraged” them to leave or not cause trouble.  If this is the explanation, I think this law is too restrictive of the community and on others that are not a disturbance to the community.  I do not see how me flagging down a vehicle in your community created anything negative for your community.

Reasons this ordinance could help your community

I thought more about it and I could come up with two reasons why flagging down vehicles would hurt your community:

1.  If a vehicle were to pull over, it could cause an unsafe traffic situation.

2.  Something harmful could happen to either the driver or the rider of the vehicle.  

I do not believe either is a good reason for an ordinance though.  

I am concerned this ordinance is too restrictive and does not allow for people with no harmful intentions to travel the way they choose or reach out to members of your community whom may enjoy giving someone a ride.

Supervisor LaJoy I am interested in your explanation of this ordinance and I would be honored if you took the time to write a short response.  Please email me at 2createourworld@gmail.com.

I will thank you again for your time and I wish you the best in your position.  May you help Canton, Michigan be the most loving and thriving community it can be.

All the best,

Benjamin Jenks

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Please share your thoughts on whether hitchhiking should be outlawed or legal?

Create Our World.

Ben.

“The freedom of travel opens the mind to unlimited possibilities.” – Unknown

 

Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, roadtrip around the USA
Categories: Hitchin Stories., Places.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Hitchin Stories., Places.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.