Man Turns Camera Toward Homeless Hot Spot, Gets Slapped with 'Hate Crime' Allegation
A Texas man’s live social experiment has accumulated many fans, but now at least one authority in his liberal city reportedly thinks the creative look at the local government’s problems is a “hate crime.”
Keegan Godsey, of Austin, originally set up the controversial experiment less than a week ago in an alley behind his apartment.
Godsey’s “Window of Life” is ingenious in its simplicity — a camera positioned in an apartment window provides a look at an alley overrun by homeless people and drug dealers.
The twist, which appears to be what got Godsey in trouble, is a speaker he wired to broadcast in the alley.
For a small donation, users around the world can play messages, music or anything else they wish.
Some of the messages were words of encouragement — a boost of hope for those largely ignored by society.
Of course, the nature of the internet soon came into play.
Racist and vulgar messages were soon being broadcast from the speaker by anonymous paying viewers.
According to KTBC, this is when the citations began to roll in.
So far, the social experiment has reportedly landed Godsey with six citations from city police.
One officer even alleged the alley experiment constituted a “hate crime,” KTBC reported.
Godsey isn’t buying it, instead claiming that his livestream is a necessary commentary on disparity in the city.
“It’s a half a block from where tens of thousands of people are coming to party every weekend, and nobody ever sees this side of it,” Godsey told KTBC.
“So, I just thought people need to see this.”
According to the livestream creator, people and authorities should be more focused on the deadly drugs being dealt in the alley.
“Neighbors will come out and complain ‘who’s playing stuff out of those speakers,’ while somebody is literally dying behind them, or getting sold crack,” Godsey said.
This problem isn’t unique to Godsey’s neighborhood.
Austin is one of many liberal meccas now dealing with a massive homeless population and the drugs, crime and health problems that come with it.
Major cities along the Pacific Coast have seen resurgences of medieval diseases as sanitation levels reach disgusting new lows.
While Godsey’s stream gives a raw look at an often-ignored underclass of the modern city, it’s unclear if city officials will eventually force the project to end.
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