Why people camping out for the new iPhone won't be cited under the sit-lie law

[KamaAina]

http://m.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2014/09/18/why-the-people-camping-out-for-the-new-iphone-wont-be-cited-under-the-sit-lie-law

"The big day is here!" That's the message you'll hear today on the automated phone system at Spokane's Apple store and from, well, pretty much the whole world. The excitement over the release of the iPhone 6 tomorrow has people camping out in front of Apple stores everywhere, including our very own on West Main Avenue. When we went by this afternoon, a line of people down the block sat in camping chairs clicking away on iPhones and MacBooks. One group even had extension cords stretched across the sidewalk from a nearby RV to a TV near their seats.

You may remember a certain city law that doesn't quite square with this scene: "No person may sit or lie down upon a public sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed upon a public sidewalk, during the hours between 6 a.m. and midnight (in downtown)."

But the Apple store campers won't be cited under that code, say representatives from the Spokane Police Department.

"The thing for us is as long as they're not causing an issue for other people to get around," says Teresa Fuller, a public information officer for the department. "The issue is when we have homeless people sitting and lying, trying to get in people's way to get handouts, that sort of thing."

[unblock]

1. ah, you need a group of homeless people to complain about them.

"all these apple campers, they're bringing down the neighborhood! it's a blight, it is!"

[Orsino]

8. It's a blight.

http://www.theonion.com/video/beard-husks-on-sidewalk-indicate-start-of-hipster,36352/

[IDemo]

2. Someone should hand out Apple T-shirts to the homeless population there..

[SheilaT]

3. I have to say, I absolutely do not understand camping

out for days for something that is not expected to be in short supply. It isn't, is it?

I get it (even though I personally would never do it) when it's something like concert tickets and only so many of them will be available. But an iPhone? How much will it actually matter if you get your new electronic gadget an hour or even a week later than someone else?

[Initech]

4. Me either.

I hate waiting in line for even a minute. Waiting for days for a phone? Count me out. It's consumerism at its finest.

And I'm not eligible for an upgrade until March anyways so if I really wanted an iPhone 6 I'm SOL until then. But I'll take a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 any day of the week.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Seems Silly To Me Too

Especially since the upgrade isn't something you can't live without. Is it really that much better? And like you said, if you get it a day later, does it not work the same?

[pipi_k]

7. Me neither

but then, I'm not the sort of person who absolutely HAS to have the newest, most shiny toy the minute it comes out.

I kept my 4 through the upgrade to the 5. When talk of the 6 started, I thought I would wait to see what the buzz was about, since I would be nearly 2 years past when I could do an upgrade without penalty (making the total time of ownership almost 4 years). Was not impressed. So I got a 5S, and a really nice discount on it too. Just by waiting.

So, pffft. Who cares if it's not the newest iPhone? The 5S is new to me, plus I sold my 4 on eBay and made enough to pay for most of my 5S, which will no doubt last another 4 years until I might upgrade to the 6 when the iPhone 8 is out.

[SheilaT]

10. I'm actually still using a dumb phone,

and I'm not looking forward to the day when we will all be forced to have "smart" phones and have to pay for all sorts of things I don't want.

[Rod Beauvex]

6. No shit.

So, if it is making a corporation richer, we can waive laws.

Color me surprised.

[NuclearDem]

9. Camp out to buy shit, go right ahead.

Camp out to protest, fuck you, send in SWAT.