SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

King County Metro bus ads exemplify how far we’ve fallen into moral gutter

May 15, 2017, 5:43 AM

King County Metro says 40 of these ads will be running on buses based out of downtown Seattle and T...

King County Metro says 40 of these ads will be running on buses based out of downtown Seattle and Tukwila for the next five weeks. (KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

If you’ve seen the King County Metro buses traveling to and fro lately, you’ve probably seen some surprising ads zipping by. Most notably, one that promotes heroin safe injection sites.

RELATED: Vancouver proves injection sites aren’t the end game for King County

They read: “Safer is better. Supervised consumption spaces prevent fatal overdose.”

So, the message is: As long as the government is watching you inject heroin – go ahead. You won’t fatally overdose. It’s much safer that way.

When you want an example of how far we have fallen into the moral gutter, look no further than what is traveling up and down our streets.

Safer is better? No. Not being a heroin junkie is better. To suggest that the watchful eye of government is somehow going to make your life OK, that you won’t overdose and you can manage being a junkie – it is an absolutely insane marketing tactic.

Advocates say these heroin sites will do good and that the advertising on King County Metro buses is a positive because they could reduce the risk of overdose. Then again, Mark Miloscia, a Republican state senator who is working on an initiative to ban these sites in Seattle and King County, thinks the ads might actually help his cause.

“I think the regular person looking at that says, ‘That doesn’t make sense. Safe sites that take heroin?’” he told KIRO 7.

RELATED: Washington lawmaker calls feds over safe injection sites

He’s right. What kind of a message is that to have rolling past kids?

Hey, Billy, looking for the safe way to shoot up heroin? All you’ve got to do is let the government watch you. In fact, the safest way to live every second of your life – have government watch you.

Pathetic.

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King County Metro bus ads exemplify how far we’ve fallen into moral gutter