Update: There was a big, fat typo sitting in the first sentence of this post all day. Feel free to call my attention to misspelled words.
Update II: If you haven’t visited Politburo Diktat, you should check it out. Funny stuff, but you have to “get it.”
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Yesterday a friend was practically assaulted by a “homeless” man — a bum — as she was walking to the subway. He was tall and aggressive looking. A few days ago, a man-with-no-house, reeking of liquor, hovering and breathing on me as I added cash to my transit card, mumbled something about a dollar and the hospital.
A few months ago I was in a cafe buying lunch, and a man walked up to me and made small talk. I was polite. I smiled and started talking to him, and out of the blue he asks for money! A tall, healthy-looking, able-bodied man who didn’t smell of alcohol and didn’t appear to be high, was asking for cash.
While I’m hustling to work everyday and sacrificing time and energy to build a writing career on the side, this grown man is accosting unsuspecting women, starting “friendly” conversation, then hitting them up for money.
I was reminded of these and other incidents after reading this story:
In a first-round victory [victory???] for a group of homeless people, a federal judge on Thursday issued an order prohibiting the St. Louis police from rounding up or arresting street people downtown without suspicion of a crime.On Sept. 17, a coalition of civil liberties lawyers filed suit on behalf of 13 current or former homeless people, alleging that St. Louis police officers have conducted a campaign of harassment and arrests to keep them out of downtown. They specifically charged that police made a point of removing them during Fair St. Louis in July so that fairgoers wouldn’t have to see them.
Police Chief Joe Mokwa said Thursday that charge is “absolutely not true.” He said his department will comply with Webber’s order.
“We have no intention of moving the homeless out of the sight of the public,” Mokwa said.
John Ammann, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, called Webber’s order “wonderful news. This is everything that we hoped for.”
“In a lengthy and eloquent opinion, Judge Webber recognizes the dignity of the homeless,” said Ammann, director of the St. Louis University Legal Clinic. (My emphasis)
Tell me, what is dignified about assaulting people on the street — while walking on two healthy legs, mind you — and begging for money? It’s comedy. Witness the decline of decency and the triumph of vulgarity.
Although I should give this topic a more thorough treatment, it’s Friday and I don’t feel like it. I think you know where I stand.
