You know those signs all over downtown and every park in the city, that say not to give money to panhandlers? Written by people who are supposedly Experts in the area of homelessness.
I personally have had people approach me and hand me money. I couldn’t work out a mechanism within my psyche to go up to strangers and ask for any kind of help. But the money came in handy. I bought food with it mostly, fuel for my camp stove, feed the machines at the laundromat to have clean clothes and bedding. I believe that even for the most addicted amongst the homeless, at least some of the money actually goes on their needs and not just cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women.
So here’s my theory, to have posted around downtown, and maybe even use their fonts and printing style, (not to deliberately mislead them, you understand) but since these posters they have put up are subsidized by the City meaning everybody who has bought non-food items anywhere in the confines of the City, they are legitimately as much our property as the Fascists, right?
Just don’t put anywhere in there that these suggestions, to quickly follow, don’t actually physically originate in their tiny little brains.
Bring their logic forward a few steps, and expose it for what it is.
If somebody is homeless, the consensus is that it is because of mental, emotional or substance problems. The only solution for these problems are for the “outpatients” to seek professional help and counseling. Giving them money or feeding them outside of that sphere of treatment would only enable them to continue in poverty.
So giving them a job, for instance, would give them more money to waste on their habits. So employers who hire them, and don’t insist that they have a permanent address, and don’t insist on screening any and all of their employees for personality disorders, substance abuse and so forth, are harming them rather than helping them.
So the logical conclusion: Hire the homeless, but don’t pay them anything until they get help. That last would seem to be in contradiction of Jesus and Moses said about “If you owe your worker his wages, and you have the pay in hand, you should not let the sun set without paying him” and “a workman is worthy of his hire”.
Which you might think would cause a problem in the “Faith Based Initiative” crowd, but apparently hasn’t made any trouble in their souls yet.
The Marion House soup kitchen is remarkably, in light of the recent condemnation for the Catholic church, one of the least restrictive aid agencies in the city.
Also by publishing my intent to do this before starting, I have a legitimate defense if they come with their “conservative” legalistic whining that it is deceptive and a violation of their intellectual property.
Jonah, somewhere in the sidelines of your post I’ve lost track of what the idea was! Please clarify – as the topic of poverty always needs more attention.
I agree there is GREAT hypocrisy per the homeless and per everyone’s ideas and discomfort with the crisis of poverty.
No one seems to ever note political beliefs (economic restraint/alternatives/”boycott”) as cause for poverty. I guess that’s because if you are not capitalistic you must have mental problems.
Trying to sum up the issues of Poverty in a short column would be folly, but likewise, it seems to go from folly to insanity (and spiritual chaos) the more we try to “pretend it is not there”.
The Obvious answer comes from a more equitable system of wealth distribution AND education. But who will be first to stop the plows??
Or, even more difficult to imagine, suggest, during a “wartime”, the redirection of our focus from violence to hunger and poverty of the mind?
Here’s one positive plug. “Habitat for Humanity”, a “friendly” charity actively making a difference in this world flooded by bumper stickers and jargonists.
If this group is “not your cup of tea” – I’d suggest others to post additional. As alien as this might sound to some, Brotherhood and Compassion are not competitions.
What I was suggesting, in a longer and more drawn out mode, is to use Their concept. By using their signs, print up one that looks like it, saying to hire the Homeless but not pay them unless they are getting “help” within their system.
Then do a Street Action, I know plenty of people who go the the soup kitchen and would do the leg work. Post them all over downtown. With a phillips head screwdriver you could even remove the plexiglass, put the “new and improved” posters over the old ones. Then put the plexiglass back up. Or steal it, as the mood strikes them.
The next step would be to after a couple of days, contact Dumfox news and the omygodzette and other reactionary news outlets, tell them I am an outraged citizen and mention it. Get free publicity.
“The” war is just another branch on the same sick and dying tree. The bigpigs actually had a stupid idea to make a concentration camp for the homeless up by the Rescue Mission area a few years back.
According to the street reports we won that battle.
But the creeps who tried that idea John (what is his last name? Holmes like the porn star?) and his crew, are the same ones who printed up those posters and had them posted, at City expense. And he has proposed the same thing again, in city hall hearings.
And Habitat for Humanity in Denver got some of their nearly finished projects firebombed the first summer I was up here, 04.
So the war IS very much here as well.
But this I proposed would be a quick and almost easy thing to do.
Another little monkey wrench for the Machine.
For my own sake of clarification – I’d like to split a few semantic hairs in this post concerning the usage of the word “war”.
I think humanitarianism and human rights will always be evolving and reshaping. A “global conscience” is growing – and has a long way to go (hopefully!) as we define what it means to be civilized (and likewise, that definition will also always be evolving).
Simply put: Human Rights are a struggle, but not a war. A goal of Awareness and Effort.
Humanitarian funding and support is one of many “diverted” issues during the Iraq conflict. And the Iraq war, oil war, as well as ALL other political issues obviously affect humanitarianism’s development/”mission” – ecologically or economically and/or both. Likewise, politics affect scientific development.
It bugs my gut to connect the Iraq-terrorism “war” as a duality to any other singular “struggle”, as if to pit one against the other. Others may feel different.
Per Humanitarianism it’s indeed a “Revolution of mind, spirit and action” – sure, I’ll accept that phrasing. But “War versus war”? No! – even in times of peace we need concepts of humanitarianism to grow.
I mentioned Habitat for Humanity in my post (and did so again!). I do not represent their politics but only voice appreciation of their efforts per my own sensibilities of heart and mind. A needed disclaimer and more.
Per Monkeyfingers… It’s a fun concept to consider, maybe even plunk around with, but … I can’t advocate tamper-temptions that replace intelligence/time/effort from walking directly through open doors to help.
Poverty is everywhere. Awareness of the issue IS necessary. It’s not a game of scissor and rock, but helping hands.
Volunteerism is a great way to ward off cynicism and systematic despair. Picking on sign posts is sorta a polar opposite to lighting “bums” on fire. Both kinda make me want to vomit.
Jonah, bad idea (if serious). You monkeywrench everyone, including people who might truly really want a job or regular meals at least.
How long will your friends work this soup kitchen for your wrenched awareness of shell-game awareness? And what sign will you post when you close the doors?
“Sorry, I like to f*ck with politicians”? Don’t waste the tomatoes, please!
(ok, let’s here it. what’s your “legimate defense” other than satire and fostering signage through conflict?)
edison versus tesla. cool. current. contemporary?
nah, pooh sticks on the river…