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Originally Posted by wolf
Interesting that knocking down the (black) shanty towns is cause for outrage, while nationalizing the property of (white) farmers barely causes folks to turn a hair.
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Wolf, I agree that the actions of a government which plays tricks to turn ANYONE out of their home should be deplored by both that government's citizens, as well as the international community. I think part of it may be in the entertainment value of the footage. After all, how much more riveting to see thousand of people turned from their homes on the nightly news. A group of widely scattered farmers climbing into their cars in places miles distant from one another and driving off just puts viewers to sleep or keeps them channel surfing. Thousands of people streaming out of concrete bunkers like ants sells Maloxx. A farm family climbing into a Range Rover doesn't. By the way, my Grandparents were deprived of their farm in a prime crop growing area in central Kentucky by the US government when it decided to build the Blue Grass Ordinance Depot on the their back 40. That didn't make the papers, either.
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Originally Posted by Wolf
Thinking that ticketing the homeless is going to solve anything is more useless than pissing on a raging forest fire. A lot of the shelter beds go empty ... so do a lot of more permanent placements. There are a lot of what are called "intractable homeless" ... that means they want to stay living on the street, and don't want to or can't remain compliant with the often minimal requirements of these programs.
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Ticketing the homeless is a foolish waste of your tax dollar. It gives the cops something to do and gives the homeless very expensive temporary shelter in jails. You are correct. Many beds in shelters do go empty - especially in summer and for good reason. All too many homeless shelters are an excellent place to get knifed, raped, or robbed of what ever few dollars you might have. The homeless are well aware of this problem and avoid the shelters. I imagine that living on the East Coast in a major metro area and working in your profession, that you DO see a large number of "intractable homeless." Its too bad that we can't provide some sort of treatment for these types that would allow them to participate as active members of society again. I know little about them and will differ to your far greater knowledge and experience with that particular segment of the homeless population.
Here in the Rocky Mountain West, all too many people who are homeless are often mothers and children seeking to escape abusive situations, migrant workers, and the disabled. There simply is no low income housing to speak of available out here. The Western states are very conservative and tight fisted when it comes to funding social programs. There is great human tragedy and waste in this outlook.