Exile the Homeless

Last August, the city of Columbia, South Carolina approved a new plan to give its homeless population an impossible choice: leave downtown or be arrested.

The city is now taking even more steps to criminalize homelessness. On Saturday, it will begin to strictly enforce an old and seldom-used ordinance requiring groups of 25 or more to obtain a permit and pay a hefty fee before congregating in a public park.

One impacted charity that was interviewed by the Free Times, Food Not Bombs, has been serving food to the homeless in Finlay Park every Sunday for 12 years. The group’s organizer, Judith Turnipseed, noted that the group has an impeccable track record and always tidies up after the meal. But with the new crackdown, Food Not Bombs will have to pay at least $120 per week for the right to feed the homeless, an extremely tall order for a group that’s not even an official 501(c)(3) organization but just serves out of the goodness of its heart.

In fact, stopping groups like Food Not Bombs from serving may be just the point. Since the Columbia City Council approved its exile plan in August, the city has been trying to herd its homeless people to a shelter on the outskirts of town and keep them away from downtown. If charities continue to provide food in downtown parks, the thinking goes, it will allow homeless people to continue to live downtown, rather than being forced to leave.

Turnipseed is currently considering legal action to prevent enforcement of the measure.

Columbia is part of an unfortunate trend of cities that have decided to crack down on charity groups that feed the homeless. Others that have passed or are considering ordinances include Raleigh, St. Louis, Harrisburg, and Los Angeles.

Original Quill wrote:Only in South Carolina.  They certainly are not Christians.

BigAndy9 wrote:This is a very good measure.

The reason people in the US prefer to be homeless rather than take the plentiful shelters provided is so they can get drunk and take drugs.

Beekeeper wrote:    THIS heartless and inhumane practice of simply "sweeping the problem under the carpet.." ~ hiding it away and pretending it's somehow"not their problem", became widely known internationally as the "New York City Solution" back in the 1990s...

THAT was when the NYC council (under Mayor Giuliani, was it ?) enforced new by-laws - where they used the police to evict the homeless from ithin their city, and pushed them out into neighbouring council areas..    

EFFECTIVELY making their homeless "someone else's problem" and pretending they didn't have any such negative stains against the city. And at the same time, saving millions by removing welfare spending and work programmes from the NYC budgets..    

Original Quill wrote:Only in South Carolina.  They certainly are not Christians.

sphinx wrote:
The thing is if people want to get rid of homelessness they need to understand the varied and multiple causes - which include among others,  a desire to be nomadic, the release of mental health patients, and a changing view of minimum living standards.

BigAndy9 wrote:
This is a very good measure.

The reason people in the US prefer to be homeless rather than take the plentiful shelters provided is so they can get drunk and take drugs.

Joy Division wrote:

Beekeeper wrote:
    THIS heartless and inhumane practice of simply "sweeping the problem under the carpet.." ~ hiding it away and pretending it's somehow"not their problem", became widely known internationally as the "New York City Solution" back in the 1990s...

THAT was when the NYC council (under Mayor Giuliani, was it ?) enforced new by-laws - where they used the police to evict the homeless from ithin their city, and pushed them out into neighbouring council areas..    

EFFECTIVELY making their homeless "someone else's problem" and pretending they didn't have any such negative stains against the city. And at the same time, saving millions by removing welfare spending and work programmes from the NYC budgets..    

Andy and his mates would laugh at this kind f thing...and be saying..starve the fuckers,let the perish in the cold...

And worryingly...I'm right today , I'll be right tomorrow and I'll still be right in twenty years time.

Joy Division wrote:

BigAndy9 wrote:This is a very good measure.

The reason people in the US prefer to be homeless rather than take the plentiful shelters provided is so they can get drunk and take drugs.

You want some downers Andy big man?  

Beekeeper wrote:

sphinx wrote:
The thing is if people want to get rid of homelessness they need to understand the varied and multiple causes - which include among others,  a desire to be nomadic, the release of mental health patients, and a changing view of minimum living standards.

 ::smthg:: 

SO, SPHINX !   Looking at buying yourself a caravan, houseboat or canal boat now, are you ?

You DO realise that a lot of homeless people simply can't afford those "nomadic" options these days, don't you ?    ::dunno:: 

BigAndy9 wrote:Gipsy's don't work hard - they rip off everybody and do not contribute, at all!

sphinx wrote:

BigAndy9 wrote:Gipsy's don't work hard - they rip off everybody and do not contribute, at all!

Well firstly I was not talking about Gypsys.

Secondly are you talking about proper genuine gypsys or "new age travellers"?

Beekeeper wrote:

Joy Division wrote:

Andy and his mates would laugh at this kind f thing...and be saying..starve the fuckers,let the perish in the cold...

And worryingly...I'm right today , I'll be right tomorrow and I'll still be right in twenty years time.

  

I ALWAYS have to wonder, when the likes of Andy/Shady/Drinky/Smelly' spew forth such selfish garbage ~

HOW would they themselves react if some of their friends or relatives - especially their parents, 'God forbid' -  were to unexpectedly find themselves in that same situation...

AND most likely no longer necessarily through any "fault of their own", especially in this modern day cut-throat "beggar thy neighbour" world !     ::sexbnan:     

Shady wrote:

Beekeeper wrote:
  

I ALWAYS have to wonder, when the likes of Andy/Shady/Drinky/Smelly' spew forth such selfish garbage ~

HOW would they themselves react if some of their friends or relatives - especially their parents, 'God forbid' -  were to unexpectedly find themselves in that same situation...

AND most likely no longer necessarily through any "fault of their own", especially in this modern day cut-throat "beggar thy neighbour" world !     ::sexbnan:   

 

Hang on a minute....how come I got dragged into this? I haven't posted on this thread.

Ben_Reilly wrote:BigAndy and Shady are flying the troll flags today!

Shady wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:BigAndy and Shady are flying the troll flags today!

Incorrect.Just posting without using foul language like you,Catty & Sassy use.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Shady wrote:

Incorrect.Just posting without using foul language like you,Catty & Sassy use.

I wasn't speaking to any childish concern of whether the language is rated 'G' or 'NC-17,' rather to the use of statements that are carefully constructed to create outrage, pretty much the standard definition of trolling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Irn Bru wrote:What a disgusting policy that is. And it's not just confined to the USA because the Tory controlled Westminster council in London tried to do the same thing by making it a criminal offence for members of the public to provide food to the poor and the homeless. Apparently in their eyes it was ok to feed the birds but not human beings.
They have tried to do it twice but backed down due to a sustained backlash by the many charities to run soup kitchens and the like.

Shady wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Shady wrote:

Incorrect.Just posting without using foul language like you,Catty & Sassy use.

I wasn't speaking to any childish concern of whether the language is rated 'G' or 'NC-17,' rather to the use of statements that are carefully constructed to create outrage, pretty much the standard definition of trolling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Then that same logic applies to all of your posts as well Ben.

Try reading you're own posts which are just as condescending as Didges.