At a recent meeting in Sarasota, Florida, residents were talking with?Doug Logan, the city’s?new Director of Special Initiatives. Part of Logan’s job is to deal with the issue of homelessness in Sarasota. And Logan is seeking better solutions than the one the city committed to in 2014. Under that plan the homeless in Sarasota were given one-way bus tickets out of town.
Yeah, cause that’s really gonna solve the problem.
During this meeting one woman stood up and said the following about the homeless residents of her community:
?You say they’re people, they’re not people. They don’t have the same rights as we do. They’re abusing their rights.?
They’re not people. Take a moment to consider that statement. So if they aren’t people, what the hell are they? Vermin? Subhumans? Potted plants?
Another man couldn’t resist chiming in and remarking:
??We need a legal way to arrest these people for overtaking our neighborhood.?
Ah yes, the old “lock ’em up and throw away the key” approach. That has worked so well in America, hasn’t it? Have a mental illness? Then we’ll just put you in jail. Need a warm place to sleep in the winter? Well, we got three hots and a cot for you, my friend!
Good Lord, would these people treat a dog in the way they’re advocating that fellow human beings be treated? Sadly, they probably would.
Thomas Rebman of Homeless and Hungry?said of some of the attitudes expressed at the meeting:
?The dehumanizing attitude represented?at this meeting can be seen in the actions of not just residents but also local governments. We criminalize the homeless every chance we get. Until empathy is fostered?and cities take on a housing first approach, this?mentality will continue.?
Is this what we want to teach our children? That some people have no value and must therefore be removed from our sight so we don’t have to look at them? Is that what the richest nation in the world does to those who are less fortunate?
And to the woman who said the homeless are not people I have this message: Have you no shame? Have you no sense of compassion for others? Or is it all just about you?
Watch A News Report Of The Sarasota Meeting
http://www.mysuncoast.com/videos?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=11680573
