Homeless advocates are issuing the same complaint they have for years concerning rousting homeless people: “But they have no place to go.”
They did that during the years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it’s perfectly legal for cities to roust homeless people without offering them alternative shelter. Oakland officials simply ignored the Grants Pass decision, in a process Dr. King called “nullification.” Then, Council Member Houston’s Encampment Abatement Plan passed, and now the pro-homeless radicals on the City Council seem to have no place to go. Can they ignore that too? Will they? It sure looks like it from my perspective, because everywhere I go there are still ugly clusters of tents and makeshift structures, with human-like figures inside or crawling around outside who to me look like they’re drugged out and certainly not part of the society I’m a member of, which is to say decent, law-abiding, tax-paying, respectful citizens.
The pro-homeless crowd always plays on our sense of guilt. Have you no conscience, they ask us? Do you not feel pity for out unsheltered brothers and sisters? They know that, by asking the question, they force us to ask ourselves if maybe we really are conscienceless haters. We know that we’re not. But we also know we want these unsightly encampments to be gone from our communities, so by making this a binary choice, the pro-homeless crowd is trying to shame us. We assume that there really are no places for rousted people to go. Despite Grants Pass and Ken Houston, we’re left with no solutions—if we really have consciences—but to allow homeless people to stay where they are, and hope that somebody, some brand of federal, state or county government, will give Oakland enough money to build the estimated 3,650 shelters, at a cost of $169 million annually, to finally house all the homeless people. Either that, or raise taxes—business, property, sales, parcel, hotel, parking meters, whatever—enough to raise that sort of money.
I say no. My lack of what the radicals call “pity” is based on what I see with my own eyes, which is that most homeless people are abject failures when it comes to being good citizens. They are not truly “victims,” the way, say, the people of Haiti were following their big earthquake, or the Gay men who were stricken down with AIDS because the then-Republican regime didn’t like Gays. With homeless people, I see irresponsible individuals who made the decision to drop out of society and become drains on it. People who thought they could make a living stealing. After a while, they realized that their decision was a really stupid one—but by then, it was too late. They were too damaged, dirty and addicted to get back into society. But they knew there are a lot of people out there, Oaklanders who feel sorry for them and can influence the media and stir the politicians to give them money, food and healthcare. And that’s exactly what the politicians have done: they are enabling homeless people, thereby creating a brand-new underclass that looks to be a permanent one.
Just what we need, a whole new class of failures living off the taxpayers’ money. As if we don’t already have a huge problem with our existing underclass.
Well, at some point the taxpayers have to put their feet down and say, No more! We can’t stand it! America is already being ground down to third-world status under the existing taxation and inflation, and we just cannot stand by and allow the radicals to create a brand new category of people who depend on public welfare.
Where will they go? Hopefully, they’ll get the message that they’ve chosen an untenable lifestyle. Many, I assume, have family who would help them: cousins, in-laws, nieces and nephews. I know if I were homeless there are relatives I’d turn to. But we have to communicate to these homeless people that we really are serious this time. No more loopholes for them, no more excuses. Sorry-not sorry! They either clean up their act, or get out of Oakland. This is known as “tough love.” It’s an old concept we, society, kind of forgot about, but it’s time to bring it back.
By the way, there was a big vegetation fire east of San Jose yesterday that officials said appeared to have started in a homeless encampment. We’re now in fire season. Here in Oakland we’ve seen many fires over the years that were ignited in encampments. I’ve issued this warning many times: Do we really have to experience an inferno before cracking down on illegal encampments? If there is an incident, I hope that the first people to be held accountable are the mayor, the City Council and everyone else who failed to deal with an impending disaster.
And finally: RIP Barney Frank. He was a great American, “wicked smaht” as they say in Boston. Thank you Rep. Frank for all you did.
Steve Heimoff