CBS News reports that Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin reached out to Susan Muranishi, Alameda County’s top executive, asking permission for Oakland to send its homeless population to the Alameda County Fairgrounds, in Pleasanton, “where residents dwelling in recreational vehicles and tents could reside.”
Alameda County’s response was swift and predictable. “I immediately responded,” said Alameda Supervisor Nate Miley, on behalf of the county, “that I thought this was a preposterous and ridiculous request on the part of the City of Oakland.”
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BREAKING NEWS! The Coalition for a Better Oakland now can report that Reiskin sent similar requests to other locations. According to a source who asked not to be identified because they were not given permission to talk to the media, here are some letters Reiskin also sent:
“Dear Alaska, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, to your state? You have plenty of open space.”
“Dear Grand Canyon, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, to you? You have plenty of open space.”
“Dear Australia, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, to your Outback? You have plenty of open space.”
“Dear South Pole, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, to your icepack? You have plenty of open space.”
“Dear Russia, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, to Siberia? You have plenty of open space.”
“Dear Moon, can we please send our homeless people, approximately 5,000 in number, your way? You have plenty of open space.”
All these requests met with the same response as Pleasanton’s: “Thanks for thinking of us, but no thank you.”
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Well, at least Reiskin tried. His effort to send homeless people to Pleasanton is reminiscent of Carroll Fife’s suggestion that we send them to the old Oakland Army Base, where there’s plenty of open space. It’s clear that Oakland’s leaders increasingly realize the current situation of encampments is completely untenable. They understand that the public is close to the breaking point and not about to tolerate much more. We want the camps gone. In response to the question that pro-homeless activists always ask: “Then where should they go?”, our response is, Look. We’ve said, in all seriousness, they should go to the Oakland Army Base. It’s a large area, and all homeless services could be centralized and coordinated. I think the so-called “toxic soil” issue can be resolved. If need be, they could also be sent to the Coliseum parking lot. But if the powers-that-be won’t allow either of those options, we’re still adamantly opposed to the current let-there-be tents-everywhere policy, which is not a policy at all, but anarchy. We also oppose the whack-a-mole game the city and the homeless play: no sooner is an encampment cleared than a replacement pops up overnight.
I think part of the frustration citizens feel towards the encampments stems from the fact that many people simply don’t believe that the homeless are victims of a cruel capitalistic system, or greedy landlords, or COVID, or anything else. Common sense, and what I see with my own eyes, tells me, as it tells a lot of people, that many, if not most, of the homeless are people who have chosen a very bad lifestyle. (Don’t believe me? Check out the bleached-hair dude in the photo at the top. Any reason he won’t get a job?)
It’s the immortal law of karma: You reap what you sow. If you declare war on conventionality—having a job, paying taxes, being a contributing member of society, not being a junkie, obeying the law—you should expect your life to spiral downward. Many of the homeless people I see are young, apparently healthy and strong. They could find jobs if they really wanted to: after all, employers are frantic to fill positions. But a lot of these homeless people don’t want to work. They want to be “free” to enjoy their “rights” to live in parks, to “be themselves” and be addicted to drugs.
Well, there are no such “rights.” We built America to be a society where everybody has to contribute so that our whole country can enjoy our collective liberties. If somebody opts out of that system—knowing, as they must, what lies in store for them--I have no sympathy. Homelessness is the ultimate expression of the Entitlement Society: “I can do whatever I want.” As a matter of fact, No, you can’t.
Steve Heimoff