Having lost the title of America’s Fattest City by falling to number five, apparently my city of Houston is now only ranked seventh when it comes to being mean to homeless, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless:
A coalition of businesses and residents, called the Avondale Association, is petitioning city officials to protect the near-downtown neighborhood from homeless persons by using a so-called “civility ordinance” passed by the Houston City Council in late 2004. The Avondale Association has gathered enough signatures to require a public hearing on whether the ordinance should be expanded beyond the Central Business District. The ordinance, which is currently confined to downtown, prohibits people from sitting or lying on sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., as well as placing items of bedding or personal possessions on the sidewalk.
Paul Luccia, owner of Keystar Events Complex, says the conduct of homeless people at nearby Interfaith Ministries hurts his business, which provides a venue for business meetings and weddings. Luccia also claims many of his customers are intimidated by the daily overflow of sidewalk trash and illegal activity around Interfaith Ministries’ site. Luccia sees the ordinance as the city’s main line of defense against the growing encroachment of homeless people on struggling business. Others contend that if local business paid a living wage people could work to get themselves off the streets.
The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County believes the civility ordinance is ineffective, as well mean-spirited. “This is just more or less shuffling people around [and we] do not support any laws that somewhat outlaw or consider homelessness a crime,” said Anthony Love of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. Love also argues “blaming service providers for an increase in homelessness is like blaming hospitals for an increase of sick people. If service providers weren’t there, the problem would be worse.”
Citing a need to “reflect changes in society,” the Houston City Council also passed new regulations under which patrons with offensive bodily hygiene that constitutes a nuisance to others will not be allowed inside the library. In addition, these laws prohibit people from sleeping or putting their head, feet or legs on tables, using library restrooms to change their clothes, bathe, or shave, as well as outlawing large backpacks and blankets in the building.
In opposition to the new laws, City Councilwoman Addie Wiseman noted, “When we have heat waves, they encourage people, including homeless [people], to go into public buildings, including our libraries. What is the plan now?” She also said, “I understand what they’re trying to do but when you start targeting a community like the homeless [population], I think that’s a poor policy.”
We do all of that, and yet we’re only #7? It breaks my heart.
So I am calling upon the global think-tank that is the loyal IMAO reading audience to help come up with ideas and suggestions that will help make Houston the #1 meanest city to the homeless in 2007.
Just to get things started, my suggestion is to raise the bounty on homeless pelts from ten to fifty bucks. It almost isn’t worth the effort and hassle to trap, kill, and skin them at this point.
What’s your suggestion? The comments are open.
Any homeless person can be trapped and enslaved.
New reality TV show, “Running homeless” that pits homeless people in an elaborate maze against former Minnasota and Californian govenors.
Houston could allow scalps taken from the homeless to be used as vouchers for ‘premuim’ city services like daily garbage pickup or higher water pressure.
“The Son-of Man will have no place to rest his head”
Phew!
It stinks in here :^(
Well… what’s the #1 Meaneast City to the Homeless doing to be #1?
Let’s say you’re a business owner. Every morning, as early as possible, you go outside to clean the entrances to your building, and the sidewalk out front. You do this with a bucket full of ammonia diluted with hot water. Sure cleans well, doesn’t it? Oh, look, you just cleaned a bum!!
I’m told (not that I would ever try such a thing) that a similar technique works well to keep neighbors’ dogs and cats out of your yard.
Skeet shooting a la “History of the World Part 1”
I’m still working out the details, but something that involves razor blades rubbing alcohol and a paintball gun should do the trick.
This would never be an Issue in the Freehold of Grainne. It’s that Damned UN and their indoctrinated sense of entitlement. Heh. Williamson Rocks!
Doesn’t the Bible say that if a man doesn’t work he shall not eat. It’s not that the wages are low, but that the Libs have even turned the homeless into an entitlement gebneration that think they are owed something just because they area citizen. The are guaranteed only 3 rights. Life; check. Liberty; check. The pursuit of hapiness; if Mad Dog 22 is a happiness analog, we have a hat trick folks!
Correction: the proper name is MD 20/20 sir!
I found this concept to be out of the usual realm of IMAO. Not much humor in the concept to harm/punish the homeless? What is their crime? They are not all demoncrats. Has this site turned into a Glenn Reynolds/Haliburton endeavor?
Just stick them in temporary shelters on the Light Rail Tracks. They hit enough people that way and dont really seem to give a rat’s ass about it one way or another. Or make the homeless shelters downwind from the Sewage Treatment Plants like off N Braeswood. Or make the underpasses some “pristine nature reserve” since we know how stupid the City Council is and how they make dumb decisions like that. Or we could just make them work for METRO. That would be punishment enough.
And when you’re done with the homeless, you can pluck the wings off of flies, & legs off of spiders, and hey! Here’s an idea, how about taking a page from saddam and put Babies through woodchippers?
How can you possibly be so COLD.
Each night across America more than one million children have no place to call home. These families represent the largest and fastest growing group of the homeless population. For these families a lack of affordable housing is just one part in a larger set of problems including inadequate education, domestic violence, poor employability, and a general lack of community and personal support.
Each night across America more than one million children have no place to call home. These families represent the largest and fastest growing group of the homeless population. For these families a lack of affordable housing is just one part in a larger set of problems including inadequate education, domestic violence, poor employability, and a general lack of community and personal support.
One in 275 people in the entire country don’t have a place to live? Really? More people than have Down’s syndrome or deafness? More people than go to Ivy League colleges every year? And that’s only counting the CHILDREN in your example. This brings to mind that recent illiteracy study that said about 12 million adults in the US couldn’t read in English. Perhaps, perhaps, this fastest growing class of misery has a central problem other than the “inadequate education” and “lack of community support” that Pastor Oates cited. Unless by that he meant “educated in Mexico” and “not so much here legally.” But however you cut it, the families without homes are still not the raggedy groups of bums camping out under highway overpasses.
That said, best way to be cruel to the homeless — put them in the hands of well-meaning liberals.