By Randy Walburger Santa Monica
Homelessness has been increasing each and every year since Ronald Reagan and the Big Business Republicans have dismantled our state hospitals and destroyed and attacked labor unions and working people’s quality of life. Healthcare, overtime, retirement and now Social Security have been obliterated, attacked or destroyed. Millions of jobs have been lost to outsourcing. Bush and the Federal Government have allowed millions more illegal immigrants to come into the U.S. to take jobs away from Americans. The minimum wage hasn’t been increased in seven or eight years and can in no way support the needs of those on it, i.e., rent, food, insurance, etc.
Let’s just recap the city of Santa Monica’s homeless “Continuum of Care” policy with actual facts of the city’s real actions towards the homeless to try to understand how this affects homeless people in this town. 1. The city has added no new shelter beds in three years or more and the number of beds is less than 25 percent of the number needed. 2. The city has passed a law to make it a criminal misdemeanor to sleep in or be caught sitting a doorway in much of the city. 3. The city has passed a law that would, in essence, criminalize people for feeding the poor. 4. The city has once again brought up the issue of criminalizing the poor for sleeping in their vehicles. 5. Now the city wants to criminalize the homeless for using a public restroom to wash up in, as though there were sufficient facilities for the homeless for that purpose. In Santa Monica there are estimated 1,500 to 2,000 homeless and about five showers for them to use.
It is plain to me that the “Continuum of Care’ rhetoric is in reality nothing more than a continuum of attack on the poor who can not afford a house or an apartment.
There are many in this city and in this nation who readily accept this country’s and this city’s lies and propaganda about “compassionate concern” while in reality more and more humans die as a result of neglect and direct attack.
Even though homelessness is a national, state and county issue, I know many residents of Santa Monica feel that there should be no homeless people in this city. These people say that homeless people should be sent away somewhere else and never step foot in this city again. I read these sentiments continuously in the SMDP. I also read the hypocrisy of those who say something should be done, but “sometime down the road” maybe in “ten years.” There are outright homeless haters and hypocritical homeless concerned poseurs.
But the reality of humans living and dying on the street is real and is growing. This is no game of rhetoric for the homeless. This is no “pretend to care” situation for the poor on the streets. When you turn your back on the homeless your actions have real consequences and cause real human suffering.
Germany proved that many can live with a psuedo morality and now so too Americans with their psuedo morality must be ready to face the reality of their neglect for human life. America will ultimately pay a heavy price just as the Germans for this immoral neglect of human beings.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 24, 2005. Read the original PDF.