By Steven Jankowski Santa Monica
This is in response to the letter entitled, “The homeless are people, too” published in the July 2-3 weekend edition of your paper (SMDP, July 2, page 4). In reference to Mr. Springer’s question of “Where do you propose we go?” may I answer by saying: Get your life together and get off the streets and out of the parks, alleys, doorways and beaches of Santa Monica.
By the way, Mr. Springer and members of the City Council, the homeless are not a community. We, the citizens and taxpaying residents of Santa Monica, are the community. Let’s face it, the majority of the homeless act like animals by urinating and defecating in public in our streets, alleys, doorways, parks and beaches. And I, for one, am sick of it. Just this morning I asked a homeless bum to stop urinating in my alley, next to my trash receptacle. As is usually the case, he became belligerent and tried to start a fight with me as if it was his right to urinate in the alley because there were no public restrooms in the vicinity when nature called. Needless to say, the Santa Monica Police Department phone number was busy when I tried to call them, and the perpetrator was long gone as I continued to try and get through.
Mr. Springer’s letter was in response to a Ms. Brennan who wrote in to the paper stressing her concerns about the homeless moving into the proposed Euclid Park. Well, I live on that street, and I too am opposed to this park for the same reasons. I know that as soon as this park opens it will become a tent camp and open restroom for the homeless, like every other bit of public space in Santa Monica. Mr. Springer has even suggested so much in his letter with his question of: “Where are we supposed to go?” I recently attended the City Council meeting that discussed the erection of a fence for the park in order to keep it closed at night and which the City Council shot down. Why should the mayor and the City Council listen to the concerns of taxpaying citizens? They’ve obviously got the homeless vote and that must outnumber us. I can also only assume they keep the homeless out of their neighborhoods; otherwise they would be equally upset. Maybe if their kids had to splash around in puddles of urine and play amongst piles of human feces, they’d have a different view.
I mean, what is it with the city government of Santa Monica and their refusal to deal with the homeless problem? I sure remember a time, not too long ago, around Election Day. I was being bombarded with junk mail day after day, with the shameless pleas from all the candidates vying for my vote. Many promised that the homeless problem was on the top of their list of priorities. And to be honest, that issue was what determined how I voted — based on a candidate’s views on the homeless problem. But, now that they’ve been elected (and Election Day is over) what have they done? Nothing. What about it, Mr. Katz? It seems things just get worse and worse. I remember hearing a story from a generous Santa Monica resident once that was trying to help a homeless person out. She asked him why he didn’t take advantage of some of the social programs available to homeless offered downtown by the city of Los Angeles. The homeless man’s reply, “What, and leave Santa Monica?” Who can blame him or any of the homeless? They’ve got it better than us working stiffs and in Santa Monica, it seems, more rights.
Doesn’t the city government realize the economic effect the homeless problem has on tourism? And what’s with Santa Monica business owners? Don’t they get sick of paying sky-high retail rents, only to find their front door covered in urine in the morning, or worse, some smelly vagrant sleeping there? But I guess most business owners, especially on the Third Street Promenade, are just big faceless corporate franchises that just pay their minimum-wage employees to clean up the mess.
Now, no doubt, there probably are some homeless people that need some charity and help. For them, I have no problem in giving them a helping hand. But for the most part what happened to the notion of, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and feed his family for life”? The Santa Monica city government needs to take this approach if it wants to help the homeless and not just roll out the welcome mat to them by making it a haven for handouts of our tax dollars.
Mr. Springer, if you and your freeloading, filthy friends want to be treated like humans, then I suggest you pick yourselves up by your bootstraps, stop acting like a bunch of wild animals, and get your life together.
Doesn’t Santa Monica have vagrancy laws? If so, why can’t we get the police to enforce them? Let’s not sit back and take it anymore. We pay dearly for living in Santa Monica. Let’s not let the homeless urinate all over it.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 13, 2005. Read the original PDF.