HOW, I would like to know, can such "biased", off-the-wall journalism, be
believed, much less respected, as being the truth of the situation? In
addition to the obvious "pats-on-the-back", for vested-interest agencies,
organizations, groups and individuals, having their own political or
commercial "agendas" to market or promote (by means of the free publicity in
the newspaper) - Police Officer Dave Ehrlich; "neighbors" (Oh yeah! Why do I
find that hard to believe? If someone was concerned enough to CARE about the
homeless, they'd be there in the Park every day, "walking the beat", trying
to do something about the problem, rather than "peeping" out of windows,
like voyeurs, attempting to rationalize and discover Life itself - "it"
having probably passed them by!); "watch group"; "community agencies". ALL
with their own "vested interests" to protect, in making the "Park safe for
everyone to use", a highly-charged political "statement", that obviously
means "get those damn homeless people out of there, so we don't have to see
them, and so we can enjoy the Park's facilities without our kids asking such
questions as, 'Mommy/Daddy, why is that man carrying all that stuff and a
bedroll around on his back?', or even confronting our own minds with their
visions of homelessness, when we are trying to relax and/or figure out how I
am going to make my next million dollars." And WHO ARE those "vested interests"? Well, since this reporter is
obviously a homeless person who DOES partake of the Park's "amenities" (by
necessity, certainly, at times), let me just tell you what I have observed
(a one-person "watch group", intent on exposing the truth, of just who DOES
what, in the Park): First of all, if there can be any overall "disruption",
to the calm, peacefulness, tranquility and serenity of the Park, it is the
"dog people", with their pooches, hounds and noisy canines. (Ok, so I don't
like dogs, but sometimes enough is enough! And to the homeless "watchers" in
the grandstand bleachers, it looks like the dog owners are forever trying to
quell the dog-fights that are constantly breaking out.) Next, is the
"yuppies", the young and middle-aged large majority of homosexuals, who live
around, and frequent, the Park, and exhibit their "indulgences", to the
consternation of any straight-minded homeless person. (ALSO, their dogs - I
remember the common expression, that many straight people have certainly
heard many times, "Man/lady, who walks two dogs, is obviously
gay/homosexual!") And next comes the wealthy drug-addicts, whose marijuana
smoke can be caught wafting through the Park most any time - two "gays",
sitting on a Park bench, were observed by a passing homeless man, offering a
joint to a passing police officer, who was patrolling the Park in his
cruiser car (probably looking to "bust" some homeless joe, for something or
the other). And next comes, of course, the "18th Street" gangs - the
latino/hispanic gangs, who are the ones actually committing the vandalism
and graffiti (Hey! Have folks never realized that all the "XVIII"
numberology-on-the-walls, is the way that the local branches of Southern
California/Los Angeles famous "18th Street" hispanic gang - similar to the
"Crips" and the "Bloods", of downtown L.A., Watts, etc. - MARK THEIR
TERRITORY! That graffiti on the walls, bridges, freeway overpasses, etc.,
MARKS San Mateo as 18th Street gang territory!) And next, of course, are the
"rehabs" of Project Ninety (right next to the Park), who, although
supposedly "dryed out", still inflict their low-life antics on the
Park-goers daily. And last, Yes, comes a few no-good homeless, who DO
inflict their somewhat degenerate "habits" upon the Park and Park-goers. Okay, someone might say, you yourself (this reporter) have been somewhat
"negative", in your "reporting" of this piece. Yes, I'll admit such, but
only in the sense that certain facts and truths, however "negative" they
might have been, are obviously necessary, in order to bring some balance and
positivity to the article herein reviewed and the incorrect impressions that
it does leave upon the reader. And, as I pointed out, it does make a blanket
condemnation of the homeless, as the "root cause" of all the Park's
problems. Which is JUST NOT TRUE! First of all, Tony Stowell, who may have once been a drug/rehab
"counselor" - well, such just goes to show that he does NOT "know" the
homeless - only the "losers" whom he did have the opportunity to help (which
is fine, in and of itself). But the "losers" are certainly NOT the
"homeless" - only a small minority thereof. MOST "homeless", the respectable
ones, are out there in the community, probably working 3 "jobs", caring for
kids, spending a lot of time in libraries and such places as they can find
(and TRUE, opportunities, for the homeless, ARE few and far between, as to
what society makes available, through the regular "channels" of government,
welfare, charity, etc. But that is another story, that I shall address more
fully another time.), that enable them to make something of their lives. AND
helping others, either to find their way themselves, or giving them the
means, somehow, to meet their "needs", in order to be able to turn around
and help others. THOSE are the real homeless, and they do enjoy "using" the
Park, as much as anyone else, in order to meet their existential and
recreational needs. So don't condemn the "homeless", as the root cause of your problems, lest
some day you might turn around, or wake up, and find yourself as much a part
of the homeless "scene" as any of those whom you are now condemning and
attempting to put out of your lives. The "root causes" of homelessness (SEE
the Links to YAHOO homelessness Websites, at the bottom of this Page) are
NOT drugs, alcohol, crime, etc. (except for the few), but are, instead, the
"attitudes", and biases, EXPRESSED BY YOU, AMERICA, in the laws,
regulations, cultures, legislators, politicians, businesspeople,
churchgoers, and the other numerous and sundry ways and means, by which the
homeless have been excluded and purged from society, to live their lives on
the "fringe" thereof, because society could not accommodate their needs and
wants, for themselves and others. (Yes, I have written about this before -
See Doctor Bugaboo's Ramblings, elsewhere on this website, in the Local
Color pages.) AND, in the "watch groups", and newspaper articles resulting
therefrom, attempting to "purge" Central Park, of the homeless, as the "root
cause" of all its problems. WAKE UP, SAN MATEO - Central Park's problems are NOT the homeless - they
are YOU - who do not CARE, and who would "police", "report", and legislate,
the homeless "out of sight", out-of-the-way. IF YOU DID CARE, you would be
there, in the Park (or wherever), WITH THEM (the homeless), finding out what
"makes them tick", what their needs are, and who and what they are about,
AND WHAT YOU, yourself (NOT some "agency" or?), can do about it. And MAYBE - just maybe, you might "find" what you are "seeking", America.
Princeton University Theologian Harvey Cox, in his excellent book, "The
Secular City", has said that, nowadays, one does NOT look in the tribal
hogans, the churches or pews of this land, nor in the charitable or
non-profit organizations - certainly not in business or government, to find
that which one seeks. But instead, one "looks", walks, is a part of, and IS,
where ONE IS NEEDED! THERE, does one "find" Him, God, because THAT IS WHERE
HE IS, nowadays - "on the street". Father Jerome
Aum, Peace, Amen!
Reply to: fatherjeromeusa@fiwd.org
