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February 16, 2006
Hobo Con 2006
There was a homeless convention at the convention center. Which got me wondering ...
At all conventions/conferences I have been to there are nametags:
Hi My Name is____
There are schwag bags.
There are presentations, keynote speakers….
One wonders -- at this convention do they have schwag bags?
Will they be giving away tote bags with toothbrushes, soap, and maybe plastic bags? Do the big pharmaceutical companies have a booth with methadone information pamphlets, perhaps needle-shaped squishy stress reliving balls? Maybe the makers of Night train and Thunderbird and other cheap alcohol are there with the some crack whores passing out key chains and tasking Polaroid’s and passing out coupons?
Do they have breakout sessions for dumpster diving?
Cardboard box shelter tips?
Maybe PowerPoint presentations on best practices for finding places to sleep?
Empowerment sessions for the mentally ill women who get repeatedly raped?
Maybe some suggestions on where one can find a place to use the bathroom?
Perhaps the keynote will be someone talking about self-esteem in the face of having people ignore your requests for help and being urinated on by drunken yuppies?
Perhaps they will have shopping cart repair sessions?
Grief management for dealing with watching someone beat your dog to death?
I doubt there will post-conference raffles however– since the contestants don’t have an address or phone number or email address
– no salesman will call….
I think should know that I am not making a joke of this– there is nothing funny about this at all.
These horrors really happen. Everyday all around us. While some walk past these people and ignore them or mutter "get a job". Some times I forget too - sometimes I forget where I came from. Some of us think we are above it all. Some of us don't care.
There is suffering all around us.
I am angry that we have homeless at all. Everyone in San Francisco should be ashamed that this exists at all.
I am shocked that in this city so filled with excessive, abundant wealth that we have human beings reduced to living in the street. How can we ignore this massive problem?
Even if you don’t care for your fellow man everyone should be concerned about the public hygiene and safety problem this poses. If people don’t have anywhere to go the bathroom or wash their hands – guess where they go? I can tell you a couple of places – the alleyway by my house – the door of my garage and on the walls of the abandoned buildings. Nowhere to wash your hands? Guess who touches the same doorknobs you do? Guess who holds on to same handrail you do on the bus or BART? I am admittedly a germophobe and spend a great deal of time obsessing about these things but we should all be concerned.
Who can have any dignity if they are reduced to a stinking pile of rags? At what point does one become truly feral and slip off the edge of society? While it is true there have always been vagabonds in societies I cannot think of single city that has a homeless situation as visible as San Francisco.
We have people that need help - they need safe shelter to go to – a place to get warm and clean. A place to go to be human again. I propose dignity stations. Places in the city that are not affiliated with religious organizations or charities but publicly funded places that people can go no strings attached no forms to fill out. A place to take a shower – wash your clothes get information on assistance. A place where you can bring your pets and children and belongings and know they will be safe. No judgments, no lectures – and for those who want it – a chance to start over. I also think there should be a place to go to get day work – also no strings, no ID just a cash and carry work place – maybe people could fill potholes or clean streets or whatever – not as a punishment but as a quick way to earn some cash by the hour and to get things done around the city that need to get done anyway.
I think we all need to get over ourselves and start thinking about solutions and quit pontificating. There are things that can be done now. The longer we wait the larger the problem will get until it swallows us all up.
When I see someone on the street - I never think of them as the other -I never think that could never happen to me - I see someone who could be me or someone I know and care about.
Despite how things appear to the outside, there are many of us, myself included, who live very close to the edge. It is surprising how quickly one can slip into derreliction. It would only take one missed paycheck for me to end up out of flat, with nowhere to go and no one to help me. It only takes one mistake, one loss, one misstep to slip down the rabbit hole.
Posted by aynne at February 16, 2006 07:38 AM
Comments
Hi Aynne,
You said on upcoming you might have an extra ticket for Koyaanisqatsi tonight? I'd love to buy it from you, please email me at nofrontin at gmail dot com. Thanks!
Posted by: nofronntin at February 17, 2006 02:43 PM