February 8, 2014
I think most of us can agree that life isnt easy. So many Americans live in a perpetual state of fear about the future. Going paycheck to paycheck, one long string of bad luck away from total catastrophe. I remember when I was a server thinking sometimes that all it took was one wrong step, breaking my ankle, and I would have been absolutely screwed. What good is a server if you cant walk?
Our lives can change in an instant. Were brought up in different environments and have to overcome different obstacles. Its why I try not to judge people (outside of their willful ignorance) because I really dont know what theyve had to overcome in life or what led them to their particular hardships.
This is especially true when I encounter a homeless person. Granted some homeless are in their situation in life due to their own decisions, but many arent. And like most things in life, once you dig yourself into that kind of a poverty hole, its really hard to get yourself out of it.
The last thing Id ever support, or want to see happen, is for a city to pass laws that almost seem to be picking on homeless people. Laws or ordinances that make the lives of people who already live in extremely challenging situations even more difficult.
Right now theres a camping ordinance within the city that basically makes it illegal for anyone outside to cover themselves with a newspaper or blanket in cold or otherwise inclement weather.
Its ridiculous. Before even getting into the impact this has on the homeless, lets just look at how this could impact an ordinary citizen. Say youre caught outside in the rain with only a newspaper to keep you dry while you wait outside for a bus technically thats illegal.
But of course the real people this ordinance will impact are the thousands of homeless people who are left freezing outside (Florida has had an abnormally cold winter this year) who have to make the conscious decision to break the law just to keep themselves warm.
Isnt it hard enough just being homeless? Do we really need to make their lives even more difficult? Hell, isnt this flat-out inhumane? To tell someone who has nowhere to go, no home to keep warm in, that theyll be breaking the law if they dare try to shield themselves from freezing temperatures and high winds its reprehensible.
read more Florida Ordinance Makes it Illegal for Homeless to Use Blankets to Protect Themselves from Weather
I think most of us can agree that life isnt easy. So many Americans live in a perpetual state of fear about the future. Going paycheck to paycheck, one long string of bad luck away from total catastrophe. I remember when I was a server thinking sometimes that all it took was one wrong step, breaking my ankle, and I would have been absolutely screwed. What good is a server if you cant walk?
Our lives can change in an instant. Were brought up in different environments and have to overcome different obstacles. Its why I try not to judge people (outside of their willful ignorance) because I really dont know what theyve had to overcome in life or what led them to their particular hardships.
This is especially true when I encounter a homeless person. Granted some homeless are in their situation in life due to their own decisions, but many arent. And like most things in life, once you dig yourself into that kind of a poverty hole, its really hard to get yourself out of it.
The last thing Id ever support, or want to see happen, is for a city to pass laws that almost seem to be picking on homeless people. Laws or ordinances that make the lives of people who already live in extremely challenging situations even more difficult.
Right now theres a camping ordinance within the city that basically makes it illegal for anyone outside to cover themselves with a newspaper or blanket in cold or otherwise inclement weather.
Its ridiculous. Before even getting into the impact this has on the homeless, lets just look at how this could impact an ordinary citizen. Say youre caught outside in the rain with only a newspaper to keep you dry while you wait outside for a bus technically thats illegal.
But of course the real people this ordinance will impact are the thousands of homeless people who are left freezing outside (Florida has had an abnormally cold winter this year) who have to make the conscious decision to break the law just to keep themselves warm.
Isnt it hard enough just being homeless? Do we really need to make their lives even more difficult? Hell, isnt this flat-out inhumane? To tell someone who has nowhere to go, no home to keep warm in, that theyll be breaking the law if they dare try to shield themselves from freezing temperatures and high winds its reprehensible.
read more Florida Ordinance Makes it Illegal for Homeless to Use Blankets to Protect Themselves from Weather
