Fresno’s Council Gets a Knee On Homeless Supporter Necks

Police surround and pin a wanted criminal to the ground
Look to the police to take down violent criminals — fugitives, gang members, drug dealers and, in Fresno, CA. . . those bringing aid to the homeless.

How low can you go in criminalizing people who have the misfortune to be homeless? Fresno, California is certainly stretching the limits.

Jail them? At least jail has food. And it costs many thousands a year to keep one individual in prison, let alone a whole tent camp.

Enormous fines? A joke. Does it matter to a person lucky to have food stamps whether they’re fined a dollar or a million dollars?

A bit of a conundrum, then . . .

But why just criminalize the homeless when you can turn even more Americans into criminals?

You’re already doing your worst to people who are homeless themselves, and that doesn’t cut any ice. What’s next? You can threaten or imprison the people who bring food, health care, emergency assistance, job leads – unless they have express council permission.

Cut off from the outside world, the homeless can leave. Or they can stay until they starve to death.

We first encountered this malevolent council attitude in Wetaskiwin, a Canadian city in Alberta, as winter approached. There, council had fenced in an area for the homeless. People who attempted to breech the little gulag were also criminalized1.

Wetaskiwin is a tiny city with a tiny population — 12,500. It’s just a bush camp compared to Fresno with a population of 550,000. Fresno has big time plans to bite the hand that helps feed the people who are homeless.

Thank heavens for American activists with sue-happy habits! Read more at The Fresno Bee: Does Fresno’s new rule make it harder to help the homeless? Advocates pledge to fight

Footnotes

  1. Try; Alberta Enemies: Homeless Workers. Homeless Yourself? Tough Shit