“Ruffled Feathers” Rant on “Bum Night in the D”
There have been some glaring opinions stated in response to “Bum Night in the D”. Here comes the “ruffled feathers” rant: HOW INCREDIBLY INSENSITIVE. The good in this insensitivity is that it brings up some much needed discussion. Transplanting the homeless will not solve Detroit’s problem or the problem of homelessness in general. The exclusion of the mentally ill from the “Bum Night in the D” program does not help situations as the majority of the homeless is mentally ill and remains prone to the same actions that vex us so. One should not generalize homelessness with criminality and no one is asking you to ignore criminal behavior. As for the “living off the land” plan . . . this is exactly what the homeless are doing. If the homeless break into your car and take things, it is because the environment makes it easy to do so. When the police do not even show up for such crimes, do not expect them to cease. Don’t leave anything visible in your car. If it is your groceries a hungry person wants, a piece of glass and an alarm people ignore will not deter them. Accept the situation of living and playing in a big city and take as many precautions as you can. In the meantime, don’t channel your frustration with crime towards the homeless, because homelessness does not necessarily equate to criminality.
I kind of agree and disagree with you.
I mean, I have the right to not have my car broken in to regardless of what is inside. I have a right to my property, regardless if the thief is homeless or not. It’s irrelevant whether I live in Troy, Windsor, Detroit, Oakland Township, or Hamtramck. I have a constitutional right to my property and it’s the police’s job to protect that. Simply writing it off as a “cost of living in the big city”, I think is wrong.
As someone who parks in the street regularly, I know better, however.
This is a problem, we as citizens of Metro Detroit, need to be looking to the political powers that be and demanding a solution. The politicos talk about this “safety net” that the government ought to provide, but I certainly don’t see it in action nor do I see adequate policing to keep people honest. Rather, in Detroit especially, I see a horribly corrupt city government who could care less about the homeless problem. The city points the finger at the state and the state points the finger at the federal government and nothing gets accomplished.
Let’s get some leaders in office who can actually fix things, rather than pretending like the problem doesn’t exist. I don’t see this happening anytime soon though given the history of Detroit voters. (see my post on CAY Jr.)