Comments on: Down Payment on a Cheeseburger http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192 De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:51:45 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: WTEIKC http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192&cpage=1#comment-23124 WTEIKC Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:13:21 +0000 http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192#comment-23124 There's the pepper. (But don't do anything that could get <i>you</i> in trouble, too!) There’s the pepper. (But don’t do anything that could get you in trouble, too!)

]]> By: Scott http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192&cpage=1#comment-23123 Scott Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:18:33 +0000 http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192#comment-23123 Went to B&N yesterday at the plaza. Saw Mr. Cheeseburger. Soon I am going to make it my personal mission to remove "bums" from the plaza. Don't get me wrong, I understand there will always be transient homeless folks looking for some handout. I'm more accepting of that. But this "career homelessness" is insulting to those of us who have to hold down a steady job. Mark my words: His days of feigning destitution are numbered. Went to B&N yesterday at the plaza. Saw Mr. Cheeseburger. Soon I am going to make it my personal mission to remove “bums” from the plaza. Don’t get me wrong, I understand there will always be transient homeless folks looking for some handout. I’m more accepting of that. But this “career homelessness” is insulting to those of us who have to hold down a steady job. Mark my words: His days of feigning destitution are numbered.

]]> By: WTEIKC http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192&cpage=1#comment-23116 WTEIKC Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:29:38 +0000 http://wheretoeatinkansascity.com/?p=192#comment-23116 And you'd think this would be a cut-and-dried issue, wherein those creating a public nuisance are subject to easy prosecution, but no. Panhandlers are regularly defended in court by the ACLU and others who conflate the act of begging with protected speech under the First Amendment. And the so-called 'homeless advocate' groups play the guilt card, arguing that ridding the streets of beggars erases what they hold should be an important reminder to all that poverty and homelessness still exist in our community. But as Scott points out above, most if not all the regular Plaza bums are essentially poseurs. They are not homeless, and they are not incapable of some form of work. They choose to be beggars. But in so doing, they are a public nuisance. Allowing them to remain in the streets does not serve to remind the public of the real issues of poverty and homelessness, but cheapens the issue by sanctioning the activities of people who are, in fact, neither poor nor homeless. If you really want to see people in need of help, you will much more likely find them huddled under bridges downtown than skillfully working the Plaza. These are the folks who genuinely cannot help themselves, maybe due to mental illness, substance abuse, or just really bad luck. But they certainly don't have the wherewithal to schlep to the Plaza and start hustling. So by defending people only pretending to be down and out, the homeless advocates do both the poor and the rest of the public a disservice by diverting everyone's attention from the places help is really needed. And you’d think this would be a cut-and-dried issue, wherein those creating a public nuisance are subject to easy prosecution, but no. Panhandlers are regularly defended in court by the ACLU and others who conflate the act of begging with protected speech under the First Amendment. And the so-called ‘homeless advocate’ groups play the guilt card, arguing that ridding the streets of beggars erases what they hold should be an important reminder to all that poverty and homelessness still exist in our community.

But as Scott points out above, most if not all the regular Plaza bums are essentially poseurs. They are not homeless, and they are not incapable of some form of work. They choose to be beggars. But in so doing, they are a public nuisance. Allowing them to remain in the streets does not serve to remind the public of the real issues of poverty and homelessness, but cheapens the issue by sanctioning the activities of people who are, in fact, neither poor nor homeless.

If you really want to see people in need of help, you will much more likely find them huddled under bridges downtown than skillfully working the Plaza. These are the folks who genuinely cannot help themselves, maybe due to mental illness, substance abuse, or just really bad luck. But they certainly don’t have the wherewithal to schlep to the Plaza and start hustling.

So by defending people only pretending to be down and out, the homeless advocates do both the poor and the rest of the public a disservice by diverting everyone’s attention from the places help is really needed.

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