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Protecting children from the horror of giving a damn by JS Magruder, Unknown News whynotresist.blogsome.com      February 25, 2008 I call bullshit. Omaha is trying to implement a zoning policy to keep homeless shelters away from day cares. You know, because there might be scary homeless people and some of them might be sex offenders. But mostly, there might be scary, smelly, ragged homeless people and they might try to say hello or make eye contact with "nice" children. 300 feet, apparently, is just enough to make sure little Jimmy or Susie won't have to see anything disturbing, though this can get to be a problem with so many people doing day care out of their homes -- why, you might have to go miles before getting out of 300 consecutive feet occupied by impressionable youngsters. You know this will be extended to zoning out Catholic Worker houses too, as they tend to be run out of people's homes -- in neighborhoods. Oh well, that solves Omaha's problem -- good luck with your new homeless population, Council Bluffs! Oh wait, that won't work Rule may restrict homeless shelters Excerpt: Day shelters for the homeless and day care centers for children would never be next-door neighbors under an ordinance that the City Council is considering. A proposed ordinance would modify city zoning rules to prohibit day shelters within 300 feet of day cares. Current rules prevent a day shelter from being within 300 feet of schools or residentially zoned property, but no provision exists for day cares. "Sometimes, it's good to err on the side of safety," said Councilman Chuck Sigerson, who is co-sponsoring the ordinance with Councilman Jim Vokal. "Why not err on the side of caution instead of saying, 'There's nothing we can do?'" because Iowa already sends all their sex offenders to Nebraska, shoot. Back to the drawing board. I sort of wonder about these so-called homeless sex offenders. So many times, public urination is now considered a sex-crime that yeah, homeless people sometimes can't find a public restroom and urinate in public. I was once flashed by a homeless man by North Station in Boston, but I sure as hell didn't report it to the police as a "sexual assault". It didn't do much for me, but I can't really say I was harmed by it. I really do wonder how many of these arrests are for public indecency. I do think the director of the homeless shelter was being generous saying: "Whether intended or not, these types of ordinances create more barriers between the haves and the have-nots." Oh, I think that's the exact intention of these ordinances. If they could run the Siena-Francis house out of there without looking like complete bastards, they'd do it. Since that sort of thing would still look bad in certain circles, they proceed arguing it is to protect children. Look, Capitalism is more of a danger to your babies than the homeless shelter next door. Middle Class assumptions and desires destroy more lives, communities, and so on than the unbathed gentleman grabbing a bowl of soup and some conversation at a day shelter. You know, I'm probably much more conservative (not in the political sense) than I'd like to admit, and sometimes just typing this sort of post makes me wonder if I sound like some sort of fist-waving radical. I don't think of myself as a radical, but everyone has his or her line that gets crossed. I've said this before, the thing that will drive me to civil disobedience will be some smug son-of-a-bitch telling me I can't perform the Works of Mercy. That's where I get radicalized. I'm going to feed the hungry. I'm going to give drink to the thirsty. I'm going to clothe the naked. I'm going to visit the imprisoned. I'm going to care for the sick. I'm going to bury the dead. And if that's going to be civil disobedience, then fine, count me in. Peter Maurin talked about a world where it was easier to do good ("easier" because he was well aware that it would never be "easy") but I don't think he could have anticipated the outright hostility toward the poor that's developed in this country over the last 25 years. When the poor started turning on the poorer, egged-on by the wealthy, I knew we were doomed. I suppose some of that always existed, and that Reagan only made it socially acceptable. For thirty years Siena-Francis has been run by people in recovery helping those still on the streets with counseling, job training, food, clothing, and friendship. Please take a moment to visit the website at sienafrancis.org. © by the author.   We're usually unable to forward readers' emails, but both readers and authors are invited to visit our 'dialogue' page for two-way communication: unknownnews.org/dialogue.html   This is an archived Unknown News page. 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Unknown News This is who we are, what we do, and why we do it   The thing that will drive me to civil disobedience will be some smug son-of-a-bitch telling me I can't perform the Works of Mercy. That's where I get radicalized. I'm going to feed the hungry. I'm going to give drink to the thirsty. I'm going to clothe the naked. I'm going to visit the imprisoned. I'm going to care for the sick. I'm going to bury the dead. And if that's going to be civil disobedience, then fine, count me in.