Thou Shalt Not Help Thy Neighbor

[cyu]

Feeding The Homeless BANNED In Major Cities All Over America

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/feeding-the-homeless-banned-in-major-cities-all-over-america

Other cities that have not banned it outright have put so many requirements on those that want to feed the homeless (acquiring expensive permits, taking food preparation courses, etc.) that feeding the homeless has become "out of reach" for most average people.

It isn't as if the government has "rescued" these homeless people. Homeless shelters all over the nation are turning people away each night because they have no more room.

many U.S. cities have decided that feeding the homeless is such a threat that they had better devote law enforcement resources to making sure that it doesn't happen.

[ColonelCossack]

That's disgusting, and is almost reminiscent of medieval England.

Why?

[Left Leanings]

I can honestly say, that this one of the most sickening and shameful things, that I have ever heard.

What are these people supposed to do now? Starve to death? Steal food, and face harrassment from the criminal 'justice' system?

I am reminded of those words uttered by Scrooge in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol , about allowing the poor to die, therefore reducing 'the surplus population'.

Where is the humanity and the compassion? The bosses and the rich have a LOT to feel fucking ashamed about.

[thriller]

I have heard of this popping up, and people being arrested for it too. While I don't support this action, it might further the cause of revolutionaries (meaning that it would point out how out of touch the rulers of society are and that no matter who people elect, bullshit will still fly in your face).

[Misanthrope]

Further evidence the police are class enemies.

[Comrade Samuel]

And our supreme court is arguing about healthcare right now?

There are literally hundreds of more important things they should be fixing (including this) and they always manage to avoid arguing about anything that may help the American people. This is a disgusting attempt to make life more difficult for the poverty stricken and I doubt anyone knows or cares about this.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Further evidence the police are class enemies.

To be technical it was the politicians who created this, not the police; the pigs are just the strongmen of the ruling class.

I am interested to see how this new law is going to be enforced and the reaction police officers have to it. Will there be a backlash?

[Brosa Luxemburg]

I live in a more small town and this is outlawed even here. Actually, my friend got a fine for giving a homeless man in the neighboring town McDonalds. This shit is disgusting....

[Ostrinski]

What the fuck is the function of something like this? I'd like to know what was going through their heads when they passed this

[l'Enfermé]

This is literally the first time I've heard that feeding the homeless is illegal anywhere...

[Bostana]

The goal of this is to develop classes. Which is a very disgusting way to do it too.

But then again the creation of classes is disgusting in general

[Brosa Luxemburg]

What the fuck is the function of something like this? I'd like to know what was going through their heads when they passed this

People justify it by saying that it makes the place "just look better" because the homeless will go somewhere else to get food. The Nazis probably said the same damn thing while gassing the jews. Such shit logic. People will literally let the homeless starve to make their hometowns "look better". It's funny, because it seems all these places are doing is pushing the problem away and turning a blind eye. Whether you chose to push it away or not, there is still a homeless problem.

[lombas]

That's disgusting, and is almost reminiscent of medieval England.

Why?

Was giving food to homeless people illegal in medieval England?

[lombas]

People justify it by saying that it makes the place "just look better" because the homeless will go somewhere else to get food. The Nazis probably said the same damn thing while gassing the jews. Such shit logic. People will literally let the homeless starve to make their hometowns "look better". It's funny, because it seems all these places are doing is pushing the problem away and turning a blind eye. Whether you chose to push it away or not, there is still a homeless problem.

In my country, being homeless was actually illegal until a couple of years - you were not supposed to "roam the streets". Even now the police can arrest you without any legitimate demand. I don't know how it's like in the US?

[Brosa Luxemburg]

In my country, being homeless is actually illegal - you are not supposed to "roam the streets". I don't know how it's like in the US?

In the U.S. it's not illegal to be homeless, but the homeless are marginalized and people tend to ignore the problem and act like it doesn't exist, even though it is actually a huge problem here. People tending to ignore it usually are middle-class and rich conservative white people, people who don't live like most of us.

[Hermes]

In the U.S. it's not illegal to be homeless, but the homeless are marginalized and people tend to ignore the problem and act like it doesn't exist, even though it is actually a huge problem here. People tending to ignore it usually are middle-class and rich conservative white people, people who don't live like most of us.

I think you might be able to be arrested for vagrancy, or for having less than five dollars. Not exactly sure.

[Left Leanings]

I live in a more small town and this is outlawed even here. Actually, my friend got a fine for giving a homeless man in the neighboring town McDonalds. This shit is disgusting....

Concerning your mate, who fed the homeless man, and incurred the wrath of the so-called justice system. Please convey my utmost RESPECT to him/her.

Nice one :) :)

[Bolshevik_Guerilla_1917]

I was in NYC a few years ago and this its pretty sad when you pass a homeless man and he doesnt know what a dollar bill was, a guy was giving it to him and hes like "what is this?"

[Lynx]

Was giving food to homeless people illegal in medieval England?
Being homeless was illegal in medieval times, and vagrancy laws were a lot tougher. If you were caught three times being a vagrant, you were executed.

[Firebrand]

They're starting to do this in England too
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12594397

[Hermes]

And, now that they're cutting benefits to an extraordinary degree, I wonder what they'll do when the rate of homeless increases even more?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/opinion/a-cruel-republican-budget.html?_r=1&hp

[Misanthrope]

To be technical it was the politicians who created this, not the police; the pigs are just the strongmen of the ruling class.

I am interested to see how this new law is going to be enforced and the reaction police officers have to it. Will there be a backlash?

I guess I did make the implication that the police will fully enforce this.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Being homeless was illegal in medieval times, and vagrancy laws were a lot tougher. If you were caught three times being a vagrant, you were executed.

Yes, esp. during the era of "primitive accumulation", in which many were forced off their land and then persecuted into the labor force through threats of prosecution under vagrancy laws.

But yes, homelessness is criminalized, at least if you're out on the streets, via vagrancy, loitering, curfews, penalties for various things like sleeping on sidewalks, etc. It depends on the area you're in, too.

[Regicollis]

This is the first time I hear about such disgusting laws but I'm not surprised that those in power are capable of doing this.
It reminds me of the situation a few years ago when we had one of the coldest winters for years. We also had a significant amount of eastern European homeless persons who had come here to work but who had been fired or were unable to find work. The EU laws allowing people to stay in another European country only applies for "desirable" citizens so these homeless people were here illegally. But the government actively banned shelters receiving public funding from letting these homeless people in. They would rather have these homeless people freeze to death in the streets - which also happened - than running the risk of illegal aliens being "encouraged to come here" by the luxuries of the homeless shelters. Disgusting...

I can see several reasons why the bourgeoisie gets so insane when it come to the homeless. For the bourgeoisie the conclusion that the capitalist system is fair is given. They then have to find something that supports this conclusion. If someone is homeless in a "fair" system then they must be horrible people. It thus becomes justifiable to treat them like garbage.

Furthermore there is a good reason why many people are aggressive to the homeless. The capitalist system is built on fear of loosing economic privilege. The homeless reminds people of just how much privilege one can loose. Thus people become neurotic about sweeping the problem under the rug so they don't have to deal with it.

One should also take into the consideration the role that homelessness plays in a capitalist society. Homelessness is the punishment for not fulfilling the economic demands of the bourgeoisie. Homelessness scares everyone else into submission and the worse off the homeless are the more pressure can be put on workers afraid of loosing their job. If this theory is true it makes sense for bourgeois politicians to pass these kind of laws. It simply reinforces the deterrence value of homelessness.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Here in Atlanta it is legal.

Food Not Bombs sued the city a few years back and won after being harassed by them

There are churches here that openly feed the homeless

But I wonder how long before it's stamped out here, too

[cyu]

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.
- Anatole France, The Red Lily, 1894

This is basically what happens when you convert those in power into the religion of Social Darwinism.