Loki says, "Leave homeless people alone!" and I agree-- this isn't in the interests of helping people who have no place to stay. This is simply making it LOOK like the city cares about houseless people while trying to regulate their lives.
You'll notice that I used the term "houseless" instead of "homeless". That is because, to me, a home is different from just a roof over one's head. When we're heading back at the end of the day, we don't say, "Let's go back to the tent" or "Let's go back to the camp". We say, "Let's go home". To us, home is with each other, with the few possessions we've chosen to take with us, because we don't really want to waste hundreds or even thousands of dollars each month to live in a glorified box. Once earned, we can put that money to better use-- resources, supplies, college classes for research ew can't do as well at the library.
WHY should these encampments be considered "illegal"? WHOM are we hurting by staying there? We stick to ourselves. We clean up our own messes; it's actually quite a nice-looking area even with several people pitching tents there. We know we can't rely on anyone else to clean up after us, so we clean up after ourselves, though personally, when they're announcing a raid like this, I'd just as soon unwrap a bunch of condoms and use them to spell out "FUCK YOU" after we've packed up the rest of our stuff.
You know what I'd really love to happen? Is if one of the houseless members of the underground encampments-- just one-- was secretly very rich and simply chose to live under a bridge because paying someone to live in a house or apartment is more trouble than it's worth. What I'd love is if that person bought the Guadalupe River Park and said, "This isn't the property of the City of San Jose anymore. This is my property, and I say that it can remain an encampment."
What REALLY gets my goat is the last bit. "If you need help with housing or want to learn about resources available to you..." You know what, we figure out our OWN resources! We are adults and we do not need someone taking us by the hand and showing us what we can and cannot use, and where we can and cannot be! This is one thing I really hate about humanity, how they feel the need to regulate everything like this! I was in the shelter system twice as a minor, and I know from experience that getting on section 8 housing lists is more trouble than it's worth, and so is living in government-subsidised housing! That's where my father lives right now, in a subsidised apartment, and he has to report his income, which, since he's retired, is given to him by the state. You know what's really fucked up about that? If the state raises his retirement or food stamps, the Housing Authority raises his rent. We don't want to go through that! We can make our OWN housing, preferably in an area where humans are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want as long as they're not hurting anyone.
As for resources available to us, what exactly would that be? Food banks where people suffering from middle-class guilt donate canned green beans and carrots? Shelters where we have to deal with noisy, mad people who've succumbed to drink and drug? No! No way! We prefer to remain free, without the government interfering with us! We are builders, designers, crafters in our own right, and we do not need someone else REGULATING our living situation or resources!
...this pisses me off so much, guys, you have only an inkling. That rant up there was just me being able to think through enough of the tip of the iceberg to form words. No. Just, no, leave us alone, government. We are not suffering. We are not struggling. We just want to be left alone.
