The Super Bowl's Homeless Problem

[Donnachaidh]

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/super-bowls-homeless-problem

On Sunday, James Jones, who spent much of the first 14 years of his life living in homeless shelters, will play in the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers' wide receiver has done a lot to raise the profile of homelessness through public appearances and his Love Jones 4 Kids Foundation, which helps homeless kids stay in school. But if you're expecting his made-for-Hollywood saga to provoke any national soul searching amidst all of the halftime hoopla this weekend, you're probably going to be disappointed. If anything, the big game at Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas-Forth Worth area is shaping up to be a textbook example of how the poor get the shaft.

In December, the Dallas City Council outlawed panhandling in the city's most prominent tourist areas, including several zones where big Super Bowl events are planned. For several weeks, the the city has been removing homeless people from the areas as it spruces them up for football fans. Anyone who sticks around to ask for handouts from all the high rollers and corporate junketers who'll be passing through could be fined up to $500.

"There's a certain sense of irony that you displace your own poor to welcome those who grew up in poverty," says Neil Donovan, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "It would be nice if we could make the city as welcome and accommodating to the persistently poor as we do for the wealthy."

As far as the wisdom of giving to panhandlers goes, Donovan says he's "probably one of the most conflicted people you will ever meet." But he staunchly opposes the criminalization of panhandling, calling the decision to give someone else money "something very sacred and personal." He sees panhandling bans as symptomatic of "a movement towards compassion fatigue."

More at the link --

[Catherina]

1. I suggest the Dallas City Council take a long, hard look at this and catch up on the news

They say a picture is worth a thousand words




Rec'd in solidarity with all the downtrodden of this system

[lies and propaganda]

6. This happens everywhere, and not just for fottball.

You should have seen what they did in the Tenderloin in SF when Prince Charles and his Mistress came to town for a visit. TRUCKED out homeless,acted like it was not the heroin/crack capital of SF and two days later, right back to how it always was.

[justabob]

2. did the same thing when the World Cup came to Dallas years ago

Gotta make it pretty for the tourists.:eyes:

(not that I want tourists to have less than a good experience, but others, esp people who LIVE here, shouldn't suffer more for it)

[Catherina]

3. It shows you just how scornfully they think of the poor. n/t

[justabob]

4. indeed

Dallas City Council, and the city government in general, leave a lot to be desired on many issues.

ps thank you so much Catherina for your dedication posting the twitter threads.... I built Giza in the snow in my front yard today in honor of the Egyptian people and folks such as yourself and others here working tirelessly to get the info out :yourock:

[TBF]

5. James is not the only one - Donald Driver (also Green Bay) was homeless

at times as a child in Houston. It would be interesting to hear their thoughts on the Dallas cleaning effort ...




"It is there, in Driver's hometown of Houston, where you will hear the stories about a kid nicknamed Quickie, who spent part of his childhood homeless and sold drugs to help put food on the table. Houston is where you'll learn about a teenager who one day chose a different path, vowing to his brother that he would "make it." It's where you'll learn about a man who has dedicated the rest of his life being a role model on and off the field."

rest of the article here - http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2010/columns/story?id=6069357

Edited to add info re Donald Driver Foundation: http://www.donalddriverfoundation.com/