Having the mayor of the 5th largest city in Ohio write an op-ed condemning you for trying to help his homeless situation with private land and private funds would be comical if it weren’t actually short-sighted, ignorant and a huge missed opportunity.
That said, there are several reasons I’m thankful Dan Horrigan shut down our homeless tent village and day center.
One reason is because it allowed me to rebuild a homeless village from the ground up for the 2nd time. It has made me experienced in a very niche, unique skill: civilization building. I mean, how many people can say they have taken a group of people with no friends, family, or any social support system whatsoever and helped them build a completely new community?
Doing this twice has given me the opportunity to see what patterns naturally form in creating a village.
This is so interesting that it might be my next book.
There are requirements in building a civilization that must be present in order for it to form and progress. The absolutely number 1 requirement is that you MUST have a physical security force. If you don’t have a couple physically strong people that exude authority, stealing and violence will run unchecked every time. And stealing is the absolute worst of it all.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard countless homeless people say: “Why can’t people just be decent human beings?” While I believe people are innately good, I also believe they are innately opportunistic. We are natural born thieves. We love to steal. But it undercuts society. We can’t move forward with all the stealing. So it has to be stopped. And it will only be stopped if a person is afraid of the people looking for thieves.