People are pissed.
I don't need to quote any social media comments for you to imagine how people feel about Austin Texas' new law which would permit the city's homeless population to sleep or camp in any public area.
There's a picture of a tire store that has homeless people's stuff in front of it:
People are saying things like they are refusing to have to deal with drunks and addicts shitting and pissing on the streets. They are afraid of being attacked. It goes on and on.
We have to call this kind of talk what it is: This is hate speech.
People hate the homeless. Plain and simple.
The governor of Texas, Gregg Abbott, is a bigot towards homeless people.
At some point cities must start putting public safety & common sense first. There are far better solutions for the homeless & citizens, he says.
He goes on to say:
If Austin— or any other Texas city—permits camping on city streets it will be yet another local ordinance the State of Texas will override, he tweeted.
People often like to yell at me about how Democrats are the ones who are cruel to homeless people, not Republicans. For the record, Abbott is a Republican and is saying the EXACT things Democratic leaders say. That's because this isn't Republican or Democratic only hate. The entire globe hates homeless people. The hate towards homeless people is 100% bipartisan.
Most people exhibit "Housist" tendencies. They fear the houseless. And then they start saying hateful things.
I've had very high-level officials in Akron say things to me like: "Let's be honest. No one wants to live near the homeless."
That's classic bigotry. Plain and simple.
We've been taught to not say that about people we've previously hated: Jews, Blacks, Japanese, Mexicans. But we find it completely acceptable to say it about homeless people. This is a new form of hate I'm calling "Housism." People that have bigoted, stereotypical beliefs and thoughts about people who do not live in houses are Housists.
The mayor of Austin, Steve Adler, (a Democrat for anyone who is keeping count) replies back to the governor who said a VERY housist comment that this will cause a "public safety issue" in a much more learned and educated way:
Mayor Steve Adler responds back saying the city remains laser focused on public safety and health, arguing not every homeless person poses a safety risk and should not be arrested and treated as if they were dangerous.
EXACTLY!
Not every homeless person poses a safety risk to Austin Texas.
My grandfather is reported to say that he would never eat at a Woolworth's lunch counter again because an African American woman served him coffee. He walked out. I can only imagine why he felt so much disgust for this woman. But I'm quite sure it was based in some incredibly irrational hate that had nothing to do with reality.
The picture of Discount Tire I showed above is from a woman who said they will be "losing my business as well as any other place I have to deal with aggressive drunks/addicts congregating."
@GregAbbott_TX this is a @DiscountTire in Austin today. Now that its legal for homeless people to do anything they want in Austin. This location will be losing my business as well as any other place I have to deal with aggressive drunks/addicts congregating. @MayorAdler @KVUE pic.twitter.com/iTIjhqSZSI
— Linda (@LindaLynnAK) June 30, 2019
Do you see the bigotry?
She is saying that all homeless people are aggressive drunks/addicts. That is based in nothing other hate, bigotry and a complete lack of human understanding.
That is housist thinking. That is prejudice. That is stereotyping an entire class of people based on external factors that don't equate to each other.
It's like saying all elephants are big therefore all elephants are violent murderers. It's just not an equation that makes sense.
The homeless equation people make goes something like:
"All homeless people don't live in a house. Therefore all homeless people are drunks, addicts and thieves who piss and shit in the streets."
Human beings must learn to catch this kind of thinking before it pours out of our mouths. We must learn to see that we are incorrectly labeling people based on factors that have nothing to do with truth or actuality.
Drunks are drunks.
Addicts are addicts.
People who don't have toilets and trash cans often throw trash on the streets and go to the bathroom in places that aren't bathrooms.
All black people are not criminals. All Jews are not good with money. All gay people are not neat and tidy.
And all homeless people are not aggressive drunks and addicts.
This pro-homeless ruling is so progressive and so right. We must see the problem before we can fix the problem.
I suspect the result of this ruling is going to result in some initial messes. Some areas might get cluttered.
But what ultimately is going to happen is that our homeless brothers and sisters are going to be given their right as American citizens to live in their own country. This is an incredible forward evolution in human rights and civil rights in America. Adler will be recognized as the father of the homeless human rights movement.
I predict what will happen is that a few homeless people will set up a camp, it will get messy and then hopefully the city will bring by some porta potties and trash cans.
The mayor of Austin, Steve Adler, went on to say this:
We need to be able to tell people not only where they cant be, but also where they can be. We need places where homeless folks can be safe and surrounded by social workers and others getting them the help and support they need, he said in a statement.
Adler argued Austins plan to address homelessness could serve as a national model.
I am telling you this as clear as I possibly can say it: This move is on the side of justice, humanitarianism and the future. Steve Adler is WAY ahead of the curve on seeing homelessness as the great social injustice that it is.
We treat homeless people WAY worse than we would ever allow anyone to treat a dog. And that right there should tell you we have much work to do with our housist thinking.
Thank you Austin Texas for doing the right thing here. I know standing up for your beliefs is hard. But thank God some people are willing to do it. You are leading the way forward for America and the world.
Paid For By The People for Sage Lewis