In 2014 Arnold Abbot, a 90 year old man, was charged with feeding the homeless in public in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Those "do not feed laws" in Fort Lauderdale still exist.
Mayor Jack Seiler told WPLG, "Just because of media attention we don't stop enforcing the law. We enforce the laws here in Fort Lauderdale."
That's just straight up vile hatred for people he doesn't like. They hurt the image of his city and he's not going to have it.
Appeals Court Rules Against Fort Lauderdale's Food Sharing Ban.
But Fort Lauderdale hates homeless people so much they just came up with another law:
Fort Lauderdale Homeless Feeding Ban Proposed Again | Miami New Times
They don't care how they look. They don't care who they hurt. They just want homeless people to disappear. This is homeless hatred, plain and simple.
In February 2019, Arnold Abbott died at the age of 94.
In 2066 I will be 94 years old. If we have these cruel homeless hate laws in America in 2066 I will consider myself a failure. I have been put on this planet to create change.
Homelessness is a product of late stage capitalism. Good jobs have been outsourced. Unions have been busted. Mental health services are barely in existence. Health care is out of reach of many. Housing is too expensive. Doctors have flooded the market with opiates. OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A HOMELESSNESS PROBLEM IN AMERICA.
Being surprised that homelessness exists is the only part of this process that doesn't make any sense.
It's important for me to let you know that I'm not anti-capitalism. Ultimately, I believe it is a slightly better system than socialism. In fact, I believe we can solve problems like American homelessness through social entrepreneurship. The problem is that the government refuses to let us work and fix the problems.
We treat the oppressed the same way over and over again in America.
We Americans turned away Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939.
We are turning away refugees right this minute at our southern border.
I don't think I need to link to anything to remind you about what we did to Native Americans and African Americans and women.
Our default is to shun the weak and the oppressed. It's pretty much the American way.
But it's also the American way for people to do something about it. America is funny that way.
Rocky, my wife, tells me that if I go after the city it is going to hurt my philanthropic, moral high ground image. My image is not what concerns me. What concerns me are the cruel unjust laws we have in America that hurt homeless people. We must change these cruel and unjust laws and regulations that are meant to hurt homeless people because our government hates the homeless.
This is who I am meant to be. I am an activist. I am not some white-washed pure do gooder that is going to quietly fade away being known as a guy who was too afraid to stand up against authority.
I'm not afraid to get in the muck and the dirt. In fact, I rather prefer it down here.
But I want to write this post to give you some guiding principles of how I will move forward.
First and foremost: This will be a nonviolent process.
There are many reasons nonviolence is the way to go. These are some quick reasons:
I have a lot of thoughts about nonviolence. But for now, those are the key points as to why I will only be a nonviolent activist. And I will do everything in my power to keep any violent bad actors from trying to hijack our movement.
Second: This will be fun.
Every act we do should be entertaining and amusing... usually at the expense of our adversaries. We will embarrass them. We will mock them. We will laugh at them. They are notoriously thin skinned and insecure. That's their weak point. That's where we will attack them. We will make fun of them.
Third: We will go after their pillars of power.
These are the people that support them. These are businesses and rich people. All they care about is making money. We will hurt them where they are weakest: in their wallet. We will also embarrass them by connecting them to our adversaries.
Fourth: We will have clear goals.
You can read about the Akron Houseless Movement by clicking here.
These are the demands the homeless of Akron want. These are what we are fighting for.
As we go on we will create demands for homeless people in other cities. Each city has its own set of problems that are being caused by a government that is too inept and too afraid to fix the problems of homelessness in their city.
Fifth: We will be the party of the people.
We are the 99%. It is only a small elite few that we are against.
In fact, there are many wealthy people that support our cause. We are not against wealth. We are not against private property. (Wealth and private property will be the ultimate solutions to homelessness.) We are not against anything other than the rotten corruption of government that does not permit private citizens to help homeless people. We just want the government to get the hell out of the way so people that want to help homeless people can help them. That's all. (Their hatred of the homeless is what is driving their maniacal unjust laws.)
These will be the driving principles of how I am going to move forward. I feel its important for you to know these things so you know what you are getting involved with, if you choose to get involved.
Rocky feels that some people are not going to want to be part of this. They prefer the do-gooder Sage. I completely get that and understand.
But I ultimately have to be true to myself. I am "Sage against the machine." That's just what makes me tick. I've always been this way.
To that end, I have just started a nonprofit political organization called Akron Uprising.
The primary goal of Akron Uprising is to get people engaged and excited about taking ownership of their city. America is supposed to be run BY THE PEOPLE. But today it is run by the businesses. We need to take our country back. Akron Uprising is doing this locally.
If you'd like to learn more, you can join our newsletter here: Newsletter - Akron Uprising.
You are more than welcome to do anything to participate in this Akron Houseless Movement and you will be considered part of this movement as long as you adhere to the guiding principles above.
And if you aren't in Akron, feel free to start your own houseless movement. We would be glad to support you, if you adhere to the principles outlined here. You can learn more here: The Houseless Movement.
We can and should be the change we want to see. This is what freedom means in America. Our government was set up to be this exact thing. You are always on the right side of the law and intention of America when you remind your government to be for the people of America. You have an obligation as a citizen of a democracy to demand this of your elected officials. Doing anything else is pretty much unAmerican.
This is who I am. This is who I will be. I just wanted you to know who I am if you want to be a part of what I'm doing.
"I am what I am and that's all that I am." - Popeye the sailor man
I love you.
Sage
P.S. Shout out to Otpor and Srđa Popović and his awesome book Blueprint for Revolution.
You have really inspired me and helped me try to be the best advocate for the homeless of America I can be.
S.
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