Even though this is Portland, home of the weird and proud of it, I gotta give 'em points for style.
Excessive homelessness is a symptom of the economic disaster currently underway and Portland has been going round and round with this issue for many years now.
The city would allocate a place for a homeless camp and then bad things would happen and they would close it.
For years now they have been playing cat and mouse with this issue and last year it got so bad they were sleeping in front of City Hall, blocking foot traffic.
Can't be having that you know.
Then the Mayor got his knickers in a bunch and sent in the cops and here we are, yet again, except this time they decided to get a better visual to send their message.
Angry Residents Wave Pitchforks, Torches In Protest Of Mayor's Crackdown On Homelessness
A group of fired-up activists in Portland, Ore., who were tired of seeing homeless people being mistreated staged the kind of protest that will be difficult for the mayor to ignore.
An estimated 4,000 people sleep on the streets of Portland, Ore., on any given night and, since last summer, life has become increasingly difficult for them.
So, a group of protesters descended upon Portland City Hall on Tuesday night carrying pitchforks and torches to "shame the mayor into action," organizer Jessie Sponberg told The Oregonian.
Porltand Homelessness Portland Oregon Portland Homeless Protest Portland Criminalizing Homelessness Criminalizing Homelessness Portland Film the Police Portland Impact News
A group of fired-up activists in Portland, Ore., who were tired of seeing homeless people being mistreated staged the kind of protest that will be difficult for the mayor to ignore.
An estimated 4,000 people sleep on the streets of Portland, Ore., on any given night and, since last summer, life has become increasingly difficult for them.
So, a group of protesters descended upon Portland City Hall on Tuesday night carrying pitchforks and torches to "shame the mayor into action," organizer Jessie Sponberg told The Oregonian.
Portland appears to be gearing up to revive a bill that would allow police to rouse homeless people sitting on sidewalks, The Oregonian reported at the end of last year. In July, Mayor Charlie Hales launched an effort to clear out homeless campsites, according to the Portland Mercury.
Sweeping campsites often exacerbates the situation for people living on the streets because the police discard homeless people’s few possessions, which may include their only warm clothing and blankets, advocates noted in a Change.org petition.
But Hales told The Oregonian in August that he plans on balancing the crackdown on homeless camps with increasing funding for overnight shelters. But he didn’t commit to a spending figure.
"This is not about homelessness," the mayor told the paper about the anti-camping law. "It's about lawlessness."
Hordes of advocates have continued to voice their concerns about the extensive measures, but Film the Police Portland -- a grassroots advocacy group -- took their protest beyond just handing out petitions.
The group of about 50 protesters set up shop at City Hall on Tuesday, waving pitchforks and torches. They turned the surrounding gardens into a cemetery scene to signify the number of homeless people who have frozen to death, Sponberg wrote on his Facebook page.
The current Mayor needs to realize that this issue is not going to be swept under the rug and ignored yet again and should find a more permanent solution.
There have been many good ideas floated over the years but it always comes down to money.
Seems to be a circle here, that's why the homeless people are there in the first place.
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This Warms The Cockles Of My Black Little Heart Updated at :
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Sunday, February 16, 2014
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