http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/14/portland-homelessness-illegal_n_4790205.html

I was reading the news and came across an article about a group of activists in Portland, Oregon, who held a demonstration protesting the mistreatment of homeless people in their state. Their action was in direct response to the mayor’s recent action to bring back a bill that would permit the police force to awaken slumbering homeless people on the streets and force them to move elsewhere. In the eyes of the Portland activists, this act makes being homeless a crime – something they deem to be inhumane and unfair.

I completely agree with this group of people. I think it is abominable to criminalize homelessness. How can any person with a heart seek to punish someone because they don’t have somewhere secure to lay their heads at night? If the mayor wants people off the streets then he needs to stop talking about investing more money in shelters and actually do it. This article reminds me of the film, “Taylors Campaign,” that we watched in class several weeks ago. In the documentary, one of the primary issues that the street people who were interviewed mentioned was mistreatment and both physical and verbal abuse suffered at the hands of the very people paid to protect citizens and their rights. Being homeless does not mean that you have to relinquish your rights or your dignity and so I find it infuriating that these people are treated so poorly. The way homeless people are forcibly removed reminds me of the way farm animals are rounded up and shipped elsewhere. That is why I found the work being done by the Portland activists to be admirable. I am so glad that so many people in the United States are working to improve conditions for our fellow citizens who have fallen upon hard times and could use a hand in getting back on their feet.