Well! I just came down to South Central Los Angeles, because this is the only place that there is homeless shelters, there was none in Sacramento (Unfortunately the kindness of my parents only will go so far, but they have been good to me). I don't want to sound like Mein Kampf, but it is a slightly similar story (and I do have that Hitler-like glare, unfortunately he belongs in South Central with the rest of these Meth/Coke addicts)
I have been living outside of Civilization for quite some-time (About 6 months). My mother was kind enough to get me a quiet country trailer with W/P/S/AC where I could leave in peace and clean air. Unfortunately I had to come back to California to apply for an expungement. As you get closer to the street-people epicenter, the roll up doors with Hispanic and Asian business's fenced in line the up against the streets. I had to wait at the train station with my bags (I arrived at 2:30AM), where plenty of security was available, these bags weigh me down, and makes it difficult for me to defend in a street fight where I am encumbered slightly and drop my electronics bag, damaging my equipment.
Los Angeles is still very wealthy, as one block is filled in with nicely built public buildings with iconic architecture, but as I wander down to skid row, my heavy boots are unused to walking this kinda distance with blisters on my feet (thankfully I have some nice 11" Red-Wings, water-proof mudding boots (the same kind you use on oil rigs)).
In every alley, the stench of open urine and sewage fills the air, people sleeping in cardboard boxes, or plastic tents tied to shopping carts. I am not sure of the bed capacity down here, I was lucky enough to have a pre-arranged phone-call with my mother calling the shelter ahead of time.
I actually went to the wrong shelter before dawn (Union Gospel Mission), I had about 10% battery left on my trusty hand-held android, when I got a text message for the correct place (Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission). This little $500.00 computer has been a lifesaver ($40.00 a month with insurance in case I drop it, with synced google accounts (Iphone's can suck it)).
The first problem I can see is that the sidewalks need to be pressure washed, there is so much gunk on the sidewalk I sat down in I am kinda worried about bacteria at this point or staph infections, and it kinda hurts to stand up for that period of time. Some people are creative using lawnchair's and what-not to just crash on the street like straight up Snoop-Dawg.
What I don't seem to understand is why many people are unwilling to live in the shelter's. Many of these people choose to remain addicted to their drug addictions as street people, refusing to live in shelters (because of the warm weather); because they refuse to follow directions or stop their drug addictions.
There is many cripple's on SSLA skid-row, running around with false legs, and wheelchairs (especially the elderly). 85% of these people are African-Americans with drug addictions and criminal records (I want to take some stats survey's soon, to get a more realistic picture of what is going on.)
Nobody seemed very willing to try to attack me or mad-dog (it might be my clothing, or my face; when I did time a few years back I had to stand up or retreat from team's of 4-5 people at least 3-4 times, I never had backup; I've been lucky so far, I just don't try to push my luck). There definitely isn't any good looking women out there (most of the women are not physically attractive or elderly, which accounts for them being on the street; Put Beyonce out there with me and watch how fast she gets off of the street.)
One thing that is nice to see, unlike India or Bangladesh; is that there is no children on the streets because of foster care/ orphanages/ CPS There was a long line out-side for food (but most of the people get food-stamps and what-not anyways, which gives plenty of food. In NC, the welfare policies are different it's based on sex/race/age/health/marital-status/children unlike California.
I have seen maybe 10 white people on the street, most of them look like they have drug problems.
I am definitely going to have to stop smoking outside; I worry about when the rainy season comes the moisture can definitely give you consumption (Tuberculosis), and I'll need watch where I sit. Furthermore the health department needs to regulate these Charities, (I had a stale-donut earler, but it wasn't bad I love stale bread anyways). =)
I do not understand how these people survive in this petri-dish (coming from school in a bio-med lab), I am definitely going to have to get some anti-bacterial soap and maybe a nasal-face-mask. I might have caught a cold already from the door-handles (I am not sure haha). I think TB is a serious problem out here, which needs to be fixed by the LA county enforcing clean pressure-washed sidewalks, and putting people into a squatters lot.
One thing that gets me upset is about these people passing out alcohol to these old alcoholics, is that they drink 1/2 a 40 oz. and they start getting the shakes (Like seriously they need to start to mandatory control these things (I am not a cop but giving alcohol to people with the shakes is ridiculous).
I bought a pack of Kools when I got in from Union Central to calm my nerves a bit (It's been at least 10 year's since I've been down here).
Then some skinny black-dude rolled up on me asking for a lighter, so thinking he was going to light up a cigarette, he pulls out a crack pipe and starts smoking with my lighter. My lighter being contaminated, I just sighed, handed him the rest of my pack of smokes, and let him keep the lighter. I don't need cocaine-particulates in my blood stream, Menthol tobacco is already starting to make the right side of my body feel funny (that's why I have been limiting my intake and taking an aspirin a day)...=)
Ironic that at the same time, the black community is playing the Gospel music full blare at 7:30 in the morning, with this long food line of old ex-cons. The strange thing about homeless shelter's is, they kick everyone out during the day (I am not sure for what purpose), and they wouldn't let me check in my heavy bags. It's ok.
Many of the people talk to themselves, from their schizophrenia-split-brain issues, or the lack of inter-personal-relationships.
I had a good conversation with about five of the older black guy's out there, they undeniably support President Obama. Some of the guy's have been to prison, and they haven't yet obtained certificates of rehabilitation, so they can't get jobs or loans, and forced into welfare and poverty.
I started talking about options and asked them why they live in the inner city; I explained how North Carolina is actually a much better place for blacks (as there is black owned business's with black employees, black universities, and they are screaming out here about stopping segregation.) I told them they would have a lot better quality of life living on welfare in a country trailer, but they just try to say that white people will abuse them and treat them like Negro slaves on a plantation, and yet I suspect they stay in the inner city, because of the lack of need for vehicles and maintenance, also the availability of drugs keeps them here in the inner city to satisfy their addictions.
I just don't understand how homeless inner-city blacks are more concerned with satisfying their drug addictions and saying that white males are going to enslave them if they move out into rural areas. I was arguing with them about how many black farmers there are in NC, and how there is a lot more of an older African-American labor class in the south, whereas I have not seen this in my 27 years of living in the west, where the major California cities are filled with trash, human refuse, and yet they are threatening riots of a republican is elected.
I reminded them that 5 votes in California is worth 1 vote in a small mid-western state or on the east, and also suggested that some of them head up to Massachusetts to take advantage of the Anti-discrimination laws. Some of these guys have felonies that are 20 years old, and the state stops publishing criminal records after 7 years (I myself am scrambling to get my record reduced to go back to work with hearings scheduled in a few months.)
I am definitely arguing in favor of two options, either one; a real ghetto such as Amsterdam is established, as a legal drug zone for junkies to live in, that is separate from the shelters. I haven't seen the crips/bloods or Sureno's out in force yet, this really is just a bunch of OG's trying to survive; Or they declare martial law on the inner cities, set up tent cities with federal enforcement on the drug trade and bum/camps that are military police'd. I think the current status quo, relying on the church donations from the people to fund these homeless shelter's is not good enough.
I have been living outside of Civilization for quite some-time (About 6 months). My mother was kind enough to get me a quiet country trailer with W/P/S/AC where I could leave in peace and clean air. Unfortunately I had to come back to California to apply for an expungement. As you get closer to the street-people epicenter, the roll up doors with Hispanic and Asian business's fenced in line the up against the streets. I had to wait at the train station with my bags (I arrived at 2:30AM), where plenty of security was available, these bags weigh me down, and makes it difficult for me to defend in a street fight where I am encumbered slightly and drop my electronics bag, damaging my equipment.
Los Angeles is still very wealthy, as one block is filled in with nicely built public buildings with iconic architecture, but as I wander down to skid row, my heavy boots are unused to walking this kinda distance with blisters on my feet (thankfully I have some nice 11" Red-Wings, water-proof mudding boots (the same kind you use on oil rigs)).
In every alley, the stench of open urine and sewage fills the air, people sleeping in cardboard boxes, or plastic tents tied to shopping carts. I am not sure of the bed capacity down here, I was lucky enough to have a pre-arranged phone-call with my mother calling the shelter ahead of time.
I actually went to the wrong shelter before dawn (Union Gospel Mission), I had about 10% battery left on my trusty hand-held android, when I got a text message for the correct place (Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission). This little $500.00 computer has been a lifesaver ($40.00 a month with insurance in case I drop it, with synced google accounts (Iphone's can suck it)).
The first problem I can see is that the sidewalks need to be pressure washed, there is so much gunk on the sidewalk I sat down in I am kinda worried about bacteria at this point or staph infections, and it kinda hurts to stand up for that period of time. Some people are creative using lawnchair's and what-not to just crash on the street like straight up Snoop-Dawg.
What I don't seem to understand is why many people are unwilling to live in the shelter's. Many of these people choose to remain addicted to their drug addictions as street people, refusing to live in shelters (because of the warm weather); because they refuse to follow directions or stop their drug addictions.
There is many cripple's on SSLA skid-row, running around with false legs, and wheelchairs (especially the elderly). 85% of these people are African-Americans with drug addictions and criminal records (I want to take some stats survey's soon, to get a more realistic picture of what is going on.)
Nobody seemed very willing to try to attack me or mad-dog (it might be my clothing, or my face; when I did time a few years back I had to stand up or retreat from team's of 4-5 people at least 3-4 times, I never had backup; I've been lucky so far, I just don't try to push my luck). There definitely isn't any good looking women out there (most of the women are not physically attractive or elderly, which accounts for them being on the street; Put Beyonce out there with me and watch how fast she gets off of the street.)
One thing that is nice to see, unlike India or Bangladesh; is that there is no children on the streets because of foster care/ orphanages/ CPS There was a long line out-side for food (but most of the people get food-stamps and what-not anyways, which gives plenty of food. In NC, the welfare policies are different it's based on sex/race/age/health/marital-status/children unlike California.
I have seen maybe 10 white people on the street, most of them look like they have drug problems.
I am definitely going to have to stop smoking outside; I worry about when the rainy season comes the moisture can definitely give you consumption (Tuberculosis), and I'll need watch where I sit. Furthermore the health department needs to regulate these Charities, (I had a stale-donut earler, but it wasn't bad I love stale bread anyways). =)
I do not understand how these people survive in this petri-dish (coming from school in a bio-med lab), I am definitely going to have to get some anti-bacterial soap and maybe a nasal-face-mask. I might have caught a cold already from the door-handles (I am not sure haha). I think TB is a serious problem out here, which needs to be fixed by the LA county enforcing clean pressure-washed sidewalks, and putting people into a squatters lot.
One thing that gets me upset is about these people passing out alcohol to these old alcoholics, is that they drink 1/2 a 40 oz. and they start getting the shakes (Like seriously they need to start to mandatory control these things (I am not a cop but giving alcohol to people with the shakes is ridiculous).
I bought a pack of Kools when I got in from Union Central to calm my nerves a bit (It's been at least 10 year's since I've been down here).
Then some skinny black-dude rolled up on me asking for a lighter, so thinking he was going to light up a cigarette, he pulls out a crack pipe and starts smoking with my lighter. My lighter being contaminated, I just sighed, handed him the rest of my pack of smokes, and let him keep the lighter. I don't need cocaine-particulates in my blood stream, Menthol tobacco is already starting to make the right side of my body feel funny (that's why I have been limiting my intake and taking an aspirin a day)...=)
Ironic that at the same time, the black community is playing the Gospel music full blare at 7:30 in the morning, with this long food line of old ex-cons. The strange thing about homeless shelter's is, they kick everyone out during the day (I am not sure for what purpose), and they wouldn't let me check in my heavy bags. It's ok.
Many of the people talk to themselves, from their schizophrenia-split-brain issues, or the lack of inter-personal-relationships.
I had a good conversation with about five of the older black guy's out there, they undeniably support President Obama. Some of the guy's have been to prison, and they haven't yet obtained certificates of rehabilitation, so they can't get jobs or loans, and forced into welfare and poverty.
I started talking about options and asked them why they live in the inner city; I explained how North Carolina is actually a much better place for blacks (as there is black owned business's with black employees, black universities, and they are screaming out here about stopping segregation.) I told them they would have a lot better quality of life living on welfare in a country trailer, but they just try to say that white people will abuse them and treat them like Negro slaves on a plantation, and yet I suspect they stay in the inner city, because of the lack of need for vehicles and maintenance, also the availability of drugs keeps them here in the inner city to satisfy their addictions.
I just don't understand how homeless inner-city blacks are more concerned with satisfying their drug addictions and saying that white males are going to enslave them if they move out into rural areas. I was arguing with them about how many black farmers there are in NC, and how there is a lot more of an older African-American labor class in the south, whereas I have not seen this in my 27 years of living in the west, where the major California cities are filled with trash, human refuse, and yet they are threatening riots of a republican is elected.
I reminded them that 5 votes in California is worth 1 vote in a small mid-western state or on the east, and also suggested that some of them head up to Massachusetts to take advantage of the Anti-discrimination laws. Some of these guys have felonies that are 20 years old, and the state stops publishing criminal records after 7 years (I myself am scrambling to get my record reduced to go back to work with hearings scheduled in a few months.)
I am definitely arguing in favor of two options, either one; a real ghetto such as Amsterdam is established, as a legal drug zone for junkies to live in, that is separate from the shelters. I haven't seen the crips/bloods or Sureno's out in force yet, this really is just a bunch of OG's trying to survive; Or they declare martial law on the inner cities, set up tent cities with federal enforcement on the drug trade and bum/camps that are military police'd. I think the current status quo, relying on the church donations from the people to fund these homeless shelter's is not good enough.
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