Neon Bums

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

To those of you who I have met, or will meet at some point: Thank You! I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who stop me out and about, or come into Tommie's just to see me! All of you have been so very gracious and kind and you've managed to give me some measure of solace in that this blog has had some value to Livermore at large. Your kindness has done a great deal for me on a very deep level.

But, concerns have been expressed.

The chief concern voiced is that this blog is “inviting” Homeless People into Livermore. I find this rather amusing, considering that in three months this blog has called out more bad behaviour on the part of the Homeless than any other single source. Yes, I have outlined services in a few blog postings, but the lion's share of them have been about what it is I see.

For instance: Yesterday I had words with Boston Bill who showed up to Vineyard Christian Fellowship in his normal drunk state. He seemed to take issue with my telling another about his bad behaviour at the Springtown Inn last Christmas. The Warming Centre was closed. It was very cold that night. Rooms were rented for several people. Check out time was 11AM or so... Boston Bill wouldn't leave till 3PM, he'd left a pile of beer cans and smoked so heavily in the room it couldn't be let out again for several days... Yeah, Bad Behaviour. I've done this a lot in this blog, and a few of the homeless jump down my throat for not “minding my own business.”

My attitude: if it affects me, it's my business. Bad Behaviour on the part of the homeless directly affects me. It affects all the homeless since it re-enforces the notion that all homeless are lazy ne'er do wells that leach off the community at large. That's not true, of course, but those that are exactly that tend to make life difficult for those of us that are trying, at the very least, not to be a problem and be decent neighbours. When the residents of Livermore have had enough of the bad behaviour, all the homeless suffer!

Well... there are those in Livermore who have read this blog, and refuse to believe it is anything but a sales pitch for homeless services in Livermore. COME TO LIVERMORE! It's Paradise for the Homeless!

Not so if you're a problem... and I'm proud to add, especially if you're on my radar!

I can only call out bad behaviour I either see or am well connected to. Yes, I did do the report about Bo Busse's arrest for which I caught a lot of grief, that's fine... it is what it is. I don't regret anything I wrote or the result. In my opinion, it was a productive discussion that followed. I'll not apologize for it. You guys on LPD, you have my deepest respect and those of you who spoke with me personally of late, I will keep my promises to you!

This blog has always been about Homeless Behaviour. Period! It's not about getting the homeless off the streets, it's not about begging for Government Funding, it's not about special privileges. It certainly is not about inviting people from other places into Livermore to come pan-handle and make a mess! If you want to know why out-of-town Homeless People come to Livermore, all you have to do is watch those flying signs collecting money... Didn't I do a Blog about that, too?

But even as I defend this blog, I suspect the reason people object to it is not so much that they believe it's inviting homeless into Livermore... These people certainly would be hard pressed to conjure up such a person that arrived here because of this blog... I believe that there are those in Livermore who are upset that a popular blog talks about Homelessness here at all. I can't prove it, of course. I can't read people's minds the way other bloggers can. I doubt those who object to this blog would ever utter such idiocy.

Is this blog is a big, embarrassing neon-sign on the Livermore Patch telling Patch readers that there are, SURPRISE, Homeless People living in Livermore? I guess I'm the original Neon Bum... some have called me a bum, I might as well embrace it...

I'm pretty sure that's the real issue... If that's a problem for you: tough.

My message to all of you, those that enjoy this blog, those that hate that this blog exists, whether you live in a home or on the streets: Homeless People do not have to be bad neighbours and nobody should tolerate those who are.

To those of you who object to the existence of this blog just because it's popular: it stops when I run out of material or I am dead, whichever comes first.