Thursday 28 November 2013

support the 'middle class', do you?

let me tell you who you are supporting.

these are the gentrifiers. the economic colonizers. the social cleansers. the cop-callers.

they are the reason there is a de facto curfew in select parts of the city where actually sitting down in a coffee shop is impossible after 11 PM because apparently it is now unacceptable for a homeless person to grab a few precious moments of warmth on a desperately cold night.

they are the reason that other food and beverage establishments in these same neighborhoods are forced to operate under restrictions that will not be found in most other parts of the city or province, simply because they are affordable places where poor people congregate and socialize. 

they are the reason why homeless people are relentlessly persecuted by law enforcement for the 'crime' of trying to catch some desperately needed sleep anytime and anywhere they can. they are the reason why homeless women in particular face a much greater risk of violence including sexual assault, and why such crimes go largely unreported and unresolved.

they are the reason why agencies that serve vulnerable people are forced to operate under a cloud. they are the reason why emergency shelter beds are being lost at a time when the need for them has never been greater. they are the reason why the development of any social/supportive housing in some areas has become the focus of major struggles sometimes years in duration.

these are the people (and policies/practices) you are supporting when you 'defend the middle class'.

abolish *all* classes!