http://www.alternet.org/occupywallst/153257/what_if_they_sent_in_social_services_to_help_occupations_instead_of_riot_cops_to_bust_heads/Cities are cutting back on vitally needed social services, while at the same time, buying expensive military gear for their police departments.
November 29, 2011 |
Occupations across the country have struggled to feed and shelter the least fortunate among us, and then faced often violent police crackdowns at great taxpayer expense. Pause for a moment and imagine what might result if mayors sent in social workers to help people rather than riot police to bust some heads?
In a society that tends to avert its gaze from the homeless, the hungry, the addicted and the mentally ill, the Occupy movement's compassion has become an albatross around its neck. “We don't exclude the people at the margins,” one protester at Occupy Oakland told me. “We invite them in and feed them.”
Around the country, occupations are struggling to provide a semblance of social services that cash-strapped cities are failing to provide. “We were a magnet for the angry poor, the homeless, the angry poor drunks,” a member of Occupy Philly told Salon. “And as the number of people here to absorb that part of it got smaller, it just became overwhelming.” Another activist added: “We see somebody sleeping, we throw a blanket over them...but there are people here who really need help.”
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