EDITORIALS. OPINIONS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
‘Homeless’ kids keep
playing the con game
■ OUR OPINION: 13- A,.
clean-up will work if we
slop handing out our
spare Change
Eugene polit e* recently
launched a "zero-tolerance"
i ampaign along East l.'lth
Avenue aimed at jaywalk
ers. litterbugs and other vio
lators of pedestrian related
laws.
Persuasion, street-side
counseling and education
all failed to keep aggressive
panhandlers and "excessive
loiterers" off Kith Avenue
during the summer I'he sit
uation got so bad that police
sent a seven-member com
munity-response team to
make a sweep of the area m
August.
Well, the sweep worked
and street kids moved
one whole blot k away.
Now. many of the tangle
haired, money-begging
street folk have found a new
home in the west University
park area on East 14th
Avenue between Hilyard
and Patterson streets. Won
derful.
As effective as this pro
gram may seem, it is onlv a
quick fix for a long-term
problem. Recognize and
realize that most of these
street urchins are si attuning
us. and the sooner we start
saving "no" to free loaders,
the sooner thev II pack up
and leave for good.
For the sake of the argu
ment. vve are talking about
the younger people, with
their dreadlocks and wild,
dirty clothes, who prefer to
hangout in small groups
and ask for "spare i hange"
from the people who actual
ly work fur it
Those people have chosen
the life they are living - or
not liv ing, depending on
how you look at it. They are
not displaced timber work
ers or people (hat society
has coile<lively dumped on;
they are living the way they
want to live —- off of every
one else.
Have you seen all the help
wanted signs in the windows
of area fast-food establish
ments' We wonder how
many of our street friends
have gone to their favorite
jediiii restrooms. w.e.h<-d up
a little and tried to get a job
in one of those restaurants
Hy the sheer numbers of
these trendy transients who
iiltet oiirt irbs and srd*
walks (and shrubs and
trees), it appears not many
have tried Oiling out job
applications.
Most of them are not
starving They choose to
spend their (our) hard
earned money on entertain
ment and luxuries. They < an
!*• seen smoking their ciga
rettes and drinking their
beverago-nf choir e every
day on any sidewalk they ve
decided to plant their buns
or feet on
Smokes and drinks aren't
free, and the stuff isn’t
handed out at the Mission
or Goodwill. In fat t. those
habits cost quite a bit — a
pack of Camels costs $2.50
Spare change?
On any given day. these
youngsters walk around
laughing and talking with
their lifestyle-challenged
buddies, seemingly having
the time of their lives They
aren't starving. When you're
hungry, tho last thing you
want to do with your mouth
is smile.
One final note: The city's
ordinam e against aggressive
panhandling was designed
for your protection. If you
feei threatened by a street
person, report him or her to
the police.
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K
Powell popularity boosted by Bob and Bill
Lust year I wrote my fir*!
column about the pos
sibility of a Colin Pow
ell candidai y One year
Inter, ns Powell tours the coun
try promoting his recently
released autobiography. Sty
American Journey, an
announcement of a Powell-for
President campaign seems
im*\ liable
So why should a man who
lias lies rr held an ele» ted
office be considering « shot of
the highest in the nation?
Results from a 7'irne/CNN
poll of 1,000 adults taken June
21-22 show mathematically
why Powell has n good chance
of winning the Oval Office
When asked whom they
would vote for in a three-way
race, with Powell as an inde
pendent and Clinton and IXde
representing the two major
parties, the general finished a
( lose second with the presi
dent Clinton received 33 irer
i ent of the vote and Powell
garnered 29
When asked the same ques
tion with Powell as the Repub
lican nominee and Clinton his
only opponent, the general
i ante in 3 percentage points
ahead of the incumbent.
For any politician, lot alone
a rookie, these numbers are
strong, esjMM.tally because the
general election is more than a
year away, and Powell has not
officially entered the race
We’ve never seen anything
quite like this Well, at least
not since Kisenhower
To see why Powell is the hot
ticket in the current presiden
tial posturing, we need look no
further than Ins competition.
From the Democrats, we
have President Clinton, whose
tax-and spend profligacy is
one of the root causes of this
nation's e< onotnic woes and
whose let k ol omnixatloa has
left a revolving door in front of
the White House
Also, the president filled his
campaign with promises and
then wavered around a great
deal of them. Remember gays
in the military, when the pres
idunt danced around the issue
like a marionette? Or the mid
dle (lass tax cut. which never
materializ«d? Or health-care
reform, when he allowed the
COP to walk all over him?
These events, and numerous
others Uke them, have not
gone unnotk ed by the voting
public
Although the president has
OPINION
PriaolU
rtmUu
ill ways
seemed well
intentioned,
his leadership
ability has
been under
constant cri
tique Powell,
in contrast, is
seen as the
tough general
of the Persian
Gull War — a trim loader, not a
mere political puppet.
On the other side, we have
the Republicans: a dour and
caustic group who, if divided
by ideology, could probably
form three, distinct parties.
The combined influence of
the National Rifle Association,
big businesses and the Christ
ian Coalition has left the party
without a consistent philoso
phy Businesses get subsidies,
but poor people don't; chemi
cal dumping is morally accept
able, hut abortion ami homo
sexuality aren't Such incon
sistencies make many
moderates, the ba< kbone of
any general election, uncom
fortable
Powell has already posi
tioned himself against such
nonsense in his book
1 am troubled by the politi
cal passion of those on the
extreme right who seem to
claim divine wisdom on politi
cal as well as spiritual mat
ters. he said.
Such words of common
sense, which won't be heard
from a president trying to win
over Christian voters, will
cross party lines and ring true
in the ears of the electorate
Also, the new style of
Republican attack-journalism
repulses many Americans. As
the general tolls his readers:
Democracy hns always been
noisy, but now, on television
and radio talk shows, dema
goguery and character dis
memberment displace sea
soned dialogue."
If he chooses to run in the
c urrent GOP field, Powell can
distinguish himself as a gentle
man above the fray, especially
compared with the bar room
brawlers the Republicans are
fielding
What distinguishes the gen
eral from the Democrats and
the- Republic ans is that he is
where most Americans actual
ly lie the pragmatic, center, lie
describes himself as a fiscal
conservative with a social con
science." a desc ription that
more and more people are
using for themselves
Although he has stated that
he is pro-choice and supports
some gun control. Powell s
opinions are the most elusive
thing about him.
However, this may not be
important for a man held in
such high esteem. As Democ
ratic pollster Peter Hart told
Time Voting for a legislator,
we say. Tve got problems with
him on this or that issue But
voting for a president, we say.
What kind of leader wilt this
person l»t? Do 1 trust this per
son?"'
If these are the questions the
American people ask them
selves. Colin Powell could lie
the oniy answer.
A career as distinguished as
his would l>« impressive for a
person from any background,
but for Powell it is even inure
so because he lias faced the
harriers of lieing an African
American in this country and
of growing up in a family of
modest means.
His accomplishments are
signs of great fortitude, leader
ship and gumption — qualities
that must have Clinton and
Dole biting their nails to the
quick.
Prima A I Fontana, a senior
majoring m economics, is a
columnist for the Emerald.