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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2009)
nt 5 Street roots Education * Dialogue * Independence Stupidity, profiling - we can do better than this veryone (and I do mean everyone) I’ve spoken with in the last weeks has-been consumed by one thing - the recent reconfiguration of the Southeast and C entral precincts and its corresponding effects on the homeless population. Now having said this, let me qualify the statem ent Most of the gypsies (i.e. homeless people) I Jknow don’t give a damn about the police or their politics or policies By Julie — after all, they McCurdy neither serve nor protect our population on a normal basis, so why should we care? I was relatively stunned to encounter the level of intensity involved in people’s ' responses to this, and when Is ta rte d listening to accounts of actual events surrounding the reconfiguration - I have gone from stunned to horrified and am now settlecLfirmly into outrage. Here are some examples: 1)1 watched an officer walk up to a tent, and literally pick the tent up and shake it without first announcing himself. Inside jg | said ten t was a very young woman (age 18) who was terrified by this. He saicf“police ; wake up” as be picked up the tent and shook it. 2) A man was approached, searched and! questioned for standing next to a c a rt When he asked why he was being questioned, the officer said, “You want to get sm art with me? You wanna make this tough?” B ■rax: urban CTPSY Mother Nature’s Earth Friendly Baby Products Large selection of cloth diapers & wraps, natural baby & mama care products, - baby slings & carriers, . organic cotton baby clothes, wooden toys, personal service Julie McCurdy and her dog Maggie live in Portland . without a home. She is # ' regular contributor to Street. Roots. . I 2627 SE Clinton St. 503-230-7077 3.) 1 iiis m o r n m g T i ^ ^ ^ m ^ ^ f o o T t a m a n ^ ^ " t e n t w h ile t e U i n g ' / e y e ^ p a c K ' u p ' and leave. 4) I, have also heard more accounts than I care to, regarding officers sitting in their ■ patrol cars watching us rather then doing their job. Clearly, they have better things to do then watch the man Who cans at night. T he L eft C oast E isteddfod a. Welsh-American performing arts festlva 21-22 August 2009 Online Poetry, Short Story and Image competitions, now till August 2009 Win $100 and International Acclaim - enter at americymru.ning.com Winners announced at the live event at the Crystal BallrooM 21-22 August 2009 5) I, along with many others, have been woken up in the middle of the night several times and asked to move. In one such case, the officer pointed to a sign that says “No camping; Shelters are available,” at which point I laughed out loud. What a crock of shit. We all know the shelters are full; most of us are pn their waiting lists. When I asked, “Where would you like us to go?” he said nothing. No answers because there isn’t a place left for us - just demands to leave, because this place or that place isn’t OK, either. These officers are being encouraged in this behavior by a man known to have “a hard on fo rih e homeless.”’Yep folks, that’s a direct quote from an officer; I can tell you this — for sure and for certain — the police now have our attention; mine in particular sincean anonymous officer begged me not to organize a protest or write aboutthis. “Julie,’don’t do this. You don’t understand, this inan is a hard ass With a hard on for the homeless. You’ll only make thjngs worse.” Which we all know was exactly the right thing to say to inspire a* call to action. Well, that, and every single person who said to me - you’re one of our voices - SPEAK UP, GODDAMNIT! Here goes: The stupidity, profiling, harassment needs to stop. Portland, we can do better than this! Frankly, both communities need to come together to focus on an immediate solution. A realistic one to my follow gypsies - always get names and badge numbers. If you suspect profiling and harassment, demand a supervisor be called in. To the police: There are guidelines you must follow when dealing With people. We a r e g o in g -to b e w i t c h i n g a n d aw are" o f your a c tio n s ." We understand that not all the police have “a hard on for the homeless” just like not all hom elesspeople are “hope-to-die addicts and alcoholics.” Still, we can do better as communities.
