Comments on: Orlando: Please Do Not Feed The Homeless

Law Limits Feeding Large Groups Of People In Parks

[myopinion1]

I can see where they are going with this ordinance but they are attacking this in a backwards way. No city wants homeless people wandering the streets. I don't think any person like to hear of people with no home. However, the fact remains that they are human beings. There are a lot of people in this country who are one paycheck away from disaster, but certainly not the idiots who passed this mess. FIRST you need to do something about the homeless people before you forbade others to feed them.

This ordinance would work if they already had in place mass housing, medical care, job programs and enough people working on this to ensure that no one would go hungry.

I can see how having feeding programs like this would encourage the homeless to stay homeless and have a place to eat. Many are already complacent with their situation and don't want help, just food. They have the right idea but with their governmental blinders on, they don't see the whole picture. Are you surprised?

[durhamnc5]

a %u201CLarge Group Feeding Permit%u201D... as if he homeless are animals. You serve people, you feeds animals. That says a lot about municipalities like Orlando... this is a really rotten reflection on society.

[selenite1]

The current administration has pissed away over 400 billion dollars of tax payer funds on yet another remote conflict while our own citizens starve in the streets.

The Bush administration is insane and inhumane.

[lambofgoth]

Wow. What a disgusting story. Starve the homeless... make them someone else's problem!
I'm sure there are a bunch of shallow minded idiots talking about how great this new law is on here, I didn't read it because there is always some buffoon who claims to be a good Christian (while they hang out with their meth-using gay pastor) who's narrow mind can't go beyond "it's not effecting me" so why should I care? Regardless, it's hard to imagine the city council is that self-centered... or is it self-righteous? I really, truly hope that every single one of those schmucks who supported this bill suffers the pain of a seriously mentally ill family member or at least loses their gay pastor in a typical scandal. It's shameful. Really, truly, incredibly shameful.

[newton221]

I cant believe this story. Whoever came up with this ridiculous idea is a complete idiot. There is a such thing as carma. This is not gonna fly in the United States. If i want to feed the homeless i have that right. The stupid suits in Orlando can suck my ***. I cant wait to see Orlando try to enforce this stupid law. The courts will never allow it to be enforced. Find something better to do with your time. You stupid empty suits!!!

[plowhandle]

Fact: Ronald Reagan's administration emptied the nation's loonie bins into the streets, cutting off aid and relief for those unfortunate members of society that we didn't have to necessarily SEE and DEAL WITH on a daily basis.

Where did they go ? THE STREETS.

Fact: Filthy Repubiscum Governor Jeb Bush and his ilk in the state of Florida enabled the august Burghers of Orlando to put forth this rotten set of laws that discriminate against those most unfortunate members of our society. Instead of giving them a leg up, they get a bootintheass.

Republishit Family Values.

Suggested resolution for Florida: Take the most sickly of the homeless and carve them up into stew-size chunks...brown lightly in olive oil until uniformly brown, put in pot, cover with red wine, add carrots, potatoes and greens - and - voila! - Poor People Stew that they can ladle out in the public parks to the rest of the homeless! In a matter of months, the "problem" should be solved !

[swwils]

I think if the government would spend some of that aid money that they send around the world on their own in need,then we wouldn't have this problem here.

[susanhelit]

Mentally ill people cannot control their illness. They cannot control their actions. Why do we hurt them by expecting them to control their life? Knowing that their mental illness will be in control, and continue destroying their life, eating up whatever little sanity is left in their brain?

[susanhelit]

Yes, I do want mentally ill people who have no control of their illness, and cannot care for themselves to be confined to a mental hospital. It is no kindness to let them make their own choices when they are not in their right mind. It makes no sense!

We used to take care of them - some problems, yes, some things that needed to be improved, but instead greedy people decided to eliminate the whole system, and now they're out there, killing themselves when we're lucky, killing others when we're not. Yes, absolutely, 100%, I would want myself, my husband, my mother, my sister, my daughter to be in one of those hospitals, rather than out on the street, imprisoned rather than making their own decisions based on insane delusions and paranoia.

Oh, and I do know someone who was confined, wrongly, to one of those hospitals when she was younger. Even so, even she doesn't think that her case meant the whole system should have been broken!

[tarnold510]

humancitizen
If you knew what the definition of *** is you would be labeled as on because you are a very ignorant person. I know not all homeless people are black you dumb *** by the way that's how you spell dumb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Other races besides blacks are homeless, you should be to know how it feel and to let you know not all homeless people are black.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tarnold510]

SUSAN HELIT

HOW DO YHOU THINK MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE CAN CONTROL THEIR ILLNESS OR MAKE IT BETTER. DO YOU WANT THEM TO STAY SO DRUGGED UP IN MENTAL HOSPITAL THAT THEY DON'T KNOW NIGHT FROM DAY. I THINK YOU ARE VERY STUPID TO MAKE THAT COMMENT BOUT THE MENTALLY ILL, YOU COULD HAVE MENTALLY ILL CHILD OR GRANDCHILD ONE DAY AND HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT.

[book54552134]

I have relatives who live in Florida & I have visited the Tampa-St. Pete area several times.
The impression I get is that Florida is a place that renders very hard treatment to anyone down on their luck in any way.
There is very little compassion to be found in the State of Florida, it's govenmental systems or the overwhelming majority of it's citizens.

[kaliveotin]

Its sad how FEAR and IGNORANCE motivate so many to hatefull comments. Some let their stupidity and cowardly reations fly like a flag. The smarter stupid people are well enough to try and hide their childish pontifications. Others aren't that smart. We all know who they are from how they express themselves. I pity them.

I was homeless for over 5 and a half years an in that time if it was not for people who cared enough to share there food with me i would have died. Is that what the city of Orando want is to have the homeless people just die and go away. I think so an it is not going to happen. Over 60percent of american live 1 paycheck away from being homeless them selves. i just hope and pray that the city mayor and the city concuil are homeless 1 day to just see how bad it really is out there on the street without any food or shelter. and i hope they goo through hell and do not have food to eat then they will understand. and have some heart for these people. these people are american who have worked hard and have fallen on hard times. So have a heart and let these group feed these people.

[kaliveotin]

The United States is NOT the greatest nation in the world. It's not even close. The way we treat not only the homeless, but the working poor and so many other needy americans is a national disgrace. Our government has been a national disgrace for decades. If the economy is so good, why are the numbers of homeless, poor, uninsured and needy children growing? Hubert Humphrey talked about Full-employment in 1968. We should give everyone who wants a job, decent work. There's plenty that needs to be done. Lets put everyone to work who can, and give everyone shelter who needs it.

[davey214]

This "dont help the homeless stuff" is the most cruel and selfish any person or government could be. If you dont want to help them yourself, then just shut up and leave it to those who will. But to make laws against charity is both inhumane and to deny charitable people their constitutional right of the pursuit of happiness. Animal rights groups defend stray pets better than Orlanda defends its homeless. To say this is Rachel Ray jargon, "How heartless can they be?"

[annd2302]

karlagolay

I fully agree with your last remark. Why don't you just stay the hell home and away from Florida. They do not need your kind, buckoo.

[annd2302]

middleman at 11:00 PM : Feb 03, 2007 Posted


Oh, and you ought to invest a few bucks in a dictionary so you don't look like a total *** when you post a blog.
So please, stay home and sit on your *** watching CNN. We'll take care of ourselves. We always do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you have never been broke, down-and-out, abandoned or dumped by society or family, mentally ill, handicapped, disregarded or any other reason for being homeless, then don%u2019t condemn those who want to provide a meal or to now and then to the homeless.

You assume way to much responsibility to make the remark, %u201CWe'll take care of ourselves%u201D. Weeeeeeeee probably could do just that if weeeeee did not tend to take care of the WORLD. However, that is a whole issue in itself.

About the spelling, unfortunately one does not need the %u201CWebsters%u201D all he/she has to do is a simple spell check prior to committing a blog. Oh, and I say unfortunately because people currently depend on the computer for way to much as spell-check.

[susanhelit]

Given real stats about homeless having a seriously high percentage of mentally ill (often violent), druggies and alcoholics - why should Orlando be encouraging them to be in a place designated for families and children to come an play?

I'm not saying outlaw them from going there, but from living there, sure. And preventing well meaning (IMHO, naieve) groups from encouraging these homeless to be there is about the only way to work on that.

[susanhelit]

The homeless are a real problem. There are places to help them, and they don't want to use them because there they have to give up their drugs and alcohol. We're not talking about the pretty homeless, the homeless advocate's picture of the homeless, some poor person who just lost their job, or aren't paid enough to afford a roof over their heads - those are a small percent, they're helped by the charities and shelters easily, and they're not long term.

The problem is the majority of the homeless - drug addicts, alcoholics, people with serious mental problems - all of which don't want to change. Sure, they'd like a free meal, but every free meal is more encouragement, more money they panhandle to use on drugs or booze, more support to keep slowly killing themselves, more time before they hit that rock bottom, and realize they have to change.

Until they are ready to change, I see no reason we should ruin our parks, our downtowns with homeless feeding stations. Sadly, a lot of homeless steal or hurt people (due to feeding addictions, or their existing mental problems - until we kicked them out of the insane asylums, they had a good place to live where they couldn't hurt others), and we do need to think about where to encourage and discourage them to be.

Just read the papers, talk to the police - and get a look at the real face of the homeless. I'm all for as many services as possible to help them out, but real help, not help in staying on drugs, on alcohol, on the street.