S Is About Removal, Not Rehabilitation (by: Osha Neumann)

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/letters-for-the-week-of-october-17-2012/Content?oid=3365385

Rachel Swan strolls the avenues with John Caner, the gangly CEO of the Downtown Berkeley Association, and a prime mover behind Measure S. Candidly, he tells her that when sidewalk sitting is outlawed, he "foresees a system in which ambassadors would quietly shoo homeless people away from the city's main commercial districts, making them cleaner and more pedestrian-friendly, while creating an uptick in foot traffic to bolster local businesses."

The veil slips for a moment and the truth is revealed. Measure S is about sweeping homeless people off the street. It's about preemptive criminalization. Some homeless people may do bad things, so let's criminalize something they do that's innocuous. It's not about getting them services. It's about getting them out of here.

**Opinion**

Well, I certainly like the prior post and this one better than the one I'll post next.