[Brian_Baldwin]

Thanks for this post and your comments. Excuse my typo's as I type this, because a lot of this has so many upset. But your thoughts remind me, take me back, decades back, it was just past the Berkeley-Oakland city border in the S.F. Bay Area, some leftist group pulled in with a truck full of food - I actually can't remember what went wrong at the time, I think it was some sort of post-riot, in those days I was younger, more stupid, I drove over to the area to watch. I was probably 1972 or 1974. When did the "People's Temple" thing happen? Before or after that? I *think* it was the Jim Jones people, the Temple from S.F., they had the truck, the food. So I pull up, and the fools start to try and distribute the food to those who needed it - it starts going out of control. These people were not grateful - in fact, I recall the exact same words "it wasn't heated" and such. Then it starts to become violent, the food distribution turns into literally throwing the supplies from the truck out. Then the "people" who should be grateful, they are then literally attacking and looting the truck. Some start to throw cans in a violent manner at each other, and at cars. I get out of there. Later the police had to come to save those who wanted to distribute the food.

I recall years ago, I actually went along with some charity to distribute food in S.F. near the Mayor's office. This was the first, and only time, I would do so. It wasn't a good experience. I remember being given instructions on how the distribution would work, as the vehicles where parked, then as a table was setup, and the operation started. I could not even believe what I started seeing. They would take the plate of food, taste it, these were druggies, drunks, as well as younger punk types who were bums and all, and would THROW the plate down on the ground as if the food wasn't good enough. It got much worse. I decided to leave on my own. We were being threatened as well. I heard only two "thank you(s)". It all comes down to moral values of these in the community on the receiving end. Really, that is what it comes down to. Sure, there was some good done, but over all, it was a scary experience. Scary, man.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Brian: I think I know the food distribution that you are referring to. Wasn't that when the Symbionese Liberation Front was holding Patty Hearst hostage and they demanded that her father donate about $40,000 worth of food to the poor? They went through a series of those demands, and then they never released her. And then she joined their group. I think there were at least two of those food drop offs and they both turned into near riots. I had moved from the Bay Area at the time, but I was following the case closely in the newspaper and on TV.