Posted on 03/03/2008 7:52:18 AM PST by SmithL
Hollywood has its star Walk of Fame, but San Francisco could soon have a Walk of Shame - complete with human-shaped bronze sidewalk plaques marking where the city's homeless have died on the streets.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution last week urging the Department of Public Works to approve a privately funded plan to install "commemorative bronze sidewalk plaques" in the districts of Supervisors Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi, both champions of the city's homeless.
However, it doesn't seem many of the supes bothered to read the resolution before voting "yes."
Mirkarimi, for example, was listed as co-sponsor - but he knew little about the project when we contacted him after the vote, and he referred us to Daly's office.
Daly did not return calls or a written request for comment, although his staff confirmed he had met with the memorial's organizer.
And board President Aaron Peskin couldn't recall the measure.
But Ian Brennan, the man behind the project - and who spends his time commuting between San Francisco and Los Angeles - couldn't be happier.
Brennan is a record producer, twice nominated for Grammy awards, who has spent years working with the mentally ill in Oakland. He said the idea would be to place human-shaped plaques, about 2 feet by 2 feet, in sidewalks and inscribe them with details of the deceased's lives and the circumstances of their deaths.
Brennan said the plaques are not intended to be provocative, but if the memorials upset people more than the reality of homelessness, "then it obviously illustrates the problem really well."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I think that it would be appropriate for the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to invite some of these people into their homes. That would prove to me that they are truly “concerned.”
And if they died of AIDS, will they get a shiny bronze star on their plaque?
"Here is where Frank died. He had no real friends or family, so we don't know his last name. Most people said he was an angry drunk, and it was best to keep your distance. Frank could drink a whole bottle of vodka in one gulp. On the night he died, Frank did that drink twice in 5 minutes. We all have our limits."
Are they going to place poop shaped memorials where dogs relieved themselves?
I’m not trying to demonize the homeless just attempting to point out the stupidity of the SF Elite.
That's a carbon footprint to be proud of.
The price of Copper is way up! They won’t last long!
All the money and help, free apartments and job-training in the world cannot help a man or woman who won’t quit drinking & drugging. Take it from one who knows.
Money, free food, clothing, mobile healthcare, etc. only help such people perpetuate their slow-motion suicide. And attract more of them, besides.
Schizophrenics need to be hospitalized, against their will if need be. Even if available meds don’t work for some of them, they can at least be looked after in a decent environment rather than being perpetually bounced from jail to emergency room to gutter to shelter.
Unfortunately, the same homeless industrial complex and the aforementioned pro bono lawyers who work with them have no interest in letting this happen any more than they intend to let them be inconvenienced in their aggressive panhandling and public defecating.
How ironic. The way to get yourself immortalized in San Francisco is to be a completely useless waste of skin.
Those will be urination sites
Talk about a target rich environment.
But boy are they Socialist!! VERY VERY concerned with the plight of the poor.
Um.... with the money they are wasting on these plaques.... couldn’t they HELP a homeless person???
How do you help a homeless person?
Instead of human shaped plaques, they should make them toilet shaped and hook them up to the sewer. At least that would help with one problem.
You take them out to a farm, with no transportation or drugs, and put them to work.
Slavery is illegal in this country. Or are you suggisting we should bring it back?
It is not slavery. It is prison where they work until they dry out. They are convicted of being incalcitrant. We do this in Israel.
90 days, with religion instruction of thier choice (or not).
It’s very effective.
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