| June 9, 2006 Rank and File by Nova Stubbs, insurgent49 Leave
Him the Fuck Alone!
The night streets of downtown Anchorage in autumn are often filled with an ominous silence; the restless sounds of summer have disappeared along with the long daylight hours. One night last September, at three in the morning, my noiseless slumber was disturbed when two people in their early twenties, a man and a woman dressed in Gap clothing, were outside my second story window beating up and stealing change from a homeless man. My husband called the police, but the incident had already quickly passed. The man laid on the ground mumbling and the sounds of sirens shortly followed. He jumped to his feet and began to run away from the red and blue lights that neared the alley. The police chased and captured him. My husband went down to explain that he was not the perpetrator, but the victim. The scene astounded me. How backwards: the rich beating up the poor for money. A few months ago, I witnessed yet another scene of torment. Two affluent young adult males were attempting to get a Native homeless man to steel a clunky piece of Alaskana artwork that sat outside a downtown antique store. They offered “twenty bucks plus two beers” in exchange. I didn’t pick up the phone to call the police in fear that the man would agree to their offer. Instead I yelled out, “leave him the fuck alone!” The homeless man spotted me and ran away. Incidences like these are more common than we know. The truth of the matter is that violence and harassment against homeless people is ordinarily not reported to the police. According to the 2004 Annual Report by the National Coalition for the Homeless, “... often, homeless people do not report crimes committed against them because of mental health issues, substance abuse, fear of retaliation, past incidents or frustration with the police.” Anchorage has seen its share of violence toward the homeless. For instance, on July 4th, 2002, a homeless man was repeatedly burned with sparklers by a group of men. In that same year, two other homeless people were murdered. According to the Homeless Service Provider’s Survey of 2000, one-quarter of the Anchorage homeless population said that they had been victims of violence. This is less than the national average. However, in 2004, Anchorage had tied for fifth place with New York City in incidences of violent attacks against the homeless. The problem is that people generally accept violence against the homeless because many view this economically degraded group as “subhuman.” So, I ask you this: Are people with mental illnesses not human because they hear voices or have chemical imbalance in their brain? Should people who suffer from substance abuse problems be beaten and tormented because of their addiction? Disabled people make up 40% of Anchorage’s homeless population and substance abusers make up 45%. These are the people who are attacked and degraded by those who have the privilege of sleeping in a warm bed at night. Either racism or a sense of power often motivates these ruthless perpetrators. In other words, for the sake cheap thrills, people harass and abuse the homeless. And often times, little or no consequences follow. I have been close to a handful of people who have been either alcoholics or have suffered from mental illness; none of whom were forced to live on the streets. They are my family members and friends, and I think of them with a heavy heart, as I do my brothers and sisters who live our city’s streets. When I see a homeless person my first response isn’t “get a job” because, as I know, for many of these people, that is not an option. These people already suffer enough. And to know that our society somehow tolerates violent attacks against them is a disgrace to our country and to our community. Nova Stubbs is a freelance writer and activist, and is co-founder of Insurgent49. Nova resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage and may be contacted at nova@insurgent49.com. |
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2005
Insurgent Media. All Rights
Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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