In the News: Austin's full of meanies

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Updated regularly!

I believe one of the reasons there are so many homeless people here, including young homeless people, is that Austin is a major stop on the railway across America.

Also, Austin is really nice. People say hi to you when you're walking down the street. Obviously not as much if you're homeless but still...I always try to speak to someone if they ask me for change because they aren't invisible and shouldn't be treated as such.

I think Austinites are quite mean when they get behind the wheels of their cars. Very aggressive and rude drivers here.

As for Austin hipsters, they make me laugh. Big fish in a very small pond perhaps?

I always feel mean when I don't give money to homeless people, but it makes me feel like a sucker to fork over my much used and needed change to somebody who looks younger and healthier than I do. Are all these people for real? Who paid for those tattoos? I want a new tattoo! Drag rats aside, are all of the people standing around town asking for money doing it becasue they have no other choice? I've seen some of the same folks panhandling in the same places for years. It's not a career.

That said, I know there are some folks who can't work and aren't taken care of like they should be. I agree with the need for substance abuse/mental health services for the homeless. Being an addict makes it tough to work, and it's a genuine problem. I think the Salvation Army has programs, as well as the state hospital. Anybody know of any other free to the public services?

Following is an excerpt from the report on the 20 Meanest Cities, from the National Coalition of Homeless website, which I guess cites a few (weak) reasons why:

#10 Austin, Texas

A group of social service agencies launched the "Real Change" initiative in January of 2004 to discourage people from giving spare change to panhandlers. Instead, the suggestion is that people who want to help the poor should donate their time or money to local service providers. Richard Troxell, of House the Homeless, opposed the campaign. "It gives the impression that all people have to do is ask for services and they will get them," said Troxell. "The reality of it is just the opposite. We have a desperate need for social services, including substance abuse treatment and health care."

Joel Rhodes, a homeless veteran, was pronounced not guilty of violating the "no camping" ordinance in December of 2003. The presiding judge said the language of the law was too vague to enforce judiciously. He also said that what the law made illegal, namely "sleeping" and "the laying down of bedding for the purposes of sleeping," were lawful acts.

Police have been hassling homeless people who sell a street newspaper called the Austin Advocate, a newspaper article reported. One vendor, Robert Stevenson, was issued a $250 ticket for "begging in a public place." Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that no such offense exists. The charge against Mr. Stevenson, an 81-year-old man and veteran of WWII, was subsequently dropped.

So where's the list of the 20 nicest cities? I need to know where to tell the bums to go...and on the count of 3, everyone will magically forget about their hipster obsession: One....Two...THREE!

I think it is a mean city in that people who think they are cooler than you look down their hipster noses. but maybe that is a blessing and not mean at all.

From Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/usa1104/9.htm

The Austin Housing Authority requires applicants to obtain their own criminal histories from the Texas Department of Public Safety by paying a fee of $15.

Now that's something I haven't seen on a cardboard sign. Granted, the fee is refunded if you complete the application process but still that sounds kind of mean-spirited.

Apparently having a misdemeanor in the past seven years can keep you out of Austin's public housing too. That's pretty mean considering that if you've been homeless in the past seven years you've probably also been thrown in jail on a technicality just because a cop didn't like you.

Then again some homeless people are assholes.

Some don't deserve pity because they themselves are mean. Now that I think of it, I don't think it's fair to judge the overall "niceness" or "meanness" of Austin based on this one report.

We're very nice to the semiconductor industry, for example. Where's that report? :)

What a tough topic. Homelessness is high everywhere, but seems particularly bad in Austin. It's probably the climate and the amount of services we offer the homeless.

I know the city doesn't outlaw panhandling, but they are working to outlaw aggressive panhandling - such as leaning over a railing into a sidewalk cafe and asking people for money or tapping on a window of a car.

I don't think we're a mean city at all, I think that's why people come here. However, I do think the aggressive panhandlers have got to learn non-aggressive tactics and make use of the dozens of services that are around Austin.