The Test

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.”
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Naga_Fireball
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Re: The Test

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Dear friends, the homeless dispute in Walla Walla has reached new dimensions.

Dorothy Knudsen is a female minister in Oregon who is very gracious and wise in the way she treats fellow humans.

Jason Wickland unfortunately has had a few incidents calling his character into question. He is manager of local soup kitchen bunk scheme.

I'm going to post Dorothy's superior article first, then try to tack on Jason's below, for your comparison.

'White Trash' explains the underclass in America
Dorothy Knudson, Presbyterian 1 hr ago (0)



I’m reading a landmark book that has provided answers to questions I have floating around in my head as a Christian and as an American: Why do we have so many hungry children? Why are our schools so low in world rankings? Why is it so hard for some people to achieve the American Dream of faring better than their parents? The book is “White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America,” by Nancy Isenberg. It answered some questions and helped me put other things I’d read in context.

Even before the United States was a country, what many people thought of as human “trash,” or “rubbish,” were shipped here or encouraged to come to provide “manure.” There was no consideration given to their health or well-being. Indentured servants arrived to find their contracts sold and lengthened. Often they didn’t live out the length of their contracts. According to Isenberg, what is clearly documented are the ways in which these people were kept from working their way up.

We already know that when the U.S. Constitution was written, only 5 to 6 percent of the population were the white male property owners for whom the privileges were meant.

In other words, 94 to 95 percent of the residents of this country were not included.

Over time, more people were included in the concept of citizenship, but not without a fight. Women have been voting for only a quarter of our history, for instance.

The total disregard for this population, the ways in which they were tricked out of property they cleared and worked, their lack of adequate nutrition, equating to starvation in many cases, in astounding numbers.

I kept remembering a book, “True American, Murder and Mercy in Texas,” by Anand Gricharadas, which tells the story of a Bangladeshi immigrant, Rais Bhuyan, shot by Texan Mark Storman shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, in the mistaken belief that Bhuyan was an Iraqi. Bhuyan made the Hajj, and realized that he needed to try to get Storman released from prison. Bhuyan became aware that he’d had more opportunities and privileges as an immigrant than the native-born Storman. In terms of “White Trash,” Storman would qualify. One of the conclusions of Gricharadas’ book is that only one out of three Americans can actually live the dream.

“White Trash” is a well-researched, pivotal book that looks at treatment of Native Americans and African slaves along with the white underclass. What is clear is that the reality of “white trash” is structural and ongoing. When the schools in Little Rock, Ark., were integrated, Democratic Gov. Orval Faubus hoped to resist integration, which is why the city’s poorest school was the first integrated. He wanted the “white trash” to resist black students.

If some members of our society have been so hungry they ate clay and were afflicted with pellagra and hook worm, why am I surprised that one in five children in America is hungry? Then, as now, the victims have been looked down on with the claim made it is somehow their own fault. In contemporary rankings, only Romania has more children in poverty than the United States.

Finland, always top ranked for education, has as its goal to teach all students equitably. Yet conversations between Americans and Finns are frustrating because Americans do not seem to hear the goal of Finnish educators. Resources are divided equally in Finland. Contemporary lawsuits point out the uneven funding of our schools. Both Washington state and Connecticut have been sued because of uneven opportunity the use of property taxes to fund schools provides. Children living in districts where their parents pay higher property taxes have a much fuller education than those living in poverty. The judge in Connecticut used terms like “sumptuous” for students in the richer districts.

Students in the United States may or may not receive an excellent education, depending on the wealth of their parents. In schools where only 10 percent of the children are in poverty are first in reading. The poorer the school, the lower the scores. Not surprisingly, these poorer school have a majority of “White Trash” along with many people of color. A speaker on an education on recent program on NOVA said “inequality in the United States is our Achilles’ heel.”

So it seems as a nation, we haven’t let go of an underclass and treat way too many people accordingly. In a rich country, how is it that over 20 percent of our students are in poverty? We don’t even have to ask, who are they?

As a Christian it concerns me that even our churches are divided along class lines. So many of the people Jesus cared about have been ignored and despised. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32. My hope is that having documentation of how long too many people have been considered unimportant will inspire us all to work for change so that all the people Christ loves will be included in reaping the rewards of our society.

The Rev. Dorothy Price Knudson is retired from active ministry in the Presbyterian Church, but still preaches regularly at various local churches and Presbyterian churches in the Eastern Oregon Presbytery. She can be reached by email at dpknud@hotmail.com.


What really helps the homeless
Jason Wicklund Special to the Union-bulletin Updated 4 hrs ago (0)
With all the recent attention the subject of homelessness is getting in our community, I’m often asked about ways people can help the homeless. So, as someone who has worked with this population for nearly 20 years at the Christian Aid Center, here are my suggestions on how you can really help the homeless.

First of all, one of the best things you can do is to understand how they got there in the first place. In most cases, homelessness is just a symptom of bigger problems in someone’s life. Struggles such as addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, criminal record, poverty, lack of job skills, or emotional scars can result in a person experiencing homelessness.

I’m very proud of how compassionate our community is and how we rally together when there is a need. However, handing out resources such as food, blankets, tents or clothing directly to people brings challenges of its own and doesn’t provide dignity. It only makes them more comfortable in their situation.

It doesn’t give them hope or the tools for overcoming their circumstances.

And frequently, these resources end up being used for trading or purchasing drugs, alcohol or sexual favors. Instead, take resources to the organizations that already have systems established to distribute them to the ones that need them most.

Another thing I love about our community is that no one has to ever go hungry here. There are a number of churches that provide free lunches from Monday through Saturday.

And at the Christian Aid Center we offer hot and nutritious breakfast and dinner daily for anyone in need — totaling more than 37,000 meals each year. Also, local food banks provide boxes with groceries.

Making sure the most vulnerable are safe is another thing you can do for the homeless. Women, the elderly, and — especially — children should live in a safe environment away from sexual offenders, people under the influence and criminal activity. Refer homeless individuals to a shelter like the Christian Aid Center or the YWCA (for victims of domestic violence) where they will be safe and removed from negative influences.

The other day, one of our staff members approached a woman panhandling at a busy intersection. Her young son was playing at her feet. A sign indicated they were homeless and needed help, so the staff member offered to take them back to the Christian Aid Center.

Sadly, she declined because she wouldn’t be allowed to continue using drugs while staying at our shelter. And besides, her child had someone with whom to play at the homeless campground.

This is one regrettable example of why you shouldn’t assume claims by homeless individuals are always accurate. And you shouldn’t assume homeless people have never been offered housing or shelter.

Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to give up destructive habits and embark on the hard work of change. But for those who do desire change, offer them real change, not spare change. Which brings me to the subject of panhandling.

Instead of giving to panhandlers, I suggest giving to the agencies in town which already serve the poor and homeless. Often these agencies already know the individuals and are in a better position to determine what kind of help will improve their lives.

So really, when it comes down to helping the homeless, the most important thing is to do it with a long-term strategy. Someone living in homelessness didn’t get in that predicament in five minutes, so showing up and dropping off stuff with a five minute conversation isn’t going to fix it. They need someone willing to have a long-term relationship with them. They need someone that can provide support and accountability.

You can do this by getting involved with one of the many nonprofits in town that are experienced in helping this population. I know we couldn’t do what we do at the Christian Aid Center if it wasn’t for the more than 275 monthly volunteers. They serve food, care for children, teach classes, cut hair, collect food, provide basic medical care and organize donations.

So, to really help the homeless, understand the root of the problem, don’t make them comfortable in their situation, treat them with dignity, make sure they are safe, support the organizations already in place to help them, and contribute your time or money.

All of these things should be done in the spirit of stopping the cycle of homelessness. It will benefit them, their innocent children, and our incredible community.

And one last thing. If you ever want to see for yourself what the Christian Aid Center does to really help the homeless, please call us to schedule a Discovery Tour of our campus.

Jason Wicklund has been executive director of the Christian Aid Center since 2006. He may be reached at jwicklund@christianaidcenter.org.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Fyi i did a weeks community service at CAC a few years ago, for probation violation.

I liked the kitchen manager but overall it was a cheerless place, a bare minimum food line with little to no comfort and zero freedom.

They deserve better than a fucking bread line here.

P.s. here is what i wrote to ms Knudsen

Dear Dorothy,
Another astoundingly timely and heartfelt article from you. You are a minister? I'm so glad we have churches speaking to the core of the issues re poverty, classism, homelessness...

Jason Wickland at CAC in Walla Walla does not handle the issue with your grace. He is first to point out the barriers between "us" and "them", whereas you point out the similarities,  the common human experience. 

I don't think in today's economy I'd want to necessarily pay more to agencies and other well established charities who pay staff rather than using volunteers.

Churches tend toward volunteerism because it saves money. Wickland is probably more worried about his job security at CAC than whether or not giving directly helps or harms actual people.

He uses a tear jerking example of a drug addict letting her child play in the street.

Personally I'd rather pay for her addiction and a moments happiness than buy in to Wickland's mercilessly sweeping statements.


Sincerely and best wishes,
Rachel Miller
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

The inevitable:

AP
Police: Officer shoots man near homeless camp cleanup
27 min ago (0)

Image
Image from Google


SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities say a Seattle police officer came upon two men in the midst of an altercation and shot one of them as officials were working to clean out a homeless encampment known as The Jungle.

The Seattle Times reports (https://goo.gl/Hqj13C" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) two longtime officers participating in the sweep saw two men fighting Tuesday afternoon and one appeared to have a knife.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole says one of the officers discharged a weapon and a suspect was injured. She says a knife was recovered at the scene.

The Seattle Fire Department said in a tweet that a man had life-threatening injuries and another had minor injuries.

A Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman says one person was taken there in critical condition and the other was in satisfactory.


Image

Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Naga_Fireball on Tue Oct 11, 2016 10:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

So the cops and city pigs in Seattle are stressing the homeless out. It's not like the street people had a fking choice in their relocation.

I hope Mr Gutman thinks long and hard about the fucked up angle he used in 'the cleanup of the Jungle' last week.

They should make him wipe up the blood.

If our journalists won't stand up and tell the truth, who is left?

From Wikipedia :
Image

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a metonymic adage indicating that communication, or in some interpretations, administrative power or advocacy of an independent press, is a more effective tool than direct violence.

Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

The terrible storm that we just had here was very hard on our local homeless population. No injuries reported at veterans memorial golf course according to our paper but their tarps blew away and fences fell over.

It sounds miserable. Please continue to uphold these suffering people so that our city council decides to establish a better housing alternative :(

Hello Madison frigging park already??

Are we waiting for snow or what lol.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Please please pray for the homeless in Seattle.

The Times shares an article about city hall gone awry...

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new ... l-hearing/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


This stood out to me:

Like some others, Bryant, a Seattle resident, said enabling people to live in tents was not compassionate but cruel.

Sheryl Minawa offered a different viewpoint. Minawa, 55, said she has lived in a tent at the Othello Village encampment after her RV was stolen.

“You want me to be you,” Minawa told the council. “I was you once, but something went wrong, something happened.” Minawa, 55, said she is a software engineer suffering from PTSD after her identity was stolen.

We are the There's nothing to see here society, but I'm telling you my friends that there is something to see.

More on homelessness

Homeless camping prompts emotional Seattle City Hall hearing

Police kill knife-bearing man as final holdouts are evicted from Jungle

Governor candidate Bill Bryant assails Seattle City Council’s homelessness bill

Don’t permit homeless camping in Seattle’s green spaces | Editorial

Now Seattle wants to copy Portland’s disastrous homeless camping policy | Danny Westneat

A new approach: Build steel modular housing units for the homeless | Op-Ed

Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Todays latest on our homeless in Walla Walla:

Oct 21 2016


Police, homeless group clarify roles at encampment
Alfred Diaz Updated 1 hr ago (…)


(Virginia Harrison at homeless encampment)

Image

Michael Lopez

(Pioneer Methodist Church volunteer Virginia Harrison, who helps distribute donated items at Walla Walla homeless encampment, surveys the site Thursday afternoon.)

Walla Walla’s Alliance for the Homeless and the city have fine tuned ways to manage what alliance co-founder Dan Clark last week called an “unmanageable” situation at the city’s homeless encampment.

Clark, who started the alliance with wife, City Council member Barbara Clark, had said the encampment near the municipal golf course along U.S. Highway 12 had become too disorderly and unsafe for Alliance volunteers to manage. His plea for help came two weeks after the Council passed an emergency trespass ordinance to remove unwanted people from the temporary site.

Since then, however, Alliance members have coordinated with Walla Walla Police Department and City Attorney Tim Donaldson to clarify roles in maintaining order and camp operations.


Until the city makes further decisions about the encampment, police officers will enforce laws regarding raucous behavior, vandalism, theft, assault, public intoxication, threatening behavior and illegal drug use on the site.

The Alliance, in the meantime, will tend to issues like coordination of camp volunteers and donations, securing lockable storage for camp residents and helping them maintain an in-camp governing body.

The city established the camp in August after the Alliance asked for an area for homeless people to pitch tents and have water and portable toilets. Now it is housing about 50 people a night, and city officials say the camp has experienced multiple problems that come with people living in close quarters.

Among problems are theft, lack of a way to keep unregistered campers and others out of the fenced site, incidences of disturbing the peace and substance misuse.

Chuck Hindman, president of the Alliance, said the camp’s code of conduct originally developed by camp residents and Alliance board members did not line up with what police can legally enforce, which created a void in regulatory authority.

Part of the problem is that the camp is on public property. That means, for example, people can’t be trespassed off the land for simply not obeying a rule of camp conduct if it’s not also illegal behavior, explained Walla Walla police Chief Scott Bieber.

While the camp ordinances — such as maintaining good hygiene and showing dignity for all — are honorable, those are not laws and can infringe on civil rights.

His officers, however, can enforce closing hours already in place for all city parks, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., Bieber said.

People who reach and stay inside the encampment fence during other hours will not be found to be trespassing, Hindman said. Further clarity about what officers can enforce has allowed the Alliance to take a step back into being camp organizers and counting on police to be enforcers of the law, he added.

It’s an interim strategy city officials and camp volunteers have found workable for now, Hindman said.

City Council member Steve Moss, who is heading a committee to measure what effect the camp is having on reducing problems in downtown Walla Walla, said he’s hearing there are fewer people sheltering in business doorways and that business owners seem more satisfied the city is taking action.


Bieber noted that while some new problems have cropped up in the neighborhoods around the camp, the number of calls to Heritage Park on Main Street — a favorite downtown day spot for many living in homelessness — is significantly down from the 73 calls recorded two summers ago.

Hindman and Bieber agree everyone involved is climbing a steep learning curve and it will take time and patience to fine tune their efforts. But there is little doubt the city’s homeless encampment has given the community various new perspectives of the issue.

“We’re no longer talking theory and debating numbers,” Hindman said. “We know there are at least 50 people who don’t especially want to be in a cold tent at night, but have nowhere else to go.”

Bieber agrees everyone sees homelessness here in a new light.

“We’ve all had our eyes opened. The camp is a microcosm of our bigger community. Some thought it would be a ‘kumbaya’ moment, all these people living in a communal area. The police know whenever you put people living in close quarters, there are issues that come up.

“Some are criminal, some are not.”

A report on the homeless encampment by city officials will be presented at a Nov. 7 Council work session.


Alfred Diaz can be reached at alfreddiaz@wwub.com or 526-8325.

Alfred Diaz






112 S. First Ave
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Phone: 509-525-3301
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

It appears that the migrants in France and the refugees of war are having a very hard time:
Much of the refugee camp in Calais, France, known as “The Jungle” went up in flames today, as departing migrants set fire to shelters and tents. Hundreds of French police have swooped into the camp, where thousands fleeing war and poverty have lived in squalor.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Please continue to keep in mind the homeless people of Walla Walla.

Image
An apparently homeless individual sleeps on a public bench on 1st and Main.


This person appears to be sleeping beneath a military issue wool blanket. He or she is on the bench next to the veterans memorial flag between Land Title building and an art gallery/winery.

This is our life here. With most of the valley's products being manufactured for wealthy tourists, and our greatest import seems to be miserable people en route to prison. Not to mention the conditions endured by our farm workers. I think they are better off than the homeless but transient workers actually deal with more disappointment and shady dealings.

Other cities have safe places these people can go, to sleep off their alcohol or do drugs in private away from pedestrians.

Not all of them are drug addicts either, but alcoholism has destroyed a goodly portion of our town.

In a place with such high property value it is easy to hide the social issues unless they refuse to hide.

City council is also in an uproar. I haven't read it yet but they just fired the deputy city manager.

Please pray for Walla Walla.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: The Test

Post by Naga_Fireball »

The man who got fired was a highly qualified humanitarian from Florida who previously worked for Pathways. His wife was a tenured professor at Purdue.

This town sucks so bad. His name is Troy Bell and his boss deserves the same fate for running the guy out on the Friday rail. Jesus.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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