St. Petersburg Police Shreds Homeless Peoples' Tents

Is it any wonder that young people in the great state of Florida think it's fun to viciously attack and murder homeless people, when their adult role models treat the homeless as something less than human, while tossing the Golden Rule aside like just another unfinished meal down the garbage disposal?

Police and fire officials in St. Petersburg recently raided a homeless tent city and shredded their only shelters, apparently without recognizing the irony of using box-cutter's to attack these defenseless American citizens.

Here's a fair question: If dozens of armed men suddenly drove up to your home or shelter, and destroyed it right in front of your eyes, which of the following emotions would YOU experience:

Love
Gratitude
Peace of mind
Anger
Fear
Terror

The great state of Florida, and particularly St. Petersburg, appears to be committed to demonstrating to the rest of the world that it refuses to evolve, no matter what century it is, no matter how many third world nations are seeking the very basic human rights that St. Petersburg city officials casually obliterate, no matter what the founding principles of the United States might be. They are going to harass and terrorize the homeless no matter what the rest of the world thinks. And if their children learn to attack and murder the homeless in the process--well, they'll only punish those kids when their vicious acts are caught on video and leaked to the national news media.

So who is going to get punished when the world sees this video:

New Report of Police Shredding Homeless Tents.

Please, contact St. Petersburg city officials and invite them to join the 21st century, and to immediately cease committing atrocities against those who are least able to defend themselves.

City of St. Petersburg
175 Fifth Street North
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Phone: 727-893-7111
Fax: 727-892-5102
TDD: 727-892-5259
www.stpete.org

UPDATE: I'm happy to report that something GOOD is arising from the shredded remains of these homeless peoples' shelters. Public outcry against the police and city officials has been strong, despite the number of inhumane Florida residents who continue to spew nothing but hate and bile concerning the homeless. More important, this police action is leading to legal action that may benefit the homeless in the long run.

Read some of the public outcry in St. Petersburg.

The Great St. Pete Homeless Tent Raid (St. Petersburg Times column by Howard Troxler).

Read about the potentially positive outcome and legal action.

Keep in mind that the homeless themselves are helpless to fight this police action their own. It is because the local news media had the courage to cover this story responsibly, because concerned citizens all around the nation are making their voices known to city officials, and because attorneys are representing the homeless that something good might come out of this. That is the Power of the People.

Kudos to Fox 13 in Tampa Bay, all those concerned citizens, and to the attorneys who are trying to make our legal system serve The People. The combined efforts of all these people are helping to assure that, in this instance, at least, some justice is served.

All the best,
Paul