Here we are, immersed since September in another glorious, soul-serving-and-saving Holiday season, to wit Thanksgiving and Xmas. You know, the seasons when we are filled with gratitude for our own good fortune and with warmth, good will and fellowship, not to mention aid and comfort, for those less fortunate than we are. The season when we throw money into little black kettles tended by hardy souls in order to help those in need. Some even volunteer in soup kitchens and food pantries, giving traditional Thanksgiving meals to people who wouldn't otherwise get them. Lots of folks, for sure, give lots of and from themselves in the service of their fellows.
Then there's Ft. Lauderdale, FLA, to name one of the more than 30 cities nationwide which have passed or are considering laws which outlaw the feeding of homeless people out of doors. Perhaps you've seen accounts of Arnold Abbott, the 90-year-old WWII veteran (that Commie!) who has been arrested 3 times, along with a couple of Pastors, for setting up outdoor soup kitchens in order to feed the homeless. One Peace Officer actually ordered Abbott to "drop that plate!", as though it were a weapon, and I guess that you could argue that it is. The same would hold true, I guess, for the immortal line from Firesign Theater's "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye": "Put down that pickle!"
I have tried as diligently as I can--which ain't so much, truth be told, as I am fundamentally lazy--to discover the makeup of the civic board responsible for such legislation; I strongly suspect, though I can't quote chapter and verse, that it's Tea-Party types, certainly conservative Republicans, the party of family values and Christian tenets, who are behind this coldhearted, evil law. Homelessness, after all, reflects badly on a municipality and a government, especially one which professes a belief that Free Markets will solve every ill, or at least arrange them in favor of those already privileged. So these burgs are trying to outlaw homelessness, or at least to sweep it under the rug which also may shelter some unfortunate folks. The statutes actually, in a pathetic attempt to justify their validity, contain language that asserts that feeding the homeless "encourages people to remain homeless." Goddam right: if I can sleep on a park bench or live in a cardboard box under a highway overpass and get fed by some bleeding heart, why the fuck would I want more? Why, it's The American Dream, circa 2014; where's our Frank Capra to glorify it?
As a further warning to all y'all Liberals who might be inclined to share your bounty: the laws explicitly ban "the sharing of food in public spaces." It feels like the old saw about banks: they'll only loan you money if you can prove that you don't need it. So if you give a forkful of salad or, heaven forfend, a bit of that Muslim delicacy, the falafel, to a friend or loved one in a public space, be sure that that person is carrying a deed to property and a financial statement which proves that they're capable of caring for themselves, but that you "love" them, in a governmentally-sanctioned manner, and thus are okay to share a bite of your food. And by the way, please save me a slice of the pecan pie, my favorite. I can pay for it, honest.
A playlist, then:
Caravan Van Morrison & The Band
Black Friday Steely Dan
Brand New '64 Dodge Greg Brown
At The Feast Monty Alexander/Ernest Ranglin
Blues For The Homeless Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters
Hip To Be Homeless Claudia Schmidt
Homeless Paul Simon
Homeless Child Ben harper
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Vince Guaraldi
Thanksgiving George Winston
Thanksgiving Joe Lovano
Thanksgiving Loudon Wainwright III
Thanksgiving Day Parade Dan Bern
Feed The People Stephen Stills
Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) Bob Marley
Hungry For Your Love Van Morrison
Hungry Planet The Byrds
Hungry Man Steve Winwood
Alice's Restaurant Massacree Arlo
Tuesday, noon till two on WOOL 91.5 FM, Wool.FM on the webs, at which time I'll attempt to expiate or at least assuage my white male middle-class guilt. But it'll be wicked fun
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