Open Letter to Editor of San Diego City Beat

Dearest City Beat, Local Police, Firefighters, etc,



A letter to the Editor two weeks ago compared homeless person's to "wild dogs," that deserve very little respect from the rest of humanity.



I would like to remind whomever wrote this letter that it is that exact attitude that inspires violence against homeless people, like, case in point, the burning to death of a man in Los Angeles recently, by three teenage boys.



We all understand there is no simple solution to homelessness, nor is there simple solutions to how firefighters, or police, handle people in the street, homeless or not, who are behaving irrationally, or even violently.



However, what is inexcusable, is when people are ticketed for passing out free food to hungry people, or beaten down on a sidewalk for trying to give thirsty people water. Also, the term "liberal" we all threw out a long time ago. And, even though I have had my experiences living in my car, or actually on the street, I prefer the term "house-less," for the simple reason that San Diego is my home, and, to emphasize the true point of this letter, I AM very human.



Thank you,



Ben McFadden



[Emailed to Editor of City Beat on today's date.]