There are many worthwhile issues for a Portland activist to address. Personally, I find myself involved in several simply because they overlap. I believe there is no single issue. Here, in this column, I focus on hunger in Portland. But it is impossible to propose any solutions to the hunger problem without acknowledging poverty, homelessness, health coverage, and education problems as the root cause of hunger. Of course all of these are being attacked by the cuts to health, welfare and education that are being made to spend money on Bush's war on terror. Therefore, anti-war activities become a high priority. In addition to the funds this terrible war has stolen, our civil liberties are threatened by the U. S. Patriot Act. And I can't overlook that the outrageous amount of funds going to the war, are not necessarily taking care of our military people with a benefit package, appropriate supplies and fair rulings regarding their discharge dates.
Is it starting to sound overwhelming? Maybe that helps you understand why I'm always so angry. Maybe it helps you see why we all must get involved. Cindy Sheehan has challenged President Bush to explain "What is noble about this war?" Groups I work with have challenged the Bush administration to answer many questions. He does not answer our questions. He does not even face us for open discussion when he comes to Portland. He and his capitalist gang financially dominate the media, so we do not get answers, investigations, objectivity or truth from the corporate networks. Instead we get lies and omissions. It is only through alternative media (street roots, The Portland Alliance, KBOO, Democracy Now, etc.) that we are able to learn enough facts to keep our sanity. Slowly - but surely - the nation can and will learn the truth. Finally it is common knowledge that there were no weapons in Iraq. More people are reading and listening. More people are joining us in the streets. (Don't miss September 24!)
That said, I will continue to work on the Portland hunger problem by letting it be known that:
The working class provides the labor that produces the products that line the pockets of the business owners. Without us, they would not have their wealth.
This week I talked to homeless people in Portland and asked them, "What is the most important task you must do when you get up each morning?"
At Schrunk Plaza, a group was gathered to support Cindy Sheehan. Among the sign holders was Richard Hernandez. Richard lives on a disability check and each day must find a way to eat. His answer "I find a political scene that I can march or rally with that will help bring about change." We visited for a few minutes, and Richard did not focus on his needs. He has grasped that a solution to his problem is bigger than "what will he do today?"
A few days later I was at the Lloyd Center MAX station and I met Echo and Ardy. They have been partners and homeless for over two years. Echo had an answer without even a split second hesitation. "I need to find a place to pee." They usually sleep in doorways, under a bridge or a corner of a park. In the morning, they are not welcome in most Rest Rooms. They used to head to the YWCA, but the new administrator does not allow them to use those facilities. More and more churches are locked, and restaurants are watched. Ardy said his first thought is getting a beer, but he knows that first they have to get out on the street and panhandle enough to get food. He sympathized with Echo. "The homeless ruined it for themselves by leaving toilet facilities in a filthy mess. He and Echo tried to clean them sometimes but it was a hopeless task and the city doesn't seem to care. Ardy believes it was the out-of-town transients that did the most messing, as the local homeless people know each other and have more respect for the next guy.
They also told about the nightly dread of cops coming around with flashlights and chasing them away from wherever they might be sleeping. Also, recently tickets are issued to anyone pushing a shopping cart because it is a stolen item.
Then I asked Ardy what they do to bring about change. "Not much. We're burnt out just surviving from day to day." But Echo said,"We do something. We sign a lot of petitions. And we have a P.O. box, so we are registered voters and we vote every time." I was glad to hear that. I wish everyone I knew "voted every time" or signed some of the petitions that were out there. Good for you Echo and Ardy!
Ardy said he's not ashamed to tell me that he "needs" a beer every day. There are so many alcoholics with suits who can afford their "habit" - not just beer - but drugs that cost much more. Ardy has the opinion "that many people with a lot of money, don't work very much and drink more every day than I can afford in a month. But those same people point a finger at the homeless and call them 'worthless drunken bums', and they think they're better than us."
Scot had a story to tell. He was shaking out his blanket after sleeping under the Hawthorne Bridge, and a spider bit him. It didn't hurt very much and he killed the spider. But within hours his knee was swollen, and he was really feeling bad. He felt numbness and could feel his heart pounding too hard, so he headed for an emergency room. He passed out before he made it there on his own, but someone else got him there. He needed a lot of help, and the doctor told him "a few more hours and he'd have been a goner." I guess that's part of living on the streets.
Scot answered my question by saying that each day he needs his "boost." A few years ago (after his wife's death) he was introduced to heroin. He doesn't blame his grieving, but he knows that was part of what made him think heroin "felt so good." He soon became addicted. He's in a methadone program (which provides him with a daily "boost") and is "trying to get clean." But life on the street is not easy. After he has his boost (from a program he has to pay for) he still needs to find food and a place to sleep every day.
Scot and I visited for a while and he talked about the years before he was on the street. He is 35 years old, a college graduate, had a good job, a wife he loved, and lived in Eugene. He seemed filled with sadness as he remembered what his life used to be.
We need to examine a system that does not provide help to those like Scot, Richard, Echo and Ardy. I talked briefly to a few other people. They were eager to tell me how hard they're trying to better their situation. But it was clear to me that we can't expect a person to turn their lives around without help when their definition of a successful day is just surviving. Is one beer, a "place to pee", a cigarette, or a spot under the bridge without being chased off in the middle of the night by the police, the best we can offer to those caught by poverty? These were all sincere people who could be contributing to our society. Why do so many fall into such a deplorable lifestyle? How can anyone claim that hunger, homelessness, drug or alcohol addiction, or any of the lifestyles poverty thrusts on anyone, is a choice? Can we continue to deny that the system is responsible? And what are we going to do about it? Do you have to live these hardships before you believe they exist for your neighbors?