HATRED OVER TRIVIA

We cannot predict what will happen in the March special election for District One. We will see by Friday who is actually running for the seat. But there certainly are fissures developing in the Cori Schumacher political machine.

If Simon Angel follows through on his announced candidacy, that will be the third high profile defection from the ranks following those of Linda Hendrickson Breen and Barbara Hamilton. The picture alone may give us one of the reasons why. 

The governance of any community cannot be always about one person, their ambitions, and frankly their drama. It cannot be all about a handful of homeowners organizing to use political means to undo their purchase of a home near Palomar Airport.

No matter how many people swear to the lies justifying Councilwoman Schumacher's hoped-for snap coronation, it is pretty apparent it was a ruse designed to give one person another two years on the City Council. They may have gotten their wish, but the fact remains the preponderant majority of signature gatherers were dispatched to District One to force an election without much organic support from actual residents. 

The other day a piece appeared in the Carlsbad Patch from "Raymond Bender, Neighbor", a well-known anti-airport activist and social media surrogate for the Councilwoman. Bender actually stated the following in his lead, "Let's hope you're not next to Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall should you, God forbid, have a heart attack or conniption. Expect a call to 911? Instead, get a call to 119." 

Though open online denigration of Cori's political opponents is an ongoing feature of the bitterly divided Carlsbad that the incipient Schumacher/Bhat-Patel/Acosta machine has conjured for political advantage, it is stunning how the rhetoric of personal destruction has become so commonplace in a once harmonious community.

Anybody paying attention is used to the routine assignment of every sort of political sin to Mayor Hall via the network of Cori friendly Facebook groups, but to anybody with any conscience resident in their souls, this comment begs for the question "Have you no decency?" 

Sometimes political loyalty carries with it too great of a price. Though Councilwoman Schumacher is the direct beneficiary of her personality cult's toxic and shrill rhetoric, those acting in her name have gone to the well one too many times when it comes to what can only be defined as hatred over trivia. 

We are increasingly collectively worn out by the weaponized weekly manufactured outrage of a small clique of privileged NIMBYs. In the final assessment, those voting in District One this March, and those voting in Districts Two and Four in November are participating in a referendum on their community and its soul.

A HATE CRIME?

Thirty years ago, there was the murder of a homeless man in Albuquerque. Carlos "the Ragman" Garver was set on fire while he was sleeping behind a dumpster. For a brief moment, New Mexicans were horrified at the death of a guy called "Ragman" not for his attire, but because he was ranting at passersby.

Though it did not last long enough, we were all educated in the issues of mental illness and shocked nothing was being done to get obviously troubled people off the streets. Some called what happened to Carlos Garver a hate crime.

The incident was not considered a hate crime as current law does not include homelessness as a protected class. Violence against the homeless has grown in commonality. The following statistics exclude any acts of violence committed by homeless individuals against one another and are included only if the attack was motivated because the victim was a homeless person. In 2016 and 2017 there were 48 lethal attacks and the 64 non-lethal attacks that occurred throughout the United States according to The National Coalition for the Homeless. This is an addition to the organization's estimate that annually, there are 13,000 individuals who die on our streets. Thanks to the low priority crimes and deaths involving the homeless receive from law enforcement and governments, the numbers are far from complete.

Locally we see that a city Oceanside's size will not have a single shelter bed this winter. Certainly, this issue is largely due to government inaction, but then we read that the Solutions of Change CEO was engaged in an activity where another non-profit serving the homeless (Bread of Life) was the target of skullduggery that Gordon Gekko would have approved of.

In Oceanside, we also see aspiring politicians and online vigilantes advocating for severe laws banning camping, panhandling, feeding pointed towards criminalizing homelessness. Statistics indicate crimes against homeless individuals have frequently increased.in their wake.

What this campaign against the vulnerable essentially says is that 'Homeless people do not matter and are not worthy of living here." The message is unmistakable and it has been used as the rationale for attacking groups assisting the homeless such as Bread of Life and Brother Benno's. The fact there are no shelter beds in Oceanside during cold winter rainstorms is viewed as a victory by the same cohort that got a kick out of seeing oppressed and exploited clients of Solutions for Change weaponized to advance a well-hated development in a wildfire zone. 

Though there is much to hate in the narrative above, at least those advocating a punitive approach to the "disposed of" souls in their wake are being transparent about their intentions. In Carlsbad, we have seen Councilwoman Schumacher grandstanding on the issue through her "ad hoc" Committee on Homelessness. If having "robust conversations" and doing nothing were a capital offense there would be a gamut of allegedly progressive politicians awaiting a shot of pentobarbital on death row or praying for a gubernatorial reprieve.

Sadly for us all, Gavin Newsom has advanced nothing that will earn any us a "get out of jail free" card. There are a variety of actions the Governor could take to resolve the explosive growth of homeless populations up and down the Coast. It seems to date, the interests in Sacramento are more interested in building "affordable housing" costing half a million dollars a pop.

I do appreciate the fact there are a lot of people dealing with homelessness in their neighborhoods and around their businesses. The optics jar our senses if not always our compassion. Whether you are concerned about increasing violence against homeless people or the issues of drug abuse and mental illness that drive the numbers even higher, public policies that criminalize homelessness have only exacerbated the issues. It is far better public policy to approach concerns regarding homelessness in a collaborative and compassionate way, rather than the ugly and hostile approach to which many places have given in to, including Oceanside.

"GIVING TUESDAY"

The attached post says it all. These are privileged people suing the City of Carlsbad over their trivial self-interest want your donations as part of "Giving Tuesday." There are people shivering in the streets as I write, families in danger of going hungry, children in danger. And then we see millionaires asking for your money to fund a frivolous lawsuit going absolutely nowhere. 

As human beings, how is this manner of solicitation OK? Is this the cruel and callous future Carlsbad faces if their political machine gets their way? These are the same people who actually have termed themselves a group of love, where each utterance is "kind, necessary, and true." When I take a glance at this fundraising appeal, it seems the rhetoric redefines the terms vapid and hypocritical. 

Perhaps from the porches of the affluenza sufferers of Bressi Ranch, noise from an airport they willingly bought a house near, seems a problem equivalent to a very real need and suffering. Perhaps its confirmation bias, living in a place where everyone seems to be doing well.

There's another Carlsbad out there where some people can't pay their rent, and some families live in cars. In this other part of the community, there are working people poorer than ever. There are more families in trouble, and more and more people who need help but can't find it. There are seniors who tremble in the cold of the houses here. And there are people who sleep in the city streets, or in the gutter, where the airplane noise seems pretty trivial. 

Whether its Christmas or each day of the year there is a long list of charities that serve the needs of those needing our compassion. Last time I checked, there is a Christmas Bureau in Carlsbad seeking to bring Christmas to the overlooked, and a million other places that try to feed the hungry, care for kids, clothe those who are shivering, that need our help to do God's work. Forgive me for my opinion, but there is something very wrong about the optics of those God has blessed more than most, seeking to compete with the work of compassion.