tenfortytwopm OP t1_j71w6sr wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:09 PM

Reply to comment by norezervations in Take action and tell DC and NPS to stop the sweeps by tenfortytwopm

Thank you for being willing to have an open mind and intelligent conversation about this! Apparently that’s uncommon around here.

You’re right - Moving the sweep back wouldn’t resolve the issue at all. There’s been protests and petitioning for them to stop the sweep altogether since it was announced, but now the focus has shifted to at least giving them the original timeline promised.

I can’t imagine the DC govt, businesses, or residents would ever go for a solution like that. The cost of land is so high, and I imagine there would be a lot of businesses/residents upset that people are being “unfairly given” a place like that. I’d love to be wrong about that!

What this petition is for is by no means a perfect solution. It’s just asking for bare minimum fairness.

SchokoKipferl t1_j72m50g wrote on February 3, 2023 at 5:01 PM

“Unfairly given”? As of now the homeless are being “unfairly given” complete use of public parks, with the privilege to harrass and assault passersby as much as they like. I think most people would be thrilled to have their community park back in exchange, and it’s honestly not a bad solution seeing as it could keep the people together and provide a distribution point for food/supplies. Maybe somewhere further out where there is more space for them and isn’t so cramped. Obviously providing them with housing is the better option but if some people refuse it then it’s better than the exisiting approach.