I Love The Smell Of Urine In The Morning...It Smells Like...
Not to be outdone by hack columnist Nick Coleman's ridiculous piece on How The Bus Strike Will Affect The Homeless, the Pioneer Press weighed in this morning with their own hack piece--this one a news item.
Living at Mary Hall, a long-term shelter meant to help the homeless get back on their feet, James Newman worries the Metro Transit strike will cost him all the momentum he has built toward rebuilding his life.
It was just a few months ago that Newman, 31, was living from friend-to-friend and worrying about making child-support payments after breaking up with a girlfriend. But he has settled at the downtown St. Paul center run by Catholic Charities and come to rely on a job with a janitorial firm in downtown Minneapolis. He took the bus to work every day. His earnings went toward rent.
But when the drivers and mechanics went on strike Thursday, Newman's job suddenly was in jeopardy — along with his ability to pay rent and keep a roof over his head. He missed work the first two days of the strike. Efforts to find a car-pool ride were unsuccessful.
I guess this could be considered framing the story in terms of the human element. A more accurate assessment might be framing the story in terms of a liberal world-view.
I love this next paragraph:
For the poor and homeless who don't own a vehicle, the strike has brought their lives to a standstill. The buses are a lifeline to jobs, medical care and family. And for the most severe cases of homelessness, the buses and heated stops often are the only warm place they have, said Heidi Batten, a Salvation Army caseworker in Minneapolis.
That last line was echoed by Coleman as well: the homeless need buses because they hang out in them.
Is anyone curious as to why no one rides the damn buses? Who wants to sit next to some urine-soaked, drunk vagrant for thirty minutes? You? What about you? What about you, Mr. Lib Minnesotan in your Jetta showing your support of the strikers by honking, will you sit next to a homeless during your commute?
I thought not.
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