Gainesville Loses Fear of Meanness

Gainesville, finally getting over their fear of being considered a "mean" city by people supporting the right of urban outdoorsmen to loiter in taxpayer-funded locations, has decided to ban bums from bothering motorists.

I am behind this plan 100%. It's good to be known as a mean city because if you're nice to them, more will come. I don't get why people don't understand this.

Bums are not helpless; many of them are very savvy when it comes to exploiting the kindness of strangers. For example, they can communicate with each other over long distances to coordinate their activities. Any of you who have been to the downtown library can see and smell the urban outdoorsmen who are there to use the internet. They have e-mail accounts and they e-mail other bums to let them know where all the best spots are.

A lot of these people are homeless by choice and treat begging as a job, not as a last resort. For example, there is a man and a woman team on Archer Road who have been seen holding complementary signs at different times: "Need help, wife is sick;" "Need help, husband is sick". Considering they do this in shifts, "sick" actually means "tired from standing out all day begging instead of looking for a job."


Gainesville called "fifth meanest" in 2004.

City moves closer to banning panhandling



Florida Gainesville Alachua County homeless bums panhandlers