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Make Humboldt Great Again?
Its a dreary late night in November, imagine you and your family traveling
north of the Willits bypass, you hit an enormous pothole and hear a loud
clank, and your RV breaks down as you approach the Southern Humboldt
county line. After exhausting all of your savings on exorbitant towing fees,
spent touring all of the closed campgrounds in Southern Humboldt, you
succumb to getting dropped o at the nearest pullout near Dean Creek
Campground in Redway to camp out for the night. An hour doesnt pass
before you hear a pounding on the doorOpen up, I am a local volunteer,
here on behalf of the Sheris Department!
Accusations, assumptions and threats ensue, including I am going to abduct
your young children, you must be druggies, breaking down/traveling/not
having more money is child abuse, These violent threats go on for over a
month, even though you have calmly explained that you acquired work the
day after breaking down here, to fix the situation. Regardless of your
attempts, both sheris deputies, local vigilantes, traumatize your family
almost daily as you work out how you are going to move your traveling home
to a safe location.
Undoubtedly youd be left questioning, wait are these my public servants?
Giving authority to vigilantes to working on their behalf to harass my family, all
while they are not only not oering alternative options, but there are none-
How is this legal?
I began covering violations of human rights abuses in Southern Humboldt late
September 2016, following many reports of ongoing violence against poor
people, as well as expropriation of common gathering spaces and life saving
property. This families story is not a rare occurrence, but was echoed in
hundreds of testimonies just like it.Since the generation long war on drugs
began (or War against People-as many call it), Southern Humboldt has seen
greater community support for a number of vigilante forces, who for better or
worse, move to take their idea of law into their own hands. A predictable
phenomenon, after all, who needs law when youre trying to live outside of it?
A Vigilante is A civilian or organization acting in a law enforcement capacity
(or in the pursuit of self-perceived justice) without legal authority. "Vigilante
justice" is often rationalized by the concept that proper legal forms of criminal
punishment are nonexistent, insucient, or inecient. Vigilantes normally see
the government as ineective in enforcing the law; such individuals often
claim to justify their actions as a fulfillment of the wishes of the community
Vigilante conduct involves certain degrees of violence. Vigilantes could assault
targets verbally and/or physically, damage and/or vandalize property, or even
kill individuals.
Today, one of the largest vigilante groups in Southern Humboldt is the
Locals on Patrol, aka LOPs, or Southern Humboldt Locals on Patrol, as
they like to be called since late 2016. The SHLOPs have undergone numerous
identity changes- some members born of similar-themed groups such as; No
Bums in So. Hum and Saving So Hum, and many more. I will never forget
that first jaw dropping moment when I encountered the green-vested,
self-appointed police-like group, patrolling on our communities behalf, laying
out demands on tourists, workers, and the poor, in a manner that indicated
they had some kind of authority over public discourse; the misinformation in
action, the unconstitutionality, the total inhumanity.
What Our Children Teach Us
According to Federal Law economic refugees are not considered a protected
class (as children, women, minorities, handicapped, LGBTQ etc.) so crimes
based on status bias, are currently not considered hate crimes yet in
California (RIP Assembly Bill 5 2012-2014, and SB 608 2015-2016). However,
many states have eectively introducing legislation to protect homeless from
hate crimes including; Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, Colorado,
and Florida.A report by the National Coalition for the Homeless compiled for
the FBI defines hate crimes as: A criminal oense committed against a
person, property or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the
oender's bias."
The National Coalition for the Homelessness has broken hate crimes against
homeless into 3 categories and state, Most hate crimes/violent acts are
committed not by organized hate groups, but by individual citizens who
harbor a strong resentment against a certain group of people. Some are
mission oenders, who believe they are on a mission to cleanse the
world of a particular evil. Others are scapegoat oenders, who violently
act out their resentment toward the perceived growing power of a
particular group. Others are thrill seekers, those who take advantage of
a vulnerable and disadvantaged group in order to satisfy their own
pleasures. Thrill seekers, primarily in their teens, are the most common
perpetrators of violence against people who are homeless. Seventy-two
percent of hate crimes/violence against homeless persons in 2010 were
committed by perpetrators under the age of thirty, and alarmingly, nearly fifty
percent were under the age of twenty.
As we saw in the late 1800s, the propaganda and political negligence of the
day inspired expulsion, and an influx of violence against the various ruans
of the day, themselves victim of the major depressions and political
negligence. Similarly today, as the economy collapses on those who can least
bear the weight, while industrial circumstances grow unstable, housing
non-existent and economic inequality extreme, so people look for someone to
blame. The displaced blame turns to hate and an increase in hate crimes,
which can be seen in the influx in violent crimes.There is little doubt the
scene is intense; but its time we cease being shocked by the trash, needles,
www.greenfuse.work
You are on land owned by the State of California, the County of
Humboldt or a private landowner in violation of penal code section
602 (trespassing). If you are located on this property by any law
enforcement officer you are subject to arrest per that section.
-Michael Downey Sheriff
alcohol, addiction, poverty, crime and the like- this is the direct output of the
system we are using. According to the experts this is predictable behavior for
regions with vast economic inequality, as we have experienced in Humboldt
for a hundred and fifty years.
Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the
University of Nottingham- co author of The Spirit Level, has studied the
social eects of income inequality and how it has aected human health, for
decades. Wilkinson lays out statistical evidence that, Among developed
countries, societies that are more equal with a smaller income gap between
rich and poor -- are happier and healthier than societies with greater
disparities in wealth distribution... Well-being bears no relation to per capita
income. Wilkinson demonstrates the adverse eects on all levels of
society, from mental health, crime, obesity, and teen pregnancy, to levels
of violence and addiction, even life expectancy are aected by the
psycho-social stress caused by this economic paradigm fueling
inequality.
Interestingly, our county administrators define and anticipate variations of
homelessness rather eloquently in their Housing Element. The stated goal is,
Sucient and aordable housing opportunities for seniors, disabled
persons, homeless, nomadic, single-parent households, farm workers,
and large families, they lay out their definition of nomadic lifestyles, in three
categories:
Economic refugees: homeless campers who choose camping as
an alternative to staying in a shelter during a transition period. These
campers typically have been confronted with an economic hardship
that resulted in the loss of shelter.
Separatists: Are homeless campers who choose to camp because
of the privacy and isolation of the forest environment. They may
experience mental illnesses that make crowded areas and social
situations especially undesirable. They may also be distrustful of
agencies and sta or the US government as a whole.
Voluntary Nomads: are homeless campers who move between
camping sites as a part of a transient lifestyle that involves traveling.
They are not seeking to transition from long-term camping into a
homed environment.
(A study from the University of Oregon, Homelessness in the Willamette National Forest)
Sounds great! The reality however, contradicts this eloquence, as law
enforcement, CalTrans, and other government agencies, harass, criminalize,
and inhibit any progress in accommodating nomadic lifestyles.
Recently revealed internal government e-mails documented by local journalist
Linda Stansberry in Part 2 of her expos, titled Swept shows us a
contrasted non-solution-based sentiment is shared throughout the county.
Sgt. Mike Guy, Eureka Police Department's homeless ocer wrote to the
city's Parks and Recreation director Miles Slattery saying, "So just between
you and me, these people get free food, free medical, free dental, free vision,
free vet care ... and now free garbage pick up?! WTF!" Slattery replied that he
"couldn't agree more," adding he hoped the disruption would separate the
truly destitute from the entitled.The liability stu to me is irrelevant I think
we need to inconvenience them as much as possible. If we have a weekly
presence ... some of the 'I think it's hip to be homeless' inbreeds will stick to
couch hopping or move on."It is oensive to our communitys intelligence
that someone so totally unaware, would be in charge of something so
important.
Great Again Continues next page