Comments

1

I think it is pathetic that you "vilify" a person be using terms like "conservative" to further divide people on the real issue at hand. Homelessness IS a very serious problem in our City, and your ignorance and accusations reflect nothing less than the dream world you live in rather than getting your self on the street and finding out for yourself how this problem is affecting homeowners, businesses, and the very people you pathetically try and empathize with, the homeless! Get some learning before you spew your left wing bull crap and spin this to divide the City further with your politicization of a very real problem!

2

MI is not a spin-off of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association.Two of the founding MI board members do not live in Montavilla and were not members of the MNA. They are loud at our neighborhood meetings but thankfully do not reflect Montavilla residents. They are from a wealthier neighborhood trying to impose their views on Montavilla. I wish they would focus their energies on their own neighborhood.

3

I would urge the reviewer that accuses the members of Montavilla Initiative of 'not reflecting Montavilla residents' to refrain from making up ridiculous stories. The Montavilla Initiative group is in no way a 'spin-off' of the MNA, it is, however a coalton of active, concerned, thoughtful and rational residents that has sprung up ( much like a lotus if you will.) amidst the muck and un-checked chaos that is the MNA, who btw actually does not reflect the wishes of the vast majority of Montavillians, yet takes the liberty of speaking for everyone just the same. You might consider channeling some of that creative energy into finding solutions rather than incessantly stirring the turd of divisiveness within OUR community, and it is our community, we ALL live here. #montavillaresident #notwealthy

4

I don't know a single person who wants to "criminalize homelessness," yet the Portland Mercury continues with that talking point. "Low level crimes?" You mean like defecating/urinating in public? Do you mean shooting up drugs and leaving used needles in playgrounds, schoolyards and the street? Do you mean leaving piles upon piles of striped bike frames, and raw garbage strewn about our city? Are these the "low level crimes" of which you speak?

In the perfect extreme Liberal utopia, all these things and more would be on every corner, every neighborhood and on every street, and working class residents will finally accept and embrace them. I'm a Liberal, by the way... I just can't stand extremes of either side.

And if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: The Portland Mercury has now become the Left's version of Breitbart News.

6

Shoddy piece and completely unbiased.. so good that I think I'll clean my arse with it for my daily constitution later this afternoon.

7

Another prime example of poor journalism Mercury! Alex Zielinski should consider interviewing someone from Montavilla Initiative before writing nonsense like this.

9

Thanks, Boon2Watt. Alex Zielinski is probably the worst "journalist" I've seen in my nearly two decades of consistently reading the Mercury. She doesn't even make any pretenses about trying to report on facts, or get balanced statements.

When she has "reported" on events I have been to and witnessed, it's almost impossible to believe she was there at the same events. Why even bother going to events, debates, rallies, speeches, or covering neighborhood groups and getting statements from the actual people involved when you are just going to write the same article regardless of the facts on the ground?

And on top of that, the Mercury has begun a really bad habit of deleting critical comments. They should start with better, more accurate reporting instead.

10

Our biggest burden is voluntary homeless. You can read the article below as well as Google "gutter punks" and "transient punks" https://www.foxnews.com/us/voluntarily-vagrant-homeless-youth-a-crusty-urban-challenge

The legal marijuana here as well as reputation for leniency towards heroin have made Portland a have for a cluster of useless sub-population.

11

I heard about the "DIY culture" in Portland. I misunderstood it horribly. I thought it meant doing DIY projects, taking care of things yourself instead of hiring and so forth. No it has a lot to do with gutter punks, or itinerant transients.

No public funding should be expended on subsidizing zero or low budget "travelers" or "gutter punks" and it should be illegal for providing services to gutter punks to be considered "non-profit". It is just like making a cocktail bar "non-profit". Providing gutter punks is not a social need. It is their adventure which they're free to do as long as they have the resources to do without burdening the public. This means we need zero tolerance policy for their camping on ODOT property and the same for criminal mischief/unlawfully applying graffiti.

12

Thank you Boon2Watt for filling in where the person who is getting paid to cover topical issues in Portland is failing miserably. If the Mercury had any guts they would publish your comment here in next weeks paper.

13

Last year when I tried donating to Transition Projects via their website, they were having technical difficulties that made it impossible. Tried for weeks! Decided to give up on them because it's such a blatant example of no longer being an effective advocate for the homeless, it made me wonder where else they're failing.

14

"These incremental solutions show proven success ..."

My observations around the city for the past 22 years seem to contradict that assertion, or are you including tent camps as "success"? And these recent "tweaks" seem to be too little, too late. We need a REVOLUTION in homeless support and lower tolerance of the legitimate crime as Boon2Watt (hey fellow Minutemen fan!) already summarized, but policing should primarily come after adequate support exists. We're not there yet and that's what we need to solve. It's OUR responsibility, ALL of us, but within the government in particular, who is legally responsible for it and why hasn't the problem been solved already? I'm not accusing. I legitimately want to help solve the problem.

15

Alex has obviously angered and upset a bunch of people. Ignorant bigots don't like being called ignorant and bigoted, but that's what it is. Thanks Mercury. Keep it up.

16

If we made up stuff about you and called you names, Euphonius, would you be upset? If angering people is the goal, that's a pretty shitty goal. I thought the goal was accurate journalism, not just shit-slinging against our fellow citizens who also want to see this problem solved. There's something truly sociopathic about people like you who get off on name-calling and shouting down people who actually care about their community and their city.

18

Yeah, the community includes people who live here, and people who need help, not transients who rob and steal to feed their drug habit and then trash the place. The community includes other homeless who are also victims of the subset of homeless who demonstrate this shitty behavior. Euphonius, I feel like if we found an instance of a homeless person beating puppies to death for fun and we tried to stop him, you'd jump in with some excuses as to why his behavior is okay simply because of the fact that he's homeless/poor. Is there any behavior you won't excuse just because someone has a lower socioeconomic status? Anything at all? Any line you care to draw? Because as it stands your position is shitty and ridiculous.

19

If you're trying to prove you're not a bigoted asshole, you're doing it wrong. Your vision of ignorance and hate isn't going to win. Not here. Never.

And fuck off, dick.

20

From the folks who almost brought the Patriot Prayer to our neighborhood elections last year ( https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-oregon-montavilla-neighborhood-association-election/ ), harassing vulnerable people at the place where they are seeking services. I welcome an article which interviews homeless advocates, the houseless, and other impacted services who point out how short-sighted their actions are. I hope they are actually reading for understanding, but they likely will not.
As an aside, the neighborhood response at the election last year was epic and not one MI candidate made it on the board. MI has spent this past year filing grievances and suing the MNA (over $6.5K worth of legal bills) and we've lost hours so many hours to our neighborhood while our amazing board dealt with them. The MI folks do not have the best interests of our neighborhood at heart.

21

How's the view from inside your own asshole, Euphonius? I imagine your eyes have adjusted to the dim lighting after all this time.

22

@FlavioSuave: It's no use trying to get these extreme homeless advocates to answer a simple question like, "Where do you draw the line?" Is the line drawn at defecating in public? Is the line drawn at stripping bike frames? Is the line drawn at used needles scattered all over? Is the line drawn at camping legally? Garbage piles? Open drug dealing? Open drug use?

Just like Euphonius, they'll never answer the question and ALWAYS pivot to name-calling and attempt to change the subject. The sad this is, The Mercury and City Hall coddle these bad behaviors of SOME of the homeless. The problem will never be solved when there are those in power who refuse to accept the reality of the situation.


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