McD's should give their food away to the homeless

[thundley4]

and provide a place for them to stay.

Liberal_in_LA   (1000+ posts)           Mon Sep-06-10 01:22 PM
Original message
Haight-Ashbury homeless think McDonalds dropped 'dollar menu' to get rid of them
   
Edited on Mon Sep-06-10 01:22 PM by Liberal_in_LA
Hassle in Haight over McDonald's menu change

What would seemingly be an issue of capitalism and supply and demand in any other city, or any other neighborhood in San Francisco, has instead morphed into another battle between merchants and the homeless in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood:

The McDonald's at the corner of Haight and Stanyan streets eliminated its Dollar Menu about a month ago, making the items on it too expensive for the people who spend the better part of their day on the sidewalk in front.

Street people who for years have depended on the McDonald's to eat say it's become a de facto sit/lie ordinance. But the franchise owner says she's just trying to make a little extra money.

--------------


While that price increase may seem trivial, for Newhart and his colleagues it can mean the difference between eating and going hungry. Many homeless think taking away the Dollar Menu is the restaurant management's ploy to get them to go somewhere else. Management locks the bathroom door and frequently calls the cops. On top of that, Mayor Gavin Newsom and several Haight Street merchants are pushing a November ballot measure that would ban sitting or lying on public sidewalks.

-----------


"Yeah man, it ... sucks," he said Thursday while sitting foodless on the McDonald's patio with a half dozen hungry friends. "I eat less. I have to get more money. If I don't have a dollar and I want food, I just end up going to a trash can."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/0...

  http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9084653

Better Today   (1000+ posts)           Mon Sep-06-10 01:32 PM
Response to Original message
1. Seems the homeless made their own misfortune here, imo.
   
I mean I understand the homeless' need for inexpensive food, but they need to understand that if they then hang around all day, they are going to cost the owner customers who don't want to wade through a homeless camp to grab a meal. Seems if the homeless folks would just agree to get their dollar meals and then eat and leave rather than hovering around on the patio all day or spending "the better part of their day on the sidewalk in front."

What?  bobbo the hobo will rip you a new one buddy.

Fumesucker   (1000+ posts)             Mon Sep-06-10 01:39 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. When you are homeless your options are fairly limited as to where to spend your time..
   
Where do you suggest they go that they won't be in front of someone's business or home?

But do they have to hang around where they feed? 

EFerrari   (1000+ posts)             Mon Sep-06-10 02:23 PM
Response to Reply #13
28. Good point. The Chronicle also gleefully released the information
   
that Newsom had solved 60% of homelessness in town in 2006.

They help him catapult this propaganda at every opportunity.

It's a pretty big bonfire.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

If only these assholes could translate this story into a perspective on Obama's economic policies.

[Tucker]

Just to be clear, and without any doubt as to Bobo the Hobo's demands:

bobbolink  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Mon Sep-06-10 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #29
44. Whhile I applaud your more caring stance, we don't need more places in the park.
   
We need HOUSING and enough money to live on.

Period.

[Carl]

bobbolink  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Mon Sep-06-10 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #29
44. Whhile I applaud your more caring stance, we don't need more places in the park.
   
We need HOUSING and enough money to live on.

Period.

All one needs to know about the useless leeches of society.

[cavegal]

We need HOUSING and enough money to live on.

Wow I am surprised housing was first on that list for this person.

[Randy]

bobbolink  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Mon Sep-06-10 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #29
44. Whhile I applaud your more caring stance, we don't need more places in the park.
   
We need HOUSING and enough money to live on.

Period.

You need to go to rehab and get a friggin job.

Period.

[JohnnyReb]

Just to be clear, and without any doubt as to Bobo the Hobo's demands:

Government Motors need to make more Buick Skylarks... ...and Volts for midgets.

[ColonialMarine0431]

Here's a novel idea sunshine: WORK FOR IT !

[Ballygrl]

Seriously, are Libraries open on the Holiday? ours was closed.

[true_blood]

I get a kick out of these stupid DUmmies!!!
Why doesn't he open up his ****in' wallet and help out the poor!!:bird: They want everyone else to pay/work hard but them. These liberals literally have padlocks on their wallets. Charity doesn't exist in their vocabulary. Mike Savage has some great stories about going out with some libs that are pretty funny on how cheap those pricks are.

[Tucker]

Seriously, are Libraries open on the Holiday? ours was closed.

She's camping in the DUmpster outside of McD's stealing their internet wifi that you get free with a dollar meal.

[true_blood]

She's camping in the DUmpster outside of McD's stealing their internet wifi that you get free with a dollar meal.

How fitting!! The DUmpster!

[crockspot]

I went to see a Pixies concert in San Francisco years ago, forget which venue, may have been the Fillmore. We ran over to the McD's across the street before the show to grab a bite to eat. After wading through a bunch of homeless, we got our food, sat down to eat, and this homeless dude walks right up to our table and stands there staring at me while I eat. One of my friends lived in the city, and told me that this was their tactic, to stare at you until you give them some food. (We discussed it with him standing there like he wasn't there, he was like a statue.) He ignored all polite and even impolite pleas to get the eff away, until finally, having had enough of my fries, i handed him the rest. He moved off to a table and gobbled them down.

SF really is a beautiful city, but I think it is past time to drop a nuke on it.

[Ballygrl]

Isn't San Francisco considered a sanctuary city for the homeless?

[formerlurker]

She's camping in the DUmpster outside of McD's stealing their internet wifi that you get free with a dollar meal.

If she has a laptop to steal wifi then she should sell it to get housing and enough money to live, or whatever nonsense she posted.

[delilahmused]

Is there a reason bobo can't work? I realize there's been issues with her son but generally one gets past their tragedies and moves on. I'd really like to know why she thinks she's entitled to money and a home. Are her tragedies more devastating than other peoples? How does it do honor to her son to be useless, bitchy, whiny and homeless and expect everyone to indulge her little rants. Yet, when tangible help is offered she turns it down. Sometimes she's even offended that someone offers her a hand UP. She's an embarrassment to the human race.

Cindie

[Tucker]

If she has a laptop to steal wifi then she should sell it to get housing and enough money to live, or whatever nonsense she posted.

It's worse that that. She has an iPod.

[Allentownjake]

I suspect Bobo has a problem with mental illness and is unable to get help herself for the illness.

I think the conflagration of demanding people who are of not clear mind from not being forced into getting help, and the cutting of institutions that help them created Bobo.

I blame both conservatives and liberals for Bobo.  The compassionate thing to do is to institutionalize her for a while in safe place, provide medication that eases her illness that God gave her to struggle with and rely on others, and release her back into society with new skills.  If she can't adjust to the new skills, unfortunately she should be confined to a safe environment where she can seek happiness.
 
That is an adult discussion, and we have few adults in the country right now.

[Tucker]

I suspect Bobo has a problem with mental illness and is unable to get help herself for the illness.

I think the conflagration of demanding people who are of not clear mind from not being forced into getting help, and the cutting of institutions that help them created Bobo.

I blame both conservatives and liberals for Bobo.  The compassionate thing to do is to institutionalize her for a while in safe place, provide medication that eases her illness that God gave her to struggle with and rely on others, and release her back into society with new skills.  If she can't adjust to the new skills, unfortunately she should be confined to a safe environment where she can seek happiness.
 
That is an adult discussion, and we have few adults in the country right now.

We're both in agreement that Bobo should be institutionalized.

[Ballygrl]

I suspect Bobo has a problem with mental illness and is unable to get help herself for the illness.

I think the conflagration of demanding people who are of not clear mind from not being forced into getting help, and the cutting of institutions that help them created Bobo.

I blame both conservatives and liberals for Bobo.  The compassionate thing to do is to institutionalize her for a while in safe place, provide medication that eases her illness that God gave her to struggle with and rely on others, and release her back into society with new skills.  If she can't adjust to the new skills, unfortunately she should be confined to a safe environment where she can seek happiness.
 
That is an adult discussion, and we have few adults in the country right now.

I have to say that mental illness for some reason never entered my head and my sympathy factor went up some. Just curious, why would you blame conservatives?

[Allentownjake]

We're both in agreement that Bobo should be institutionalized.

She's obviously mentally ill.  She is unequipped to make a rational choice on her situation.

[Allentownjake]

I have to say that mental illness for some reason never entered my head and my sympathy factor went up some. Just curious, why would you blame conservatives?

The mental health situation in this country was really both parties acting in concert, and when something is bi-partisan someone weak is getting ****ed.

We had a problem with our institutions where people were being abused.  Instead of stopping people from being abused, we gave insane people rights to act crazy and cut spending on the institutions that contained them.

Which ****ed the general population, and the mentally ill.  Imprisoning them in their illness and forcing the rest of us to have to deal with the illnesses.

[Ballygrl]

The mental health situation in this country was really both parties acting in concert, and when something is bi-partisan someone weak is getting ****ed.

We had a problem with our institutions where people were being abused.  Instead of stopping people from being abused, we gave insane people rights to act crazy and cut spending on the institutions that contained them.

Which ****ed the general population, and the mentally ill.  Imprisoning them in their illness and forcing the rest of us to have to deal with the illnesses.

I don't see that being the fault of conservatism though, I see it more the fault of ACLU types which are pretty progressive. You have places like San Francisco which I'm almost positive is a sanctuary city for the homeless who aren't doing anything especially for those suffering from mental illness. No idea why people like that aren't forced into a state run system. It just seems like they're enablers.

[Allentownjake]

I don't see that being the fault of conservatism though, I see it more the fault of ACLU types which are pretty progressive. You have places like San Francisco which I'm almost positive is a sanctuary city for the homeless who aren't doing anything especially for those suffering from mental illness. No idea why people like that aren't forced into a state run system. It just seems like they're enablers.

Some of my "liberalism" comes from my brother.

He has autism and has schizophrenia, he is unable to care for himself and never will be.

I'm in a difficult position, the cost of his care is something neither my parents or myself would ever be able to afford, and without a trained professional providing an environment that he can feel comfortable in, he is violent.

I don't want anyone providing my brother with certain rights.  That is dangerous to everyone.  I don't want my brother in prison either.

I suspect Bobo has a severe mental illness.  My heart honestly bleeds for her.  I don't think she is physically dangerous but I believe she is a strain to the rest of society.

I also believe absent her illness Bobo would be a productive member of society.

So here is the debate, what are Bobo's rights to deny herself care, and what is societies responsibility to Bobo.

[Allentownjake]

Is there a reason bobo can't work? I realize there's been issues with her son but generally one gets past their tragedies and moves on. I'd really like to know why she thinks she's entitled to money and a home. Are her tragedies more devastating than other peoples? How does it do honor to her son to be useless, bitchy, whiny and homeless and expect everyone to indulge her little rants. Yet, when tangible help is offered she turns it down. Sometimes she's even offended that someone offers her a hand UP. She's an embarrassment to the human race.

Cindie

I think Bobo is extremely mentally ill and is unemployable with her present mental skill set.  I also think her mental illness prevents her from taking any help.

As far as honor, I think being able to see the world clearly, and not having whatever demon she has would restore her.

Frankly picking on Bobo is like mocking the demon possessed people Jesus restored to sanity.