The Chronicle Sinks to a New Low

But like a right-wing “shock jock,” the Chronicle wants readers to not simply nod in agreement but to go to their computer and fire a zinging e-mail attack. These e-mails help fill up the paper’s news section, and are used to demonstrate to advertisers that the Chronicle has great interactivity with its readers. And with the Chronicle’s Season of Sharing campaign starting next month, the paper feels compelled to spew its maximum venom against the poor now, so it can make nice come Thanksgiving and Christmas.

After 25 years of covering homelessness, the San Francisco Chronicle continues to define the problem as problem street behavior. Forget the billions of dollars in federal housing cuts, and ignore the fact that America has far fewer housing units than necessary to house its population--- the Chronicle sees homelessness as chiefly caused by troubled and/or anti-social individuals who only need “tough love” to get off the streets.

It’s an attractive argument. It gets the government off the hook and places all the blame on homeless persons themselves for not ensuring a roof over their heads.

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