A Response to City Council on the Sleeping Ban Vote

Dear Council Members,

I was at part of your meeting the other night regarding the criminalization of sleeping, and I noticed some of you struggling with the age-old problem of how to be oppressive and still feel good about yourselves.

One amongst you, Ms. Comstock, avoided this dilemma by following the advice of the Emperor from Star Wars to, "let the hate flow through you." Congratulations Pamela on completing your journey to the dark side, and letting us all know by flipping the bird to citizens of your City, mere hours after having condemned another Council member as an embarrassment to the entire Council for having rented a non-permitted bedroom out at their house.

To those of you who prefaced your voting with nice words about helping the homeless and finding better solutions, I feel for your struggle. For most humans, it is in fact quite difficult to be cruel, and requires some initial work to make the target of one's actions somehow deserving of their suffering, or part of an "other" group less important than one's own. This is an important and valuable part of any oppression, and as I see some of you still struggling with it, I wanted to offer my support.

As a student of world religions and philosophy, I know that our great prophets and sages have generally praised a universal love and concern for, as Jesus put it, "the least among us". This could pose a major obstacle to anyone wanting to feel good about their oppressive actions. However it turns out that this simplistic translation of the original Greek might not be wholly accurate. I wanted to share with you a different translation of Matthew 25, prepared by a theologian and scholar who also was a politician.

May these words help to calm and soothe you as you lie comfortably in your dry warm bed this weekend, while the cold rain falls on the unhoused:

"Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and while you did not give me food, you did say nice words about there being a better way to resolve hunger. I was thirsty, and while you blocked access to the well, it was only because wells are not a viable solution to providing water to thirsty people. I was a stranger, and while you did not welcome me, you praised a program that might welcome a small percentage of those in need, as funding allows. I was naked and you did not clothe me, and in fact you made a law further punishing nakedness, but only to avoid the appearance of being too tolerant of the unclothed. I was in prison and you did not visit me, and on the contrary you toasted my imprisonment, but at the same time you expressed nice-sounding sentiments about liberty and justice and living in a free country."

Best regards,

Steve Schnaar