I wasn’t going to comment on this, because I thought, it’s obviously horrible. I thought no human could possibly convince themselves that putting spikes beneath other human beings is an act of mercy. I thought not even the most cold-hearted intellectuals (you know, the ones with hooks for faces, and scars that run across their souls) could see spikes on the ground, and reach the conclusion that they are for the benefit of the homeless.
I was wrong.
There are some in this wonderful world of the armchair genius who believe that putting spikes under the mentally ill is a good thing. They think that if people can’t sleep where they usually do, they will be encouraged to stop sleeping rough. Like, it’s a choice. Imagine Homeless Doug. Doug often sleeps in doorway 34. Doorway 34 isn’t much. But it’s all Doug has. One night Doug returns to doorway 34. His floor is now full of spikes. According to some people Doug will see these spikes, suddenly rethink his life and stop suffering from mental illness. What actually happens, is that Doug looks down at the spikes and the little voice in his head that once told him one day things will get better because somewhere out there someone cares – now screams one thing:
They don’t want to help you. They want you to be invisible. Kill yourself Doug. That’s what they want.
Before I continue, you fuckers agreeing with this, how would you feel if someone who slept on a mattress without spikes, replaced your mattress with spikes, and then had the nerve to tell you it was for your own good?
To a homeless person who doesn’t have anything the slab of pavement, the doorway, the area beneath a bridge, is their home. It’s their constant. These places are their ceilings, their walls of protection, their security. Take that away, and you don’t spread solution, you merely pry their fingernails away from the side of existence.
The homeless people of Southwark are today the poorest people of Southwark – now, if the homeless are forced out of Southwark, then the new poorest would become the people on my council estate. Now, this council estate doesn’t look nearly as nice as some of these new buildings. In fact, positioned next to them, they look almost unsightly…My point is, the people in power are moving the lines of morality to suit their desires. Before anyone agrees with these spikes, ponder how you would feel, if the powers that be decided they thought you were unsightly.
Some things we don’t have to intellectualize, some things we shouldn’t say “yes, it’s bad, but the wider issue is housing and blah blah blah” – stop it – this is fucking awful. And shame on everyone involved who made it happen. And shame on anyone who doesn’t think this is the act of those who have, distancing themselves further from those who have not. It is no longer enough for the rich to step over or around the poor, they have become so fat and greedy, they no longer wish to pick their feet up at all. And if you are rationalising and agreeing with these acts of hate, welcome to the hill. You made it.
“There’s room at the top they’re telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill”
John Lennon
Help the homeless. Don’t move them so you can’t see them.
Call if you see someone sleeping rough in London 0870 3833333
http://www.nosecondnightout.org.uk/
