This morning I witnessed a disturbing event at a "Jack in the Box" fast food outlet at Mason and Geary in downtown San Francisco.
A homeless person, wrapped in a white blanket, was slumped over the counter in a quiet section of the restaurant.
One of the employees strode over to the destitute person and rudely shouted, "Heh, wake up. You have to get out. This is not a Hotel."
When the individual failed to move on, the employee threatened to call the Police.
Moments later, a warning message was blasted over the loudspeaker, advising that if the "person wrapped in the white blanket" did not exit immediately, the police would be called to deal with the problem.
Shortly after that, the person - who turned out to be a woman - glanced out the window in fear. When it was apparent that the police had failed to arrive at that juncture, she proceeded to sift through the trash bin...after locating some scraps of food, and scooping them up, she returned to her perch on a stool by the door.
Moments later when it was evident that the police were on the way, the woman scurried out of the outlet, and down the cold, wet street.
A police car squealed to a stop outside the front entrance moments later, and a couple of men in blue jumped out of their squad car with a bounce in their step. One officer jammed a long billy club into a loop on his belt, ready for action - I guess.
In the "Jack in the Box" take-out, the city's finest queried a couple of the customers as to the whereabouts of the homeless person. When one person noted she was seen entering the alley out back, they went off in hot pursuit.
What wrongful act had she committed?
Was it a crime to be homeless, or hungry, or in need of shelter from the worst storm to hit the West Coast in the past ten years?
Frankly, I thought the way the employees handled the situation amounted to rotten, mean-spirited, atrocious behavior.
It was bad enough to send the homeless person out into the cold without an act of charity - for example, a handful of food - but to insult her by making unnecessary comments like "This is not a Hotel", was outrageous and shocking conduct.
"Jack in the Box" is a successful company which has made millions from the public with their fast-food business. Would it be too much to ask that they give back to the community, for once? Perhaps they could provide a "homeless" assistance program with some of their profits - instead of insulting the needy - and ceremoniously turfing them into the streets with threat of arrest.
Curiously, this morning's paper noted that in an interview yesterday, Mayor Newsom admitted he had not done enough for the homeless this past year. Well, in view of what I witnessed this morning, there is no better time to address the issue.
Up until today, the Mayor has been silent on his proposals for the coming year.
At his inauguration today, let's hope he speaks up about the homeless issue, and backs his concerns with a bona fide program - with some teeth in it - to alleviate the problem and bring relief to the poor.
Margaret Cho once said,
"If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach."
