- Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:36 am
#8847
If the homeless can walk into the middle of a congested highway in order to bum spare change from commuters, or squirt dirty water on my windshield which forces me to pay him/her to clean it off so that I don't wreck trying to make it to the next traffic light, why not allow him to sell his back for advertising? There's some guy who auctioned off his friggin forehead on ebay for advertising. Homeless people aren't retarded, if you'll forgive the politically incorrect term. They're substance addicts, they're mentally ill, and, hmm, some have even fallen on hard times. And many times, they're mentally ill AND substance addicts! Don't think for a second if you don't pay them to slap an ad on their backs in order to score some crack money, they're suddenly going to clean up and find a place to live. No one would be "taking advantage" of them. So...
Okay, having said that, how about allowing only public service advertising on the backs of the homeless? You know, milk carton pics of missing children? "Don't smoke" campaigns? Catchy "Just Say No" anti-drug slogans? Public service or not public service, the homeless would laugh all the way to the bank... or the shooting gallery. Oh, maybe they'd actually squirrel away the money, find shelter, food, clothing, and medical treatment of their choosing, or an apartment... perhaps they'd turn the enterprise into a successful one-man business. The homeless aren't a subclass of human; they are protected by the same laws as any other vulnerable populations in the U.S. It's illogical to assume that all homeless people are vulnerable, mentally ill people, and that the only thing standing between them and being turned into corporate prostitutes is that we don't allow them to wear a sign... they are not all being held captive to their circumstances, and they would not be agreeing to this advertising under "duress" anymore than they are already messing up my commute! It's a GREAT idea to allow the homeless to pick up some cash doing something besides harassing me at every other traffic signal in town. ;o