Dasani: the invisible child / New York City Mike Bloomberg's reaction to homeless children

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NY) went on the defensive when asked whether he was moved by the New York Times’ powerful series on a homeless family struggling to survive in New York City. Bloomberg defended his homelessness policies and claimed that 11-year-old Dasani, the star of the piece, ended up in dire straits due to bad luck. “This kid was dealt a bad hand. I don’t know quite why. That’s just the way God works. Sometimes some of us are lucky and some of us are not,” he told Politicker, calling her plight “a sad situation.”

The New York Times series explicitly tied Bloomberg’s homelessness policies to Dasani’s destitute situation. “The Bloomberg administration adopted sweeping new policies intended to push the homeless to become more self-reliant,” the Times’ Andrea Elliott wrote. “They would no longer get priority access to public housing and other programs, but would receive short-term help with rent.”

There are over 22,000 homeless children in New York City (the worst since the Great Depression). Meanwhile the city has set records for most millionaires (over 250,000) and billionaires (70) in the world. Dasani has to hang her food from the ceiling to keep rats in the shelter from stealing it. Desani and her family stated in the Auburn Family Residence, a homeless shelter, for almost three years in Brooklyn, has been cited for more than four hundred violations in the past decade, and not for casual things: “inadequate child care, faulty fire protection, insufficient heat, spoiled food, broken elevators, nonfunctioning bathrooms and the presence of mice, roaches, black mold on walls, bedbugs, lead and asbestos.” Then there were the written complaints about Auburn that didn’t go further: children and their mothers were molested, but the police were never called, and several reports of men exposing themselves to children in a shared bathroom.









There are more photos in the linked source.

Comments

[trog.livejournal.com]

Democrat city, what do you expect?

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Ron Paul 2016!

Zzz.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

Run by Republican mayors for the last 20 years...

Of course, party affiliation has little to do with this. It's a common symptom of big cities, no matter where they're located or who is running them.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

He. Can't. Leave. Soon. Enough.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

He got pissed off at the reporter who asked the question and got really ballsy them them "I can see from that smirk on your face you've never been to other cities around the world," Christie and Bloomberg should try for an "let's see who can be the bigger bullying asshole" contest.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Wow. I guess he didn't know the job? Its funny how the great leaders are the ones able to communicate compassion in just those situations.

[farchivist.livejournal.com]

I would still take Christie over Bloomberg.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Eh I wouldn't.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Trying to convince well heeled theists that God isn't damming the poor for a reason is an uphill battle. I have a cousin whom I argued with last Christmas over poverty in India and Africa. He flat out claimed those people were damned by God while rich people in America were blessed by god. It was frustrating to unravel it, not to mention to realize he seriously justified inequality that way.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

This is a good example of religion leading to mental laziness. Declaring unfortunate things as "God's Will" is just a way of saying they really don't want to think about it or do anything to change it.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

At least we can now ask why the pope feeds the homeless: so assert God calls upon us to help each other through it to better effect? I dunno, I have issues with that approach obviously.

My cousin and I argued for a few hours, I think to little effect. He us really wrapped up in the idea of "sin" and being "dammed" or "chosen". It's wild stuff and leads to all the usual prejudices you'd expect. AIDS is gods wrath, etc.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

I've also known people who argue those things and they always have a scary, Steven King character sort of feeling.

I take the approach that we have brains so we can act in ways beneficial to ourselves and others.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

LOL. He was good until he left HS and entered into what amounts to a bizarre fringe cult.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Hopefully it's just a phase.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I guess Bloomberg was just turning a phrase. Is is that difficult to admit social responsibility or even failure?

[farchivist.livejournal.com]

He us really wrapped up in the idea of "sin" and being "dammed" or "chosen"

*sings it out* Caaaaaaalvinism!
And people wonder why I prefer the Catholic variant. You have to do a LOT to be damned. Total mortal sin territory. For everything else, there's Confession and forgiveness. And no "elect" either. None of this "chosen one" crap.

Were you serious about wanting a theological answer as to why the Pope feeds the homeless?

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

It's conversations like those that make me wish there was a god, and that Jesus actually was his son, because then I could rest comfortably knowing that some day, at some point, he'd be coming back and he'd smack all of the smug self-righteous assholes preaching inequality in his name right in their damn faces.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

It's conversations like those that make me wish there was a god, and that Jesus actually was his son, because then I could rest comfortably knowing that some day, at some point, he'd be coming back and he'd smack all of the smug self-righteous assholes preaching inequality in his name right in their damn faces.

Touches upon one of those human rights themes in the Bible I can get behind. Reminds me of when Ripley challenges Burke in Aliens.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

I think Bloomberg can't process the Universe taking a massive shit on some innocents, and the best he could come up with, well, you know, it's all a lucky or unlucky roll of the dice. He doesn't seem to have a lot of empathy for specific cases.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Its the "white like me" thing. I guess if you don't walk a mile in the shoes, or in bare feet, then its hard to know.

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

Random chance is a thing, but one thing it isn't is an excuse not to help people out...

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

Bad theology. Really, really bad theology.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I thought Bloomberg had better liberal sympathies than that,
but maybe I'm just confused by all his talk on limiting guns.

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

I hate to classify Bloomberg as a liberal of conservative. He's an authoritarian, and that means being bedfellows with both sides, but on different issues.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

The article you linked is really touching. Martin Luther Kings words about social justice still seem relevant.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

I guess it's final. Unless a multi-millionaire gives his money away to the poor, he will always seek to legitimize his wealth.

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

There was this book I read once where this one guy said that money is so powerfully corrupting that it would be easier to shove a camel through a needle's eye than for a rich person to get to Heaven. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like that.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. Have you tried using whatwasthatbook?

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

Oooh I'm going to watch this community. That happens to me all the time. Thanks!

[icelore.livejournal.com]

The policies in NY have definitely gotten worse, increasing the homeless population. That's clear, and it's something that needs to be addressed. And while I care, I'm past the point of really wanting to jump up and do something for the families who shit out child after child after child when they couldn't afford their first one. The kids certainly don't deserve it, but the parents are terminally stupid. Congrats - you were poor, and now you've brought your kids into poverty as well - good job! You've got politicians one one side making life terrible for those with no leg up, and the people they are against are determinedly digging themselves deeper into their hole. Shitty governmental policies plus shitty personal decisions makes for a doubly shitty life.

[atheistkathleen.livejournal.com]

why the fuck did they take away the homeless' priority to public housing? are they legit just trying to kill them off?

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

You only have to read through HUD construction standards to know the answer to that :(

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

Wow. Is there such a thing as a DINO?

As for this Auburn Family Residence place, has NYC never heard of a place called Cabrini Green? Or how about Pruitt-Igoe? Maybe someone should tell them that projects like that were proven to not work about thirty years ago.