Robert L. Terrell

The large, white man in the big, new, unmarked American made automobile caught my attention because such folk are rarely found in this neighborhood. There are of course lots of large, white men in big, new unmarked automobiles in this South of Market neighborhood. But in almost all instances, their vehicles are expensive, foreign manufactured rides such as Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs. As a result, I took a long glance at the vehicle as the driver cruised slowly down Third Street, turned right and moved into the leafy green darkness that prevails in South Park after sundown.

Ten minutes later I saw another such driver in a similar automobile parked in front of the Shell gas station located at the Third Street entrance to South Park. Moving slowly, the large white man got out of his vehicle and approached two homeless people, who were offering to clean the windshields of people filling their gas tanks at the Shell station. Gesturing in a commanding manner with his huge hands, he summoned the homeless people. They approached him slowly, their shoulders hunched and heads bowed. It took only a moment for me to decode the scene. This was the Mayor’s highly touted program to rid the neighborhood of poor, homeless people in action. The large, white men were plainclothes police officers. The officer who confronted the homeless people working the Shell station patrons for spare change was on a mission from the Mayor’s office. After talking to the silent, nodding homeless people, he dismissed them, turned and headed back to his automobile. He walked slowly, and he had a sour expression on his faced. He did not appear to be enjoying his task.

The luckless, homeless hustlers shuffled off in the opposite direction, their shoulders hunched even lower, exuding defeat and quiet desperation. Off into the soft darkness of South Park they trudged, as the police officer stood watching. After a short pause, he got back into his vehicle, started the engine and drove slowly into the stream of traffic flowing down Third Street toward the twinkling, bright lights of the city center. The police car hadn’t move more than a few feet before it paused to let another similar vehicle pass. That vehicle was also unmarked, and it was also driven by a large, white man in plainclothes. There was only one thing missing from the scene: social workers. The Mayor’s most current special program to cope with the thousands of homeless people who reside in this town is targeting this neighborhood. According to the Mayor’s public relations flaks, and the local mainstream press, the program is supposed to include compassionate participation by social workers and police officers.

But there weren’t any social workers accompanying the cops cruising the neighborhood this evening. Moreover, I strongly suspect that the scenario I witnessed is more representative of the normal manner in which the program is being pursued than anyone at City Hall is willing to admit. In any event, it is abundantly clear that the city administration is gradually increasing the pressure on local homeless people in its not so covert effort to drive as many of them as possible out of town. I am rather certain that the effort will eventually prove to be a failure. That may not matter in the long run. In the short run the offensive against poor, homeless people who reside in the South of Market section of the city is earning high praise for the Mayor. The daily newspapers regularly feature letters from well-off San Franciscans that urge the city administration to employ even harsher measures against the poor.

The most auspicious impact of this tide of narrow-minded bias is increased popularity for the Mayor. All indications are that he will be re-elected. What I am wondering is where are the social workers? I am also wondering how much additional pain and suffering must the city’s poorest residents endure before the sane, adult, responsible segment of this town’s allegedly liberal population demands that our homeless neighbors be addressed by something more than hostility, smoke and mirrors?